Why Ya Gotta Leave Your Mark? Why?

Not that long ago, we took a trip out to the Las Vegas area which, besides all the casinos, has amazing outdoor recreational opportunities.  Red Rock Canyon National Conservation area, Death Valley National Park, Valley of Fire State Park, Hoover Dam, Lake Mead, etc., you get the picture, there is a lot to do for an outdoorsy person.

We decided to visit Valley of Fire since we had never been there before.  It's about an hour northeast of Las Vegas and is Nevada's oldest and largest state park.  It earned its name from "red sandstone formations, formed from great shifting sand dunes during the age of dinosaurs, 150 million years ago. Complex uplifting and faulting of the region, followed by extensive erosion, have created the present landscape." Source:http://parks.nv.gov/parks/valley-of-fire-state-park/

We drove into the park and it was indeed breathtaking landscape.  Soaring red rock formations all around us and blooming vegetation made for quite the lovely drive in.  We stopped at the visitor center, which was in a  gorgeous location, and picked up a map so we could find a couple of short trails to explore.

We chose Mouse's Tank Trail which has prehistoric petroglyphs carved into the walls.  We drove to the trailhead, which was quite crowded, and set off on our half-mile hike.

The trail went down a narrow canyon and after a short while, we saw the petroglyphs carved into the sandstone.  Beautiful!

What a privilege to be able to see these beautiful images!

Then there were "other" images, the more recent kind...

On many of my hikes, I have found graffiti on rocks, names carved into rocks or trees, people writing their name with a sharpie marker on rocks, or tons of rock cairns in one location because if one does it, everyone must do it.  So my question is, why do people feel the need to leave behind their mark?  The last thing I want to see on a hike is "YOLO 2013" spray painted across a large boulder (yes, I have seen this!).

I have thought about this a lot and can only come up with a few reasons.  My first thought is ignorance - they do not know or understand the impact of what they are doing.  Yeah, they know it's wrong, but what's the big deal of carving or writing your name on a rock or a tree?  The second reason is that they do know that it is wrong and that everyone can see it, but they just don't care.  You know, "Breaking the law, breaking the law!"  No one is going to tell them what to do, so they do it and they don't care if you don't like it.  The last reason I can come up with, as has been the news lately here in Joshua Tree with one certain graffiti artist, is they are doing their art and somehow people will love and appreciate this art.  They are "honoring" the desert, not desecrating it.

Does that look like art to you?  Come on, dude.

Other than those few reasons, I really have no idea why people feel the need to leave their mark.  If you have ideas as to why, by all means, share them in the comments.  As I have never felt the need to "leave my mark," I cannot relate to this at all.  I am interested in hearing other people's interpretations, though.

My partner just pointed out another reason - status.  "Hey look at the dangerous position I had to get into to spray paint my weird graffiti symbols that no one understands?"  I think this happens a lot in cities, but I see it on large rock formations as well.  Hey, you know what?  No graffiti is worth risking your life over.

Oh, on another note, 3 more weeks before I hit the A.T. with my friend, Infinity.  I am trying not to let panic set in, but I do feel the pressure of getting everything ready to go.  No real panic yet, but it's coming...