MAD

I found this 25 ft. waterfall in Mad Canyon right beside the road. Getting up close to it was completely maddening! The poison oak was absolutely nightmarish! It was so bad I decided to come back the following week with my clippers, and tried to clip away all the oak as I scrambled up through the brush to the falls. I don’t think it worked because I still got the itch afterwards.

It was not even worth all that trouble anyway, the waterfall is not very photogenic and not very big. It looked a lot bigger from the road.

9 Comments

9 Responses to “MAD”

  1. Kristina Says:

    I appreciate your effort!!! Thanks for sharing

  2. Robin Kent Says:

    I agree with Kristina. I appreciate your hard work.

  3. Poison Oak Says:

    I totally disagree with cutting down native vegetation just so someone can get to a small waterfall without taking the effort to just avoid it. If there was a tree right in front of the waterfall blocking the view, would it be ok to cut it down? Whatever happened to “leave no trace?” If the poison oak is an issue because of the road then let whoever is responsible for the road take care of it.

  4. leapin26 Says:

    Dear Poison Oak sir or madam, what you are saying really had not occurred to me at all. Perhaps you are correct and I should not have done that, and perhaps I would not have done that if it had occurred to me beforehand. However, to be honest, I think you might be overreacting a bit. I did not KILL it. It will grow back in a few months time, and I did not do any harm to the environment. In fact, all I was doing was clearing away overgrowth on an existing trail in the National Forest, which is public land, and which is something that is done all the time by forest workers and volunteers. This is nothing that is unusual or harmful whatsoever, and is completely different from cutting a tree down, or climbing on a tufa at Mono Lake, or climbing on a delicate arch rock, for example. Nonetheless, I appreciate the point you made, and will consider it for the future.

  5. Michael K Says:

    As nature lovers, I am sure we all (hopefully) believe in the leave no trace concept, as we certainly want to allow our future generations to enjoy nature unspoiled. However, I do not think that cutting back poison oak along trails somehow violates the leave no trace concept. Poison oak is not rare or endangered, but is quite ubiquitous in California, and actually is a nuisance (and for some people a hazard). Cutting back poison oak is just not the same as cutting back trees, defacing rocks, littering, etc. Cutting back poison oak along trails will not somehow ruin the natural beauty of our land along these trails. If we adhere strictly to the leave no trace concept, then in theory no trails should ever be maintained, the forest service should not clear out underbrush or have precribed controlled burns. I for one feel that Leon did nothing wrong with what he did, and should not feel bad or guilty about his actions.

  6. leapin26 Says:

    Thank you for your thoughts, Michael.

  7. Poison Oak Says:

    Who decides what vegetation is a “nuisance?” Just because something is common or not endangered doesn’t make it appropriate to thin or cut down. If there is supposed to be a trail there, then that is the National Forest’s job to maintain it. However, there are lots of examples of former trails that Nature has been purposely allowed to reclaim. I’m sure what was done did not destroy the ecosystem, however you are advertising to other people that it is okay to go out and cut down vegetation that they deem a “nuisance” without any consequences.

  8. Leon Says:

    I have to disagree with you. The National Forest Service does not and can not maintain all the trails. They do not have the budget to do so. They only do the absolute minimum amount of work needed. The government does not care about maintaining our trails. So should we just let all our trails become overgrown by Nature, and eventually we will have no hiking trails anymore? That is what you are suggesting. It is our land and it is everyone’s responsibility to maintain and look after our trails. If I see litter out on the trail, do I just wait for the Forest Service to come pick it up? You can’t just slough everything off for the government to do. It is everyone’s responsibility to look after the land.

  9. Michael K Says:

    To make things clear here, this discussion is not about cutting down vegetation in general, nor about deciding which vegetation is a nuisance. It is about poison oak, and poison oak only, which is found overgrowing on many trails in California. To me, poison oak overgrowth on public trails is a nuisance, and I am sure most people will agree on this. I do not have a problem with responsible people cutting back poison oak (but not other vegetation) that is overgrowing on trails.

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