Leave No Trace Practices for 2016

[g00gle]

Leave No Trace Practices

"Take nothing but pictures...
Leave nothing but footprints."


At approximately 2,189 miles, the Appalachian Trail is the longest single unit of the National Park System. With the number of people who enjoy this place each year, the chances are great that any of us may inadvertently damage the natural environment along the Trail and effect the experience for others. These negative effects can be minimized by adopting sound hiking and camping techniques which, while simple to learn, require some committed effort. If we are successful, the Trail will retain its essential natural qualities and continue to be a place where an extraordinary outdoor experience is available. Everyone's help is important. Please do your part by committing to these practices, and encourage others to learn about and adopt these techniques which "Leave No Trace" on the Appalachian Trail. More information on Leave No Trace can be found at www.LNT.org (https://lnt.org/).

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7 Principles



Plan Ahead and Prepare
Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces
Dispose of Waste Properly
Leave What You Find
Minimize Campfire Impacts
Respect Wildlife
Be Considerate of Other Visitors


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PLAN AHEAD AND PREPARE



Check Appalachian Trail (A.T.) guidebooks and maps for guidance and note that camping regulations vary considerably along the Trail.
Travel in groups of 10 or fewer. If you are traveling in a group of more than 5, avoid using shelters, leaving them for lone hikers and smaller groups.
Bring a lightweight trowel or wide tent stake to dig a hole for burying human waste.
Bring a piece of screening to filter food scraps from your dishwater and pack them out with you.
Bring a waterproof bag and at least 50 feet of rope to hang food and other scented articles. Or, carry a bear-resistant food container ("bear canister") to store these items.
Repackage food in re-sealable bags to minimize waste.
Prepare for extreme weather, hazards, and emergencies -- especially the cold -- to avoid impacts from searches, rescues, and campfires.
Learn when areas are most crowded and try to avoid those times. If you are planning a northbound thru-hike, avoid starting on March 1, March 15, the first day of spring, or April 1.


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TRAVEL AND CAMP ON DURABLE SURFACES



Stay on the Trail; never shortcut switchbacks. Take breaks off-trail on durable surfaces, such as rock or grass.
Restrict activities to areas where vegetation is already absent.
Avoid expanding existing trails and campsites by walking in the middle of the trail, and using the already-impacted core areas of campsites.
If tree branches block the trail, move them off if possible, rather than going around and creating new trails.
Wear gaiters and waterproof boots, so you may walk through puddles instead of walking around them and creating a wide spot in the trail.


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DISPOSE OF WASTE PROPERLY



"Pack it in, Pack it out." Don't burn, bury, or leave litter or extra food. This includes cigarette butts, fruit peels, and hygiene articles. Keep your trash bag handy so you can pick up litter left by others.
Use the privy for human waste only (feces). Do not add trash. If there is no privy, dispose of human waste by burying it in a "cat-hole", a hole 6-8 inches deep, 4-6 inches wide and at least 200 feet (80 steps) from campsites, water sources and shelters, and well away from trails. Add dirt to the hole, and stir with a stick to promote decomposition. Push toilet paper to the bottom of the hole, and leave your stick in the hole. Don't hide your waste under a rock -- this slows its decomposition.
Note that most "disposable wipes" are made from non-biodegradable material that must be carried out rather than buried, burned, or left in privies. For those willing to go the extra mile, consider packing out your toilet paper, too. Animals' curiosity often brings toilet paper and other trash to the surface, where it's left for volunteers and other hikers to deal with.
Wash dishes, bodies, and clothing 200 feet away from water sources. Use biodegradable soap sparingly. Avoid polluting the water by rinsing off at a distance to remove your excess sunscreen, bug repellent, etc., before going for a swim in a lake or stream.
Disperse dishwater and toothpaste, and urinate well away (at least 100 feet) from shelters and popular campsites. In this way, wildlife is not attracted close to camp. Animals sometimes defoliate plants to consume the salt in urine, so urinate on rocks or bare ground rather than on the vegetation. Where water is plentiful, consider diluting the urine by adding water to the site.
If you wish to donate items to other hikers (food, extra gear, clothing, books, etc.), don't leave them at shelters -- where they can attract wildlife and become an eyesore -- use the hiker donation boxes at motels and hostels.


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LEAVE WHAT YOU FIND



Leave plants, cultural artifacts and other natural objects where you found them for others to enjoy.
Do not "tag" shelters, signs or trees with graffiti or carvings. Feel free to leave your mark in each shelter's trail register.
Don't build structures or dig trenches around tents.
Do not damage live trees or plants; green wood burns poorly. Collect only firewood that is dead, down, and no larger than your wrist. Leave dead standing trees and dead limbs on standing trees for the wildlife.
Consider using rubber tips on the bottom of your trekking poles to avoid scratch marks on rocks, "clicking" sounds, and leaving holes along the trail.
Avoid introducing or transporting non-native species by checking your boots, socks, packs, tents, and clothing for non-native seeds that you could remove before hitting the trail.


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MINIMIZE CAMPFIRE IMPACTS



Use stoves for cooking -- if you need a fire, build one only where it's legal and in an existing fire ring. Leave hatchets and saws at home -- collect dead and downed wood that you can break by hand. Burn all wood to ash.
Do not try to burn trash, including foil, plastic, glass, cans, tea bags, food, or anything with food on it. These items do not burn thoroughly. They create noxious fumes, attract wildlife like skunks and bears, and make the area unsightly.
Where campfires are permitted, leave the fire ring clean by removing others' trash and scattering unused wood, cold coals, and ashes 200 feet away from camp after the fire is cold and completely out.


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RESPECT WILDLIFE



Bears inhabit or travel through nearly every part of the A.T. Sightings have increased at shelters and campsites and even small food rewards teach bears to associate humans with food. When that happens, they often have to be killed to protect human safety.
Dropped, spilled, or improperly stored food also attracts rodents to shelters. Even a few noodles or pieces of granola are a large meal for mice. Clean up spills completely and pack out all food scraps.
Store your food according to local regulations. Store all food, trash, and scented articles (toothpaste, sunscreen, insect repellent, water purification chemicals, balm, etc.) out of reach of bears and other animals. A safe distance is 12 feet from the ground and 6 feet from a limb or trunk.
Protect wildlife by keeping a respectful distance so as not to cause a change in their behavior. If you are hiking with a dog, keep it on a short leash. Do not follow or approach animals. Particularly avoid wildlife during sensitive times, i.e., when mating, nesting, raising young, or during winter.


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Be CONSIDERATE OF OTHER VISITORS



Let nature's sounds prevail. Respect others by keeping loud voices and noise to a minimum. Do not use cell phones or audio equipment within sight or sound of other hikers, and turn ringers off.
A.T. shelter space is available on a first-come, first-served basis in most (but not all) areas regardless of the type of hiker or length of their hike.
Limit-of-stay is generally two nights at any one shelter or campsite.
If you are hiking with a dog, be aware of its potential impact on animals and other hikers. Keep your dog leashed and under control at all times, and learn where dogs are prohibited. Ask permission of other hikers before bringing your dog into a shelter. If you find the shelter is crowded, be considerate and tent with your dog. Keep your dog away from springs and other drinking water sources. Bury your dog's waste as you would your own.


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Re-posted from: ATC - Leave No Trace Practices (http://www.appalachiantrail.org/hiking/hiking-basics/leave-no-trace-practices)

[Traveler]

Thanks for the reminder on this, there are always new people coming into this activity and dusting this off for some of the experienced folks is never a bad idea.

[Majortrauma]

"Consider using rubber tips on the bottom of your trekking poles to avoid scratch marks on rocks, "clicking" sounds, and leaving holes along the trail." Seriously??? Why not add soleless boots/shoes so we don't leave and treadmarks? Some of this is a bit over the top. I don't deliberately try to screw up the trail by leaving some trace at every possible location I stop but honeslty, the earth is far more resilient than we give it credit for. I've seen hikers get totally bent out of shape for someone else dropping sunflower seed shells. Totally crazy.

[lemon b]

Thank you !! Leave no trace is progressive. We learn from our mistakes. When I went from Ga. to Front Royal in 1978 my biggest error in LNT was excess campfires and just camping where ever I happened to be when tired or in need of a dry out. Do not even think the term LNT was around back than but we all had a respect for nature, but keeping her the way she was has been a life long learning process. Find we do get more bees with honey in this area. Biggest problems always being trail heads which too many non hikers use as rest areas.

[daddytwosticks]

"Consider using rubber tips on the bottom of your trekking poles to avoid scratch marks on rocks, "clicking" sounds, and leaving holes along the trail." Seriously??? Why not add soleless boots/shoes so we don't leave and treadmarks? Some of this is a bit over the top. I don't deliberately try to screw up the trail by leaving some trace at every possible location I stop but honeslty, the earth is far more resilient than we give it credit for. I've seen hikers get totally bent out of shape for someone else dropping sunflower seed shells. Totally crazy.



True. There was once a very long thread here on Whiteblaze hammering a guy who wanted to heap a pile of leaves under his tent for extra padding/insulation. :)

[Odd Man Out]

I posted a question about this several years ago and it started a rather long but surprisingly constructive and thoughtful debate.

http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php/59222-How-Little-Trace-Do-You-Leave-Behind?p=975225&viewfull=1#post975225

[Odd Man Out]

I posted a question about this several years ago and it started a rather long but surprisingly constructive and thoughtful debate.

http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php/59222-How-Little-Trace-Do-You-Leave-Behind?p=975225&viewfull=1#post975225

If you don't want to read the whole thread here are my concluding observations.

http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php/59222-How-Little-Trace-Do-You-Leave-Behind?p=976581&viewfull=1#post976581

[The Cleaner]

The rubber tip deal is bogus.I've found several along the trail as the mud & muck sucks them off.My Leki instruction card said that they are for use on hard surfaces.I even find the small basket tip to prevent your poles from going too deep in mud and soft soils also laying around too.Here's a pick of how well LNT works at Jerry's Cabin shelter.I packed out 8lbs. of trash from there yesterday.31575

[BirdBrain]

Plan Ahead and Prepare


Adherence to that one item would do more to solve so many problem than any other possible thought. Alas, it is in complete opposition to the spirit so many carry with them on the trail. I do not want to start a fight. However, I could go over the debates of this year and show how every single one of them could be avoided with proper planning and preparation. It is absolute crap that the best way to have a successful hike is to just wing it. That attitude causes damage to the trail, causes damage to your body, reduces the odds of completion, causes many emergencies, and is the main contributor to friction with all that is around you as you walk thru. Plan ahead. Learn about the obstacles and rules ahead of you. Have a successful stress free walk that is in harmony with all that you encounter.

[dzierzak]

""Consider using rubber tips on the bottom of your trekking poles to avoid scratch marks on rocks, "clicking" sounds, and leaving holes along the trail." Seriously???"

Seriously. The spike tip do more damage, especially to the "critical" (outside/downhill) edge of trails. No pictures, but I've seen trails that have been poked to pieces by those spike tips. I've been using rubber tips for 8-9 years and have only lost 2.

[Sarcasm the elf]

"Consider using rubber tips on the bottom of your trekking poles to avoid scratch marks on rocks, "clicking" sounds, and leaving holes along the trail." Seriously??? Why not add soleless boots/shoes so we don't leave and treadmarks? Some of this is a bit over the top. I don't deliberately try to screw up the trail by leaving some trace at every possible location I stop but honeslty, the earth is far more resilient than we give it credit for. I've seen hikers get totally bent out of shape for someone else dropping sunflower seed shells. Totally crazy.



Agreed, it really is a shame to me that when I see the term LNT being discussed, it is rarely about the big stuff that we all agree on and instead is often about the pedantic nonsense that people like to browbeat about. I couldn't care less if someone uses carbide hiking pole tips (you know, the kind that actually provide traction and reduce the number of injuries and rescues on the trail) and I absolutely don't care if someone discretely disposes of coffee grounds, orange peels or sunflower seeds. I do care if people cut live trees, litter non-biodegradable items, crap on the ground, vandalize shelters or make fires irresponsibly, these are the sort of things we should be focusing on.

[dzierzak]

Kinda like preaching to the choir. I guess we tend to nit-pick because we've gotten past all the big stuff. ;) And, the big stuff is usually done by those who have no clue and would likely ignore the discussion anyway...

[Another Kevin]

I couldn't care less if someone uses carbide hiking pole tips (you know, the kind that actually provide traction and reduce the number of injuries and rescues on the trail) and I absolutely don't care if someone discretely disposes of coffee grounds, orange peels or sunflower seeds.

As you've observed to me in person, people who complain about pole scratches in rock have not hiked in winter. I'm certain that I've left much deeper and more persistent scratches with crampons than with poles. I'm not putting my life at risk going without crampons and ice axe!

[g00gle]

Plan Ahead and Prepare


Adherence to that one item would do more to solve so many problem than any other possible thought. Alas, it is in complete opposition to the spirit so many carry with them on the trail. I do not want to start a fight. However, I could go over the debates of this year and show how every single one of them could be avoided with proper planning and preparation. It is absolute crap that the best way to have a successful hike is to just wing it. That attitude causes damage to the trail, causes damage to your body, reduces the odds of completion, causes many emergencies, and is the main contributor to friction with all that is around you as you walk thru. Plan ahead. Learn about the obstacles and rules ahead of you. Have a successful stress free walk that is in harmony with all that you encounter.

THIS!!! :clap

[Another Kevin]

Plan Ahead and Prepare


Adherence to that one item would do more to solve so many problem than any other possible thought.
Preach it, brother!
Failing to plan is planning to fail.

[BirdBrain]

Plan Ahead and Prepare


Adherence to that one item would do more to solve so many problem than any other possible thought. Alas, it is in complete opposition to the spirit so many carry with them on the trail. I do not want to start a fight. However, I could go over the debates of this year and show how every single one of them could be avoided with proper planning and preparation. It is absolute crap that the best way to have a successful hike is to just wing it. That attitude causes damage to the trail, causes damage to your body, reduces the odds of completion, causes many emergencies, and is the main contributor to friction with all that is around you as you walk thru. Plan ahead. Learn about the obstacles and rules ahead of you. Have a successful stress free walk that is in harmony with all that you encounter.

I expected some blowback. Therefore, I will man up and provide it myself. I have OCD. I can tell you within a few miles where I will be a month in advance on a hike. I make absurdly detailed plans. I have never fallen short of a mark or had a surprise due to lack of planning on the trail. No normal or reasonable person would do what I do. I study traffic patterns in theme parks to maximize the odds of experiencing the best events. This is an unreasonable burden to expect any normal person to conform to. It is normal to want there to be a degree of discovery while hiking. It is normal to decide how far to travel during the day. I never do that. I know exactly where I am going and I go there. I miss the spontaneous moments. The normal person misses a ton of vistas that are just off the trail. I see them all. They are often unmarked and require a great deal of study to even know that they are there. The view of Katahdin from the south end of Rainbow Lake in the 100 mile wilderness is a prime example. It should not be missed. Almost everyone misses it. There is often many right ways to do things. My way is not right for most. I appreciate the understanding from those that know me. My propensities could easily invalidate my point. I am glad that people see the main point that a framework of planning is necessary for a successful hike. What I do is just silly... and I am going to continue to do it.

[Another Kevin]

I expected some blowback. Therefore, I will man up and provide it myself. I have OCD. I can tell you within a few miles where I will be a month in advance on a hike. I make absurdly detailed plans. I have never fallen short of a mark or had a surprise due to lack of planning on the trail
.....
What I do is just silly... and I am going to continue to do it.

I guess what I do is planned spontaneity.

I'm accustomed to doing quite detailed safety plans, itineraries, and supply plans.

Typically, they are overambitious: "this is the most that I will attempt." As often as not, I fall short of them. I never exceed them. I also document my planned alternative exit routes. A minor illness, injury, or simple slow progress may cause me to divert, or turn back, but the diversions and retreats are virtual always in the plan as alternatives.

About the only exception is bushwhacks, or remote and little-used trails, where I do not have reliable advance information regarding current conditions. I've been a day late getting back from one of th0se trips simply because of unexpected slow going in blackberries, nettles, dense spruce, extensive blowdown and ledgy terrain. The possibility of delay was anticipated - I had supplies and equipment to spend an extra night out, and my wife was instructed NOT to call the authorities until I was 48 hours late reporting.

I have my share of spontaneous moments, but they ordinarily do not require extensive deviation from the route. They may require slowing down and doing less of it. I recognize that some of my secondary activities, such as photography and data collection for mapmaking, can be unpredictable consumers of time, and therefore I plan for a certain amount of unpredictable time - in that I can predict that it will be needed, but not necessarily precisely where or when.

And yes, there are fine unblazed overlooks, archaeological sites, swimming holes and other attractions that advance research about a planned trip can discover.

I do not think that I could predict where I would be on a month-long hike the way that you claim. I'm a weekender, clueless about long-distance hiking. I do not think I can predict well what speed I could sustain over the long haul. It would be a race between the damage I would do to myself by hiking while in 'weekend warrior' condition, and the speed that I would gain from the forced conditioning, and I have little idea which would win. I suppose that if I survived a month on trail, I would be in better physical shape than I have been in forty years, but have no idea how that would translate to speed, or how much time I might lose to injury.

[BirdBrain]

Just finished a 9 day walk over the remaining 15 of NH 48. You would chuckle to see the notes I left for my wife (who went with me to every start and picked me up at every finish). I gave estimates of times for every hill. I was rarely off by more than 30 minutes. Prior to the trip, peakbagger wish me well and hoped I could string 9 days of good weather together. I did. Some day I would love to relay my Isolation hike in person as it pertains to his hope. I will say this much. It is a running joke in my family. For over a decade weather has not been a limiting factor in any vacation I have taken, be it hiking, fishing, camping, or sailing. Some would call it crap luck. I would not argue. I am thankful regardless.

[g00gle]

Failing to plan is planning to fail.

I just said this to someone the other day in reference to the trail. :)


I am glad that people see the main point that a framework of planning is necessary for a successful hike. What I do is just silly... and I am going to continue to do it.

What you do may seem a little extreme to some, but in comparison doing nothing to plan is just silly, IMHO. Plans for most of us should serve as the framework you mentioned. Nothing to be relied upon too heavily (unless it's someone like yourself that can manage a plan that will actually come to fruition) but something to guide you, something to provide a vision of your overall goal. My boxing coach used to tell me, "Everyone's got a plan until they get hit." Which was his way of warning not to get married to your plan. But he was also quick to follow that up with, "But the man without a plan is usually the one that gets carried out of the ring." And that seems to hold true for most any other endeavor in life.

Perfect example: Kevin may not be able to keep to a timetable, yet his depth of contingency planning provides for an awareness of his surroundings, safe ways to return home, and might even someday save countless dollars and man-hours for some SAR team if he did wind up in a situation that cost him an extra day or so. Compare that to the person who just wings it and all the chaos that ensues when something untoward actually does occur.

We don't all have to plan to like BirdBrain (nor could most of us probably pull it off such a plan as meticulously), however, attempting to plan mileage and meals properly might find a few lost souls NOT leaving a week of food behind in a shelter or some other lost soul running out of food because they didn't realize that extra 2,000 feet of elevation was going to add another hour or better to their schedule, possibly costing them a day without food. Heck, even bothering to just read some of the Gear posts on WB might prevent someone from taking all the extra crap that they'll probably leave at the first shelter they find.

Some kind of plan beats no plan, any day of the week.

And for the record, I don't actually give much thought to scraping up rocks. THEY ARE ROCKS, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! I'm far more concerned with trampling vegetation that may never recover from my imprint or disturbing top soil at high-elevations (something that could actually have deleterious effects years after I've been there.) But, LNT is a great ideal to aspire to, whether we are all 100% or not. And a huge part of that is PLANNING.

[g00gle]

Cosmo just posted a link ( http://whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php/113334-Don-t-Be-That-Guy ) in another thread to some great LNT videos.

[evan_rolltide]

Sunflower seeds all over the trail for miles annoys me as well.

Orange peels on the trail are the same way. These things may not bother you, but just like any food trash they habituate bears to the trail. To me they are an eye sore.

[Wildfang]

Thanks for sharing. It's always good to be reminded of LNT especially with all the news about it recently.

[Pedaling Fool]

Did you all know this is the International Year of soils, so designated by the UN. I didn't know...but found out as I was reading the below article about earth worms, which I basically raise. I don't raise them in bins, rather I've turned my yard into a habitat for worms and many other soil organisms by reducing large amounts of grass -- replaced by mulch.

This is also why I don't worry about burying stuff out on the trail, including left over food debris and even paper trash. Too many other hikers always preaching LNT (Leave No Trace) principles, but I leave (bury) the "trash" out there -- Always thinking of the soil organisms.http://www.idigmygarden.com/forums/images/smilies/smile.gif

P.S. The soil organisms especially love orange peels and shells of the sunflower seed.:p

Interesting quote from the article:

"What Leonardo da Vinci said some 500 years ago is still true today: “We know more about the movement of celestial bodies than about the soil underfoot.”



http://cen.acs.org/articles/93/i41/Night-Crawler-Chemistry.html



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[nsherry61]

You guys are all crazy. When I'm on my own, I just go. Heck, at times I don't even know what trailhead I'm going to start at. I study maps and read about hikes and trails and areas of interest and play with gear in my spare time, all of which informs decisions, and keeps me aware of what to expect with various options. But, other than figuring out enough of a plan to leave my wife a rough set of possible itineraries, I just go. Earlier this year, doing a 4-day, 50 mile Adirondack hike with one of my sons, we "planned" our menu in the car and at the grocery store on the way to the trailhead and packed and portioned our food on the trunk of my car at the trailhead. For multi-day trips, I generally use a generic packing list to make sure I don't forget anything when I am packing the night before I leave.

Now, as long as I bring appropriate gear and am appropriately educated and skilled, I'm at a loss as to how more planning can, in any way, reduce my impact. Heck, with less planning (or at least flexible planning), I can hike a different hike from the one I originally thought I was going to do if the the trailhead is crowed with people/cars.

[Starchild]

You guys are all crazy. When I'm on my own, I just go. Heck, at times I don't even know what trailhead I'm going to start at. I study maps and read about hikes and trails and areas of interest and play with gear in my spare time, all of which informs decisions, and keeps me aware of what to expect with various options. But, other than figuring out enough of a plan to leave my wife a rough set of possible itineraries, I just go. Earlier this year, doing a 4-day, 50 mile Adirondack hike with one of my sons, we "planned" our menu in the car and at the grocery store on the way to the trailhead and packed and portioned our food on the trunk of my car at the trailhead. For multi-day trips, I generally use a generic packing list to make sure I don't forget anything when I am packing the night before I leave.

Now, as long as I bring appropriate gear and am appropriately educated and skilled, I'm at a loss as to how more planning can, in any way, reduce my impact. Heck, with less planning (or at least flexible planning), I can hike a different hike from the one I originally thought I was going to do if the the trailhead is crowed with people/cars.

But you spent a lifetime preparing to do that type of hiking, so you did plan ahead and prepare.

LNT is a guideline which does give instructions at a very basic level so those without such experience can have a safe hike with little impact. It is presented at a entry level, but there are many more levels, and the guidelines change depending on the activity, as such LNT from hunting allows travel off trail.

What you are doing is beyond a standard backpack, sort of a open itinerary, but with the skills to do it, which LNT does not have a specific card for that I can find, but it is certainly within the scope of LNT.

[Slo-go'en]

P.S. The soil organisms especially love orange peels and shells of the sunflower seed.:p
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Sunflower seed shells okay - orange or banana peels NO. These peels would have to be aggressively composted to break down and even then it takes a long time.

[Uriah]

To play devil's advocate: Leave No Trace is a provincially-minded organization, worrying about the aesthetics of the "natural world," but choosing to avoid the suffocating elephant in the room. Case in point: the organization drives polluting automobiles ("up to 26mpg!") to promote their message. Hypocrisy at its finest. Keep our woods clean, they tell us, but it's okay to drive to get to those woods! And it's okay to paint our vehicles from bumper to bumper to advertise that message. And it's okay to install huge wooden and plastic signs at the trailheads, as often observed here in Colorado.

The environmental impact of a banana peel or some sunflower shells pale in comparison to the effects of an automobile's exhaust, and exhaust is what's doing the most damage to our way of life. (The planet, of course, has been through much worse than mankind and shall rebound from us nicely, in its own sweet time.) Is this physical litter ugly? Sure. But as more people flock to the woods and deserts and mountains for an escape from our overstocked cities, we're going to see more of it. LNT is fighting a losing battle, I'm afraid. (I suppose I'm glad they're fighting it; it can't hurt, but I won't be donating to them.)

There's some serious irony in the aforementioned, that if you want to commit suicide in a pain-free manner, you can simply park your car in your garage and go to sleep in it while it's running! And yet we humans won't curtail our driving habits, for we set the world up this way.

Leaving no trace is a good and basic thing of course, but it's really nothing more than a fine example of the ol' NIMBY attitude: Not In My BackYard. Until we look at the BIG picture, we're going to continue falling into deeper and deeper trouble. But be sure not to slip on those banana peels!

[Pedaling Fool]

Sunflower seed shells okay - orange or banana peels NO. These peels would have to be aggressively composted to break down and even then it takes a long time.
Aggressively composted....What's that mean? Just because something takes a long time to decompose means nothing about its positive/negative effects on the environment. Those things don't last long in my yard...You want to talk about things the that last long...egg shells, wood, thick cardboard, carrots....

P.S. I'm guessing by aggressively composted, you probably mean composting with high heat, but most composting in nature doesn't happen this way. There is nothing special to composting vs. regular decomposition, despite what many avid composters will tell you.

[nsherry61]

Can we please just all try not to leave anything along the trail that the people behind you have to look at, that includes sunflower seed shells, bannana peals, orange peals, TP, etc. If it's biodegradable, and you want to leave it behind, make sure to hide it really well. It is almost as ugly seeing sunflower seeds spit out along the trail as it is to see toilet paper blooms. They are both biodegradable litter with human fluids or other waste smeared on them and they are gross. Keep them hidden and well away from where anyone will find them PLEASE!

[Cosmo]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?list=PLuekIhaoBuWZ0c4R2jd3RE4PgjDwg9NOp&feature=youtu.be&v=rO7V3UayreE#

Cosmo

[Old Hiker]

With all due respect and please disregard my basic nasty, cynical nature:
Those of us who know this already do this.
Those few who do not will be open-minded and start.
The rest will not care and will continue to do as they want.

[Pedaling Fool]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?list=PLuekIhaoBuWZ0c4R2jd3RE4PgjDwg9NOp&feature=youtu.be&v=rO7V3UayreE#

Cosmo
The video in part 2 showed the girl packing out TP:rolleyes: Do people pack out TP when using a privy (according to LNT)? I don't see the rationale of it being ok to leave TP in a privy, but not in a cathole.


P.S. That's as far as I got (part 2) in the series, will try really hard, later, to watch all of them...

[4eyedbuzzard]

I find the LNT concept quite interesting in the sense that the trail itself leaves, or simply is, quite a big trace by its very existence. Plant growth is constantly trimmed, trees are cut down, rocks uprooted and piled up, bridges and plank walks are built, water bars built, shelters and privies built, signs erected, fire rings established, etc.

It's all a man made thing.

Now, when it comes to littering, I agree completely with the pack it in - pack it out philosophy. And that includes knowing how to cover one's excrement, or packing it out in alpine areas where mandated.

But the AT and most other hiking trails just aren't pristine wilderness. By their very nature, they never were planned to be. They are improved trail systems for human recreational use. We impact the areas they go thru by our very presence, even if all we leave is footprints. The degree to which lug soles, pole tips, etc., leave a trace is just part of the compromise we make to not bushwhack through the woods to go on a hike and get a little closer to nature or the illusion of wilderness.

[Cosmo]

I find the LNT concept quite interesting in the sense that the trail itself leaves, or simply is, quite a big trace by its very existence. Plant growth is constantly trimmed, trees are cut down, rocks uprooted and piled up, bridges and plank walks are built, water bars built, shelters and privies built, signs erected, fire rings established, etc.

It's all a man made thing.

Now, when it comes to littering, I agree completely with the pack it in - pack it out philosophy. And that includes knowing how to cover one's excrement, or packing it out in alpine areas where mandated.

But the AT and most other hiking trails just aren't pristine wilderness. By their very nature, they never were planned to be. They are improved trail systems for human recreational use. We impact the areas they go thru by our very presence, even if all we leave is footprints. The degree to which lug soles, pole tips, etc., leave a trace is just part of the compromise we make to not bushwhack through the woods to go on a hike and get a little closer to nature or the illusion of wilderness.

Here's the thing. When we make a trail, we do so (as you say above) to limit impacts to the resource (instead of 2000 hikers making their own way north from Springer, we concentrate their impacts onto a single treadway--theoretically, at least, routed and constructed in a way that reduces the physical damage to the minimum--and stays on public lands). In terms of LNT, the real impacts are not from hiking on the treadway, they come when people stop and enjoy a view, camp or discharge waste. If everyone creates their own campsite, privy or trail to a viewpoint--without regard to sustainable surfaces and slopes, water sources or other fragile environments, then the impacts widen and become more severe with repeated use. Very few of us, myself included, can exist in the backcountry w/o modifying the natural setting. When thousands (or even 10's) of us do it without regard to protecting and preserving an area, then it just turns into a mess that stops looking like nature. Practicing good LNT methods reduces individual impacts which in turn (if performed by the majority of users) reduces the total amount of resource destruction.

Anyone who has hiked and camped on the AT in GA in March and April can't help but be aware of what happens when large numbers of people without good LNT practices use (and overuse) the same campsites day after day. Frankly, I'm not sure it's recoverable there, but why make it worse? These techniques are not that hard to learn or perform. For more of my own thoughts see http://appalachiantrials.com/why-leave-no-trace-matters/

Cosmo

[Pedaling Fool]

Anyone who has hiked and camped on the AT in GA in March and April can't help but be aware of what happens when large numbers of people without good LNT practices use (and overuse) the same campsites day after day. Frankly, I'm not sure it's recoverable there, but why make it worse? These techniques are not that hard to learn or perform. For more of my own thoughts see http://appalachiantrials.com/why-leave-no-trace-matters/

CosmoYou're not sure if it's recoverable? Of course it's recoverable, what exactly wouldn't be recoverable?

[BirdBrain]

You're not sure if it's recoverable? Of course it's recoverable, what exactly wouldn't be recoverable?

Is debating the possibility of what could happen as important as the reality of what is happening?

@ Cosmo. You have to be very careful in your wording. We major on the minors and minor on the majors here. Those that try to make a serious point are labeled as melodramatic by those that think they are making witty and/or pithy posts. The more verbose you are, the more likely someone will find a word or phrase that can be used to distract from the valid points you are making.

"If My Grandmother Had Wheels She’d Be A Trolley Car." Yes it is possible to recover from the damage being done. However, there are so many "ifs" in the conditional logic that my grandmother has a greater chance of becoming a trolley car than the damage being done has of being corrected. The condition will remain as long as people comfort themselves with thoughts that even the most damaged areas are not suffering permanent damage. There is no hope of the nose of the camel getting under the tent when a camel and tent are not allowed in the same universe.

There. That should provide enough words to comfort those that wish to remain the problem.

[Pedaling Fool]

Is debating the possibility of what could happen as important as the reality of what is happening?

@ Cosmo. You have to be very careful in your wording. We major on the minors and minor on the majors here. Those that try to make a serious point are labeled as melodramatic by those that think they are making witty and/or pithy posts. The more verbose you are, the more likely someone will find a word or phrase that can be used to distract from the valid points you are making.

"If My Grandmother Had Wheels She’d Be A Trolley Car." Yes it is possible to recover from the damage being done. However, there are so many "ifs" in the conditional logic that my grandmother has a greater chance of becoming a trolley car than the damage being done has of being corrected. The condition will remain as long as people comfort themselves with thoughts that even the most damaged areas are not suffering permanent damage. There is no hope of the nose of the camel getting under the tent when a camel and tent are not allowed in the same universe.

There. That should provide enough words to comfort those that wish to remain the problem.No, it's just a simple fact that the impact to the camping sites are marginal in the big picture. Probably the biggest impact would be the privies, because of the extreme concentration of human waste. How much of an impact I don't know, but that would be an interesting question to answer.

We focus way too much on aesthetics; that is what much of LNT is all about, it's silly. Aesthetics does not equal natural.

BTW, I totally agree with the bulk of LNT, meaning simply to pack in and pack out. However, it gets silly when people start making this a contest on who can have less "impact" and start doing stupid things, like in part 2 of the video and pack out TP. You can make an argument that your waste is far more destructive than your TP, which is basically very much similar to leaves on the ground.

[4eyedbuzzard]

...
Anyone who has hiked and camped on the AT in GA in March and April can't help but be aware of what happens when large numbers of people without good LNT practices use (and overuse) the same campsites day after day. Frankly, I'm not sure it's recoverable there, but why make it worse... If you reroute a section of trail today, within a few years you likely wouldn't be able to tell a trail ever existed there. Structures would take a little more time to be consumed, but even they will fall to the forest. Nature recovers from minor things like trails extremely quickly. Eventually, it will even recover from humans. ;)

[Lnj]

If you reroute a section of trail today, within a few years you likely wouldn't be able to tell a trail ever existed there. Structures would take a little more time to be consumed, but even they will fall to the forest. Nature recovers from minor things like trails extremely quickly. Eventually, it will even recover from humans. ;)

This is a true statement.

[perdidochas]

Sunflower seeds all over the trail for miles annoys me as well.

Orange peels on the trail are the same way. These things may not bother you, but just like any food trash they habituate bears to the trail. To me they are an eye sore.

Sunflower seed hulls and orange peels are different things. I would have no problem seeing the first and I doubt it would attract bears. The second is food trash, and would attract bears.

[Another Kevin]

Aggressively composted....What's that mean? Just because something takes a long time to decompose means nothing about its positive/negative effects on the environment. Those things don't last long in my yard...You want to talk about things the that last long...egg shells, wood, thick cardboard, carrots....

P.S. I'm guessing by aggressively composted, you probably mean composting with high heat, but most composting in nature doesn't happen this way. There is nothing special to composting vs. regular decomposition, despite what many avid composters will tell you.

Except that a good hot compost is much better at killing off the weed seeds that always seem to be in my garden waste.

[Pedaling Fool]

Some people just don't care, it's a global phenomenon and I don't understand the mindset, but training does little to fix it. Extraordinary pictures of people just dumping stuff.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3385889/From-old-radios-CAR-Paris-city-chiefs-drain-iconic-canal-time-15-years-uncover-host-discarded-debris.html

Excerpt:


The deputy mayor in charge of the environment, Celia Blauel, beseeched Parisians to respect the canal once its makeover is finished.‘If everyone mucks in and avoids throwing anything in the water, we might be able to swim in the canal in a few years, as in numerous other European cities,’ she told Le Parisien.