Camping Tent vs Tarp Pros and Cons

Outdoor Etiquette and Leave No Trace Principles

Complete Show Notes HERE

There are three main areas to consider when we talk about minding our manners in outdoor environments. We will discuss proper behavior in regards to the landscape, wildlife and other people we encounter.

Links Mentioned in this episode:

Active Travel Adventures podcast (the companion podcast to this one that focuses on destinations)

Hiking in Bear Country Episode 5 of the Adventure Travel Show podcast

What to do if you get lost in the woods Episode 6 of the Adventure Travel Show podcast

American Hiking Society Etiquette Tips

National Park Service Safe Wildlife Viewing Guidelines

Contact Kit

Subscribe to the Active Travel Adventures Podcast

APPEARANCE

• Leave No Trace. Use trash cans when provided, otherwise pack out any trash or belongings. In some areas, if you litter or leave things behind, someone literally has to helicopter it out or else you are asking someone else to pack out your trash - not cool!
• This includes biodegradable food scraps. What’s the problem, you think? Native animals will smell human scents on the scraps and learn to associate humans with food and you might contribute to them becoming pests. Plus you could be messing with their digestion or they might eat rotted food and get sick and/or die. Worse, in the case of bears, you could be responsible for giving that bear a death sentence if they have to put it down.
• This also includes toilet paper. I keep a labeled gallon trash bag in my pack to collect all of my used TP, wrappers, etc.
• Be a Hero and instead of Leave No Trace, practice Negative Trace, meaning pack out trash you see that others have left behind.
• If you have to go to the bathroom in the wild, choose a spot at least 200’ from water, a trail or a campsite. Dig a hole about 6”- 8” deep, and then do your business. If there’s a stick handy, stir your waste with the soil and leaf mold and then cover your hole - remember your TP goes in your trash zip bag. If you are in a camping area, it’s also considerate to leave your stick vertically to alert others that you have used that spot.
• In some areas that are particularly overused and/or especially fragile, you may be required to pack out your fecal waste. This is truly brown bagging. Other areas that don’t get a lot of rain, the rangers may ask you to spread your waste over the rocks so that it speeds up decomposition. Check with rangers or the visitor’s center to see what they would like you to do.
• In addition to Leave No Trace, leave everything you find behind. This means don’t bring back souvenier rocks, flowers, seed pods, etc. I have been guilty of this in the past, but finally realize that we should just bring back photographs and memories.
• Unless it is encouraged, do not make cairns with rocks. Cairns are piles of rocks used sometimes to mark trails. They are pretty and are necessary on some trails. Likewise do not knock over any trail marking cairns. Let Rangers and trail maintenance folks decide what cairns and trail markings need to be there.
• In the same vein, try not to disturb things and leave items in their natural condition, whether it’s rocks or vegetation. Don’t mess around with cultural or historic artifacts, including pencil rubbings of gravestones or markers. In one alpine area I was hiking, they said that the tiny tiny lichen on the rocks took a DECADE to get the size of a quarter! That said, on non-trail tundra, it is better to spread out so as minimize impact.

Trail Sustainability:

• If you come to a puddle, walk or bike through it rather than forming a new trail around it. This is considered keeping trails and maintenance sustainable.
• Likewise, when you come to a switchback, don’t cut corners - literally. This is super bad as you may be creating a channel for rain runoff that can truly hurt the trail.

WILDLIFE

• DO NOT feed wildlife. Not only are you teaching them to beg, you are creating a pest. If animals become dependant on humans feeding them, when tourist season is over, the animals may have difficulty learning how to fend for themselves. You are hurting not helping wild a...