Desert mylar

[JamesCulp]

I just got back from a few uneventful days on the Colorado Plateau and while my trip went pretty poorly (thanks historical weather data!) I did find something I’d seen in Jamal’s videos but never thought I’d find for myself. The elusive Southwestern Desert Mylar.

I found this out by the highway in Glen Canyon. I had stopped to stretch my legs a bit and sure enough after scoping the area out I go to get back into my car and from the mesa above me floats down this balloon. I was stunned and saw it get caught in a bush a few hundred yards away so I rushed after it. You folks who get to hang out here more often than me, is this a regular occurrence?!

 

[IntrepidXJ]

You folks who get to hang out here more often than me, is this a regular occurrence?!

Yes, I come across them pretty regularly.

 

[Bob]

Yep.... Grand Canyon. Escalante. Wind Rivers ( mtn relative). AZ. Deep creeks....

 

[Udink]

All. The. Time. I don't remember how many mylar balloons I've packed out.

 

[piper01]

One trip I found 8 ballons, two singles then a cluster of 6, over the course of five days.

I was at a local parade yesterday and somebody's mylar balloon blew away, so the person holding the matching one (it was a set of 2 numbers) just let hers go too. It immediately got stuck in a tree.

 

[Dreamer]

At least they’re light. Found one early on in my hike in the Winds last summer and tied it to the daisey chain on my pack for the duration. It was colorful.

 

[balzaccom]

They're among the most common back country trash in the Sierra, too, I am sad to report.

 

[regehr]

A couple years ago I was backpacking in a remote part of Nevada with a friend, and mentioned to him that I frequently find these damn things in really out of the way areas, and literally within 15 minutes of that conversation we found a balloon snagged in a bush.

 

[Yvonne]

Unfortunately, this happens more and more and affect many parks and other areas.
In addition to all the trash people left behind, this is something I find on a regular base on my hikes. I already started bringing regular sized trash bags on hikes because small bags aren't enough anymore to pick up all the trash you'll find

 

[Stephanie B]

No, not unusual. We cringe now whenever we see someone let a balloon fly away. The other thing we’ve sometimes seen on off-the-beaten-path hikes are golf balls.

 

[Brendan S]

No, not unusual. We cringe now whenever we see someone let a balloon fly away. The other thing we’ve sometimes seen on off-the-beaten-path hikes are golf balls.

Wilderness golf balls are usually dropped by disappointed ravens that thought they were tasty eggs.

 

[wsp_scott]

The balloons are very common in the east as well, I just pulled one out of a tree in the Dolly Sods (WV) last week.

 

[swmalone]

We found a mylar balloon on our first hike in the Escalante Area a couple weeks ago, my wife tied it to her pack and it followed her around until we made it back to the vehicle. I remember when I was in grade school in the 80's we would release balloons with information encouraging whoever found them to write to the class at the school. I'm not really sure what the educational purpose of this was, they never explained anything about weather, wind, the jet stream etc. Just release balloons and then weeks or months later look at all the places we got the letters from.

 

[Outdoor_Fool]

If I find anything, it's usually weather balloons, or beer cans. Crazy where hunters sit down and decide to have a beer.

 

[LarryBoy]

My favorite backcountry trash is old abandoned cars. The best is the "wait, how did they drive that here?"