That shiny river stone I couldn't leave behind has me questioning my ethics

I took a smooth jasper from a riverbed on public land during a hike, and now I'm torn between loving my find and worrying I messed up a natural site, you know?

3 comments

3 Comments

michael_burns29d ago

What if you left a different cool rock in its place, like a trade?

king.mia29d ago

My friend swapped a regular gray stone for a piece of red jasper at a state park in Oregon. That got me wondering where the line is for taking something, even with a trade. If the original rock was part of a stacked cairn marking a trail, your swap could mess up the path for the next hiker. Does wanting a souvenir and leaving something cooler actually make it okay, or is it more about how you see your own actions?

kelly.grace28d ago

Oh man, that line about messing up the trail for the next hiker is so true. I once saw a friend swap a rock from a cairn in Colorado and it totally threw people off. Like @michael_burns said, leaving a cooler rock might feel like a trade, but if it's not the same type or size, it ruins the marker. It really comes down to whether you're just thinking about your souvenir or actually caring about the place. We all need to be more careful with stuff like that.