Trailer mystery solved

The mystery of an abandoned trailer in the hills above Lake Country has been solved by good old-fashioned leg work and public shame.

Kane Blake operates Okanagan Forest Task Forest, a volunteer group dedicated to keeping the backcountry clean.

He posted photos of an abandoned trailer online and asked for help finding the people responsible for dumping it in the bush.

"It definitely looks like it's very recently been put in there, judging by the marks of it, and where it is now," Blake said.

Then he managed to acquire trail camera footage that showed the people who dumped the trailer as they were in the process of dismantling it.

Blake then posted those photos and his text exchange, showing him trying to convince the culprits to remove the trailer from the bush.

That tactic got a quick response, including a request to take down the social media posts.

"I'm not taking them down, it's already up nobody can see their faces, why would I take it down?" he said.

Blake has been removing junk from the backcountry for eight years and there seems to be a never ending stream of people who think it's OK to ditch their garbage, including RVs and trailers in the woods around the Okanagan.

"Well, I mean, it's always frustrating finding them. From day one it's always been frustrating. But people just need to be aware that if you want to own a trailer at the end of its life, you're on the hook to get rid of it, you don't just get to dump it in the backcountry," Blake said.

There is no doubt in Blake's mind that his strong-arm tactics are necessary to get some people to do the right thing.

"I just didn't give him an option. I'm sick of cleaning up after people," he said.

"If I get a chance to hold people accountable, I'm going to do it."

Blake says he often finds himself in difficult positions with people who are dumping illegally and he works with the BC Conservation Officer Service and the RCMP when necessary.

"We work with them? But I mean, at the same time, if we don't know who dumped it, then what do we do?" he said.

Blake said he'd love it if people would stop dumping their garbage in the backcountry but he doesn't expect that to happen anytime soon.

"I don't have to take these trailers. I can leave them too, but I won't, because I want to clean backcountrt," Blake said.