Outdoor Elitism and Inclusivity in Nature

Is outdoor elitism ironic to anyone else?! Every single person was new at what they love at one time or another, and it makes zero sense to me why people would look down on people just starting. I was talking with someone at work about barriers to outdoor activities and of course, money is one of them, and another is access and knowledge. You aren’t going to buy a mountain bike, pick a point on a map and go send it by yourself?! (ok maybe), but generally people get into sports because someone takes them or shows them how. The connection we get wiht nature and each other in unmatched and excluding people from this is completely opposite of the point if you ask me. I feel so fortunate to live in a place that’s so welcoming to new people in terms of sports like rock climbing and gravel biking, which historically (I’ve heard) are full of elitest people in other areas. The last thing I’ll say is this —> It’s a two-way street. Just because you have access to Instagram , doesn’t give you the right to demand full access to locations. People who have lived in beautiful outdoor places for a long time have seen trails and ecosystems degrading and there is no arguing that a mass influx of people are the blame. So if people say no to sharing a location, please be respectful and realize that because you haven’t been in the area, you might not see the full picture of how it could be harmful to share to the masses. I hope everyone gets out there this weekend, peeps some leaves, etc. Let’s try and be more kind, helpful and understand to each other, no matter if youve been hiking, biking, climbing, or camping for 10 days or 10 years ✌🏼