Leave no trace

Take only pictures, leave only footprints.

Max Patch on the Appalachian Trail is famously overused. Now there’s a camping ban and about fifty signs to stay on the trail. I’m standing on the trail and using a tripod, which is also on the trail about fifteen feet ahead. I used the grassy mound on the left and the curve of the trail to hide how developed and trampled this area actually is - and I didn’t add to the problem.

For anyone recreating outdoors, the principles of Leave No Trace (LNT) are absolutely critical. Over 14,000,000 people visited Great Smoky Mountain NP in 2021. Even if only 0.1% of the visitors leave their trash behind, that’s 14,000 bags of garbage being left in the park every year. One person’s impact may seem trivial, but it’s never just one person and it adds up quickly. Limiting our impact is absolutely vital and actually incredibly easy.

  1. Be prepared

  2. Use durable surfaces

  3. Dispose of your waste properly

  4. Leave what you find

  5. Minimize campfire impacts

  6. Respect wildlife

  7. Be considerate of other people

1. Be prepared. Know the regulations of the area you want to visit. Sometimes there will be signs at the trailhead, but it’s always better to research before you go. Know what kind of weather events can happen in your area/season and have appropriate gear and bailout plans. Come prepared with a way to pack out all of your trash and find out if you also need to pack out human waste. Learn if there are fire bans in the area. Visit in small groups. If you have a huge group, break into two or more smaller groups to minimize impact. There may even be laws about group size. Use a map and compass rather than altering the natural environment; navigate with what is already there instead of changing the landscape by stacking rocks or using ribbons. Find out whether pets are allowed and what the relevant laws are. Know if you’ll be sharing the trail with people on horses or bikes.

2. Use durable surfaces. Hike on established trails, rock, gravel, or snow. Stay on the trail, even if it’s wet from rain. Traveling beside a muddy trail destroys the edge and encourages more erosion. Walk in single file if the trail is only wide enough for one person. Camp at sites that you find, not at sites that you create. If you have to do more than kick a few pine cones or rocks out of the way, it’s probably not a good spot to camp. Don’t alter the campsites. Camp at least 200 feet away from bodies of water. Shorelines can be very delicate. Find a site that doesn’t have vegetation and keep it small. Incidentally, if a site isn’t LNT compliant, it’s often a bad place to camp. Pitching too close to water will create condensation in your tent, camping too close to the trail may have other people walking past your tent, and camping on a summit above the trees will leave you exposed to high winds. Established sites are usually in good places to spend the night.

Many - not all, but many - trailheads will have rules posted. You always need to learn your risks and responsibilities before leaving home.

3. Dispose of your waste properly. If you carry it into the wilderness, you need to carry it back out of the wilderness. The only exceptions are urine and feces, and even that must be carried out in some circumstances like deserts or delicate alpine environments. Always check your campsite or meal location to ensure that you’ve collected all of your waste (and all of your gear). Don’t ever burn your garbage. Campfires create smoke, and smoke is just the partially burned remnants of the fire’s fuel floating away once it’s small enough to be pushed upward by the intense heat. Trash won’t fully burn, which leaves plastics and papers covering the nearby trees and water. Even though paper is made from trees, it’s made from trees and chemicals and it covers the surface of a tree. It’s extremely light and there’s no reason it can’t be carried back out. Carry all of your garbage out, including any solid waste from pets.

4. Leave what you find. This is very straightforward. Don’t pick the flowers, otherwise there won’t be flowers when the next person comes through. Don’t take the rock with a petroglyph. It’s not yours; it’s a piece of history for all of us to see when we hike. Leave the antlers where you found them. They’re a part of the natural ecosystem. If you really like something, leave it alone so other people can have also enjoy it. The National Park Service received 312,000,000 visits in 2022 - and that’s not to mention Bureau of Land Management or United States Forestry Service lands. Even if only 1% of 1% of visitors steal natural objects, it will only take a few years to destroy our remaining natural lands.

5. Minimize campfire impacts. If there’s not a fire ring or pit, don’t build a fire. If there’s not a fire ring, don’t build one. Keep fires small and easy to contain. Burn all of the fuel you put into a fire before leaving, whether it’s the end of your trip or just bedtime. Make sure all of the fuel is consumed and douse it with water. Hot embers smolder underground and can start fires in root systems, which can become forest fires. Smothering a campfire with dirt won’t extinguish the embers, so always use water. Learn what the local rules are for fires before leaving for your trip. Many places will ban fires during certain parts of the year, during certain weather events, or simply ban them outright. If you’re using a camp stove, use one that has a shutoff mechanism like a valve that you can close.

6. Respect wildlife. Do not follow, approach, or harass animals. Don’t ever feed wild animals. The food may be bad for the animal, or it may train the animal to harass humans for food. Most people can immediately see the danger in feeding a grizzly bear, but it’s also a hazard to feed deer, squirrels, or anything else. Rodents will chew through packs, wrist straps, tent walls, and almost anything else that you think might be a barrier. They’re wild animals and they’re used to working hard for food. If they’ve learned that campers have unlimited supplies of granola, nobody will be able to camp there until generations of animals learn that humans are dangerous. Store your food properly at all times. It may be necessary to properly hang your food bag or use an approved bear can to store your food safely. If you have pets, keep them under control at all times. Relying on trained recall is never sufficient; you must use a leash or tie-out of some kind, or simply leave the pets at home.

Doggie goggles keep his eyes safe from harsh alpine sunlight. A pet who is properly leash trained is happy to wear a harness and explore the wilderness alongside its owner.

7. Be considerate of other people. Don’t use a speaker for your music. Don’t be loud after dark. Yield appropriately: small groups of hikers step aside so large groups can pass. Hikers going downhill yield so hikers going uphill don’t lose momentum. All hikers yield to horses and pack animals. It’s often a good idea to ask which side of the trail to stand on because horses are very easily spooked. Lastly, bicyclists yield to everybody. Multi-use trails require a little extra care from everyone involved, but it is ultimately a bicyclist’s responsibility to prevent bicycle accidents.