Outrage Over What Man Stumbles Across While Hiking in the Woods

A Connecticut man sparked anger on social media after revealing what he stumbled across during a family hike.

The man, who asked to be referred to only by his initials, JPL, was out walking with family around Lovers Leap Park, a state park in New Milford when he came across a surprising sight.

“This was my first time visiting the park,” he told Newsweek. “As we were walking up a trail I happened to notice the rocks to the right that had a great view of the water.”

The area JPL was in is known to locals as Lover’s Leap. The legend goes that in the early 1700s, Princess Lillinonah, the daughter of a Weantinock tribe chief, fell in love with a white man she rescued from the woods. He eventually left but vowed to return for her.

With time marching on and no sign of the man, her father arranged for her to marry another member of the tribe. Rather than face this, she took off in a boat bound for the nearby great falls and certain death. So the story goes, as her boat headed towards the precipice, the white man returned. With no way of saving her, he leaped into the water and joined her in death.

A popular spot with couples and tourists alike, JPL stopped to “take some photos” of the picturesque natural scenery. However, he quickly discovered what he later described as “the aftermath of a gender reveal.”

Gender reveals have proven a divisive concept among Americans. In a 2018 YouGov poll of 1,223 U.S. adults, 35 percent of respondents said they considered them unnecessary while 28 percent felt they were a fad. On the flip side, however, 25 percent considered them to be fun, while 20 percent described them as a joyous occasion.

Having taken a few snaps of the spectacular views, JPL decided to snap a picture of the aftermath of what was left behind by this particular gender reveal.

“I honestly did not expect for it to blow up like it did,” he said.

The picture shows small, tiny pieces of blue confetti littered across the natural fauna and flora of the hiking trail. JPL uploaded the picture to Reddit, where it quickly blew up, garnering over 44,000 upvotes in a matter of hours and a slew of negative comments.

“I remember when the gender reveal was having the baby,” one user wrote, with another responding: “Or just calling up those you want to tell.” A third said: “It’s not promising when people won’t consider leaving a better world and a cleaner environment for the next generation” while a fourth Redditor commented: “Exactly why I call it a narcissistic parents reveal. They don’t actually give a c*** about kid beyond the ‘clout.”

JPL said that the picture has fired up debate around the necessity for increasingly elaborate gender reveals.

“As a few commenters said in the post, gender reveals have gotten more and more out of control,” he said. “Some have caused wildfires, gotten people killed and contaminated water supplies. While my photo is tame compared to the stories I have heard, it’s still uncalled for.”

From a personal standpoint, he’s not entirely against the practice of gender reveals, though he can see why it’s angered others.

“As long as you clean up after yourself it would be okay,” he said. “It’s the fact that they just left everything there. Leave no trace as they say.”