Raise your hand if you are as excited as I am for the arrival of the sweet days of spring!
The warmer days are sure to draw many of us out of our hibernation holes and onto backroads and trails. Whether you are day hiking just beyond the city limits, or doing a multi-day trek in some remote mountain range, consider these tips to limit your environmental footprint:
Give a hoot!
Litter is a widespread problem in most of the areas that hikers tread. Consider this: it is only since the arrival of non-biodegradable consumer items that the concept of litter has begun to take hold — before, everything was made from biodegradable materials or continuously recycled, and there was no waste. Streamers of used lavatory products and pop cans, plastic bottles, bags and containers on the trailside are a sad reflection on those who would call themselves mountain lovers. The solution is simple and summed up in the often used phrase, “pack it in, pack it out”.
Burn, baby, burn
On the trail, make sure you burn all of your toilet paper or carry it out to the trash cans at the trailhead. Keep a cigarette lighter or some matches in a plastic bag along with your packable toilet paper.
BYOW
Bring your reusable water bottle rather than a plastic one, so you aren’t tempted to shed it when it’s empty. If it’s a multi-day (or you’re a big drinker) consider bringing a water filter or iodine tablets and treating your own drinking water along the way. Mmm, there’s nothing quite like the taste of cold mountain spring water during a challenging hike.
Keep it clean
If you are bathing, washing clothes or washing up in a stream, make sure you use biodegradable soaps so as not to taint the water. Remember, there are animals and sometimes even communities of people downstream that depend on that water being clean!
No bushwacking
Avoid taking shortcuts on steep sections of trail; many others will follow your footsteps. Although your actions may seem minuscule, when several thousand hikers multiply them each year they become significant. Also avoid hiking along small animal runs you see cutting through the underbrush – they are the byways of smaller animals who cannot travel on the larger wildlife paths for risk of exposure to predators.
Mind the greenery
Watch where you tread so that you don’t squash precious plant life and disrupt fragile ecosystems. Also, tempting as it may be, it’s best to leave plants alone so that they can be enjoyed by other passers-by.
Check your pyromania
Yes, campfires are cool, but they should be regarded as a luxury. Don’t ever create a bonfire where a fire pit does not already exist – fires create ugly scars on the ground that take years to fade away and eat up precious natural resources. Campers should always bring a stove and enough fuel to cook with.