Keeping garbage off public lands and convincing campers to pick up after themselves are perennial struggles for land management agencies, but local officials with the U.S. Forest Service say they’re seeing more trash now than at any point in recent memory.

One area on the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, which is often used for primitive and free camping, was left in a galling state when Forest Service workers visited it in early September.

“It was a disaster,” said Chelsea Muise, the monument’s recreation program manager.

Several tents and a gazebo were left with piles of clothing trailing out of them. A bathroom area with a primitive toilet was left behind. Empty cans and food bags were piled around the site.

The Forest Service allows up to 14 consecutive days of camping at one site. What workers found indicated whoever left the mess was there longer.

“They had as much food as they could possibly store,” Muise said. “Our initial thought is they were living on the forest. It had probably been weeks, if not a month or so, they’d been living there.”