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.

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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

[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/show...l=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/show...l=1#post975225

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

http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/show...l=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.039.JPG

[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!!!

[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/showthre...-t-Be-That-Guy ) in another thread to some great LNT videos.