Earth Week: Mind Your Outdoor Manners

By Carl Stanfield

(Carl Stanfield, manager of our Inverness store, graduated from Brevard College with a degree in Wilderness Leadership and Experiential Education. He has accumulated about 5,000 miles of backpacking experience, thru-hiking the Appalachian and Pacific Crest trails. he is also a certified Leave No Trace educator.)

Happy Earth Day from all of us at Alabama Outdoors! In the spirit of this mindful time of year and the beautiful weather that is beginning to take hold, it seems like an excellent time to take a look at our “outdoor manners.”

The most widely accepted and practiced standard of ethics in the great outdoors is presented to us by an organization called “Leave No Trace.” The Leave No Trace (LNT) Center for Outdoor Ethics suggests seven basic principles to practice in the outdoors to minimize our environmental impact. Notably, these are outdoor ethics, not outdoor rules. That means that these are the ideal and suggested behaviors one would take into the backcountry, but their distinction from rules means that they aren’t technically enforced.

 All the same, it is important that we learn and practice these principles in order to keep the open areas we love to visit protected and undisturbed. In this article, we’ll run through a quick overview of each principle and how to practice them, but for a more thorough understanding of Leave No Trace Ethics, check out the website at www.lnt.org.

Plan ahead and prepare

Appalachian-Trail-overlook-North-CarolinaWhether going out for a week-long backpacking trip or just heading to a local trail for an afternoon hike, it is always important to adequately prepare and have a plan. No matter what duration one plans on going out for, it is important to tell somebody else what the plan is before going.

If disaster strikes, one of the most important components of a potential rescue is knowing what a person’s plans are. Another part of preparation is researching an area before even going. Is a permit needed for camping? If so, do they take cash or do you have to buy one online before getting there? Is there a fee to get into the park? Is the area dog-friendly? All state and national parks have excellent resources available online to help you learn what you need to know before you even step out of your car in their parking lot.

Travel and camp on durable surfaces

tent-campingThis principle helps limit erosion that can severely damage ecosystems we love spending time in.

Any time a hiker takes a shortcut down a hill off-trail or even skirts around a mud puddle, the hiker leaves a mark. When the next hiker comes up and sees that somebody else has already done that, they’re more likely to do the same.

Eventually, this can widen a trail or even create a new trail completely, unnecessarily disrupting the natural environment. So stay on the trail and stomp on through those mud puddles!

Dispose of waste properly

Different outdoor areas can have different rules, but it is NEVER okay to leave trash behind in the outdoors. Some places may provide trash cans or some may even ask guests to pack out all of their own trash. leave-no-trace-food-waste A common misconception is that it is okay to leave behind trash in a fire pit, but even that can disrupt the natural environment. It may attract animals and desensitize them to people, emboldening them to get dangerously close.

In many areas, it is best practice to hang our food in a tree or even keep it in a bear canister overnight so animals can’t get to it while you’re sleeping. It’s also good to know how to properly dispose of the waste that your body creates.

Make sure that your liquid waste is expelled off-trail away from a water source, and if you have to leave behind solid waste, the LNT guidelines suggest walking 200 feet from the trail and water source, then digging a cathole 6-8 inches deep. If you plan on doing this, make sure you bring a trowel and toilet paper!

Leave what you find

In order to preserve our natural environments, it is always best to leave them as we find them, no matter how tempting it can be to do otherwise. It may not seem like much harm to pick a single flower from a wilderness area, and if that were really all that was happening, it wouldn’t be. But when everybody that comes through has that thought and every visitor takes one flower, eventually there are none left for other visitors to enjoy, nor any for the insects to pollinate, and the entire ecosystem can be affected.

All of the ecosystems that we encounter on this planet are extremely intricate, perfect in their own ways. When humans come in and gradually disrupt them, no matter how small the disruptions may seem, the entire systems can completely fall apart. A good rule of thumb for our time in nature: “Take only pictures, leave only footprints.”

Minimize campfire impacts

Campfires can be one of the most fun and ambiance-creating elements of a great night of camping. campfire-carl-LNTPoorly managed, they can also be one of the most destructive and hazardous activities we can do in the outdoors, so it is crucial we know what we’re doing if we’re going to make a fire at all. (Sometimes it’s best not to!) 

When deciding to build a fire, it is ideal to use an already established campfire ring. Creating a new one leaves a significant and unnecessary mark on the land. When collecting wood, only use wood that is already dead and ideally fallen. Even when stripping limbs off of dead trees, be mindful that a dead tree could be a wildlife habitat. Wood that you’re going to burn should be no larger in diameter than an adult wrist and can be broken with the hands.

Finally, it is crucial to be extremely thorough when putting out the fire. Burn all firewood used to ashes, then soak with water until cool to the touch. Finally, scatter the remains over a large area away from camp.

Respect wildlife

For our own safety and the safety of animals, it’s important to keep a respectful space between ourselves and wildlife. wildlife-on-trailAnimals should have a natural and healthy fear of humans to keep them from getting too curious and as a result too close to people. We should never pet or chase wildlife.

Even feeding wildlife can be harmful to them, as it ultimately habituates them to relying on people for food and opting to approach humans for food rather than foraging or hunting for it naturally. When larger animals like bears get to this level of comfort with humans, they, unfortunately, are usually put down as they are too great of a threat to human lives.

Keeping a healthy distance between ourselves and wildlife allows them to continue their way of life and gives us the opportunity to continue to observe and marvel at them for years to come.

Be considerate of other visitors 

Most people are looking for an escape to the natural world when they head to an outdoor environment. It is our job as good stewards and LNT practitioners to provide that by minimizing disruptive activities.

LNT-respect-othersWe can do this by wearing headphones instead of blasting music through a speaker, keeping pets on leashes, and keeping voices at an appropriate level. It is also important to know good hiker etiquette. Hikers are to yield to mountain bikers and horseback riders. Downhill hikers are to yield to uphill hikers so the hikers working the hardest (uphill) don’t lose their momentum.

The LNT website reports that as many as nine out of 10 people that spend time outdoors are unaware of the impacts they have. By learning these principles and teaching others by example, we can help change the world for the better by keeping nature wild. This Earth Week, if you do go outside, make sure to practice these ethics and become a better steward of this beautiful and wild planet we are all a part of.

Cheers!

Ready to be outdoors this Spring? We have the Spring outdoor gear you need to get you back on the trails! We want everyone to enjoy the outdoors, and we work to build loyalty one connection at a time. Visit one of our stores or take advantage of our shipping or curbside pickup! #BeOutdoors