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It’s that time of year again when holidays collide, traffic
turns toxic and tempers grow short. With
all the pressures, all we hikers want to do is escape to the trails to shake it
all off. Ironically, one of the most
popular trails in the Phoenix area---one that’s supposed to help us unwind---often
ends up adding to our seasonal distress.
I’m referring to the annual drama surrounding the Camelback Mountain Christmas
Tree. Regardless of whether the City of
Phoenix decides to allow or prohibit the tinsel stick on the
mountaintop---somebody will drag one up there anyway. For the record, I am personally against this
practice. Call me Scrooge, but the tree just doesn’t belong there. It’s a buzz
kill on a desert mountain peak that creates litter and safety hazards. Still, every
year we can expect the controversy to make headline news and cause more
heartburn than it’s worth. Within the Arizona Hiking Group Facebook page (20,000+ members) that I founded, those who have in the past posted photos of themselves grinning with the summit
Santa in front of the tree have been both viciously attacked and adamantly
encouraged. From roughly Thanksgiving
through New Year’s Day, group admins and moderators have had to act as referees
when disagreements go malignant. One weekend last season, I spent the better
part of an entire day responding to angry messages and a phone call from a
member in tears because she posted a photo of herself in front of the tree and
had been belittled and bullied within the group. Seriously----the last time I had to do this
was when I was a “room patrol” in 5th grade. I do understand that not everybody agrees
with my position on the tree. My opinion is not that of the group as a whole.
Hell, I even think environmentalist and writer Edward Abbey would have shrugged
off the tree because the mountain is “already ruined”. But, what I do ask is that instead of
terrorizing others on social media, you instead direct your comments to the City of Phoenix
where they might make a difference.
