Leave no trace game

[Tuney]

As a Leave No Trace Advocate for minimizing our recreational impacts on heavily visited natural resources, I want to use my Hike this year to help spread the word about making ethical decisions minimizing our impact on the trail. It's not about the rules, It's all about doing the best we can based on the situation that we find ourselves in.

So, I have come up with a game to play with the hikers I meet on the trail. Here's how it goes. I have a supply of Leave No Trace Match Books that were printed by the Georgia Appalachian Trail Club; every hiker needs a match. If you meet me on the trail, I will give you a match book. Then if you send me a photo of yourself with the Match Book cover standing either at the sign on the top of Katahdin or by the bronze plaque on the top of Springer Mountain, I will post your photo in a gallery on Facebook, and in my trail journal, and I will send you a Leave No Trace Patch. The only catch is that I must receive your photo before 12/31/2011.

You can learn more about Leave No Trace Outdoor Ethics at http://lnt.org

[Helios]

I'm heading up the Approach Trail March 9th and will be looking for my match book!

[Slo-go'en]

Just leave them at shelters




Just kidding! Would be kinda ironic to find one at a shelter, eh?

[Tuney]

Here's a hint. I'll be starting south from Kent CT around April 19. You can look for me in VA probably in May or June.

[Lone Wolf]

a Bic lighter would be a helluva lot more useful. nobody uses matches

[JustaTouron]

I bet at least a few of these wind up becoming litter.

[JAK]

It does seem a little twisted, but so is leave no trace.

[JAK]

I wonder though, if matches have less environmental impact than bic lighters.
Not sure.

[harryfred]

a Bic lighter would be a helluva lot more useful. nobody uses matches

Your wrong I do.

[JAK]

http://planetgreen.discovery.com/hom...h-matches.html

It does appears that matches are more sustainable. If that was the point, it is nice to see the LNT folks thinking about sustainability more globally, rather than being too narrow in their focus.

Was that the message? If so, kudos.

[JustaTouron]

I wonder though, if matches have less environmental impact than bic lighters.
Not sure.

Alcholo vs canister stoves debate -- check

mail drops vs grocery stoves debate -- check

down vs. synthetic debate -- check

wool vs synthetic debate -- check

knitting vs naalbinding for repairing socks debate -- check

matches vs. lighers --- nope.

We need a good ligher vs. matches debate.

[JAK]

Thanks Justatouron.

It would be nice to see the LNT folks weigh in on this issue.

As suspected, their website still shows now interesting in global sustainability issues. It seems you can buy all the **** you want, and polute as much as you want, as long as you don't leave anything on the trail. You would think with all the information they provide, they could make some mention about global sustainability issues.

They could simply say, somewhere on their website, that besides leave no trace, we should also consider the global impact of our gear and clothing and food choices, and transportation to and from trail heads.

[JustaTouron]

LNT and sustainability are two different things....

even these folks push http://www.earthroamer.com/ LNT, and they sure the heck are not about sustainability.

LNT says that I can't leave peanut shells on the ground when camping....however there is nothing ecologically wrong with leaving behind biodegradable items that will naturally compost.

[JAK]

A better topic however, might be spelling errors.
I mispell or mistype words now and then, alot, and I get that.

What I've been doing more and more lately though, is using the wrong words.
Like; "shows now interesting in". What's up with that?

[JAK]

That "Earthroamer" site was pretty funny, and just goes to show how misguided LNT can be.

Now is usually where I start posting links to "Sound of Thunder".

Somebody stop me.

[JAK]

Too late...

"It floats six inches above the earth. Doesn't touch so much as one grass blade, flower, or tree. It's an anti-gravity metal. Its purpose is to keep you from touching this world of the past in any way. Stay on the Path. Don't go off it. I repeat. Don't go off. For any reason! If you fall off, there's a penalty. And don't shoot any animal we don't okay."

- from "Sound of Thunder" by Ray Bradbury

Now I'll see if I can find something I haven't posted before.
That might at least slow me down a little.
I'll

[JAK]

OK, I might have to eat crow.
I found some sustainability stuff on LNT.org

[Rockhound]

campfires using dead wood are carbon neutral. I don't like being condemned by some "LNT" expert every night that I want to keep warm. Of course it's always better the further you go away from a shelter or campsite to collect the dead wood. Those areas do get picked clean and it can have an impact on plant life in the immediate vicinity. I have found the best places to gather wood are near signs that say "keep out. area being protected for reforestation".

[JAK]

Here it is...

http://www.lnt.org/aboutUs/sustainability.php
It reads like mainstream corporate america, but I guess its a start.

So, where do I find a crow for my lu, without offending LNT folks?

[JAK]

http://www.lnt.org/aboutUs/sustainability.php

They still seem to be going well out of their way to avoid subjects such as:

1. Don't buy wasteful outdoor clothing and gear that you don't need.
2. Don't use canister stoves where more sustainable options can be used.
3. Don't buy overprocessed and overpackaged backpacking food, like Clif Bars.

Wonder why?
"Created Carbon Offset Fact Sheet for Traveling Trainer teams, to educate on carbon offsets through Native Energy, in partnership with Clif Bar."