Utah Man Encourages Hikers to Keep Utah’s Trails Beautiful
Apr 8, 2019, 6:25 AM | Updated: 6:54 am
BIG COTTONWOOD CANYON, Utah — A Utah man hopes to start a movement on social media encouraging people to keep hiking trails clean this spring.
Phill Monson launched his “Don’t Trash Utah” campaign earlier this year. He wants people to consider bringing garbage bags to carry out trash they find in the wild.
“Utah is beautiful. It is worth protecting. These places are worth having around for many generations for people to enjoy,” Monson said. “It’s important to take care of places that can’t take care of themselves.”
Monson regularly packs out other people’s garbage on hikes. He said he cleaned up trash around the Ledgemere Picnic Area in Big Cottonwood Canyon Saturday. By Sunday, new pieces of garbage had popped up.
“When you come across a place that is beautiful and you shouldn’t see those things, and you do, it’s incredibly frustrating, and for me, I cannot let it stay there,” Monson said.
Great Salt Lake State Park embraced the movement on Instagram, sharing the “Don’t Trash Utah” logo and encouraging people to pack out trash when they see it.
Park manager James Wells said the beach area stays pretty clean, but they do find trash in other areas. He said it doesn’t take much effort to help out.
“Pick up two pieces of trash and you’ve left the park cleaner than you found it,” Wells said.