1. Plan Ahead and Prepare
Proper trip planning and preparation helps hikers and
campers accomplish trip goals safely and enjoyably while
minimizing damage to natural and cultural resources. Campers
who plan ahead can avoid unexpected situations, and minimize
their impact by complying with area regulations such as
observing limitations on group size. Schedule your trek to
avoid times of high use. Obtain permits or permission to use
the area for your trek.
Proper planning ensures
- Low-risk adventures because campers obtained
information concerning geography and weather and
prepared accordingly
- Properly located campsites because campers allotted
enough time to reach their destination
- Appropriate campfires and minimal trash because of
careful meal planning and food repackaging and proper
equipment
- Comfortable and fun camping and hiking experiences
because the outing matches the skill level of the
participants
2. Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces
Damage to land occurs when visitors trample vegetation or
communities of organisms beyond recovery. The resulting
barren areas develop into undesirable trails, campsites, and
soil erosion.
Concentrate Activity, or Spread Out?
- In high-use areas, campers should concentrate their
activities where vegetation is already absent. Minimize
resource damage by using existing trails and selecting
designated or existing campsites. Keep campsites small
by arranging tents in close proximity.
- In more remote, less-traveled areas, campers should
generally spread out. When hiking, take different paths
to avoid creating new trails that cause erosion. When
camping, disperse tents and cooking activities--and move
camp daily to avoid creating permanent-looking
campsites. Avoid places where impacts are just beginning
to show. Always choose the most durable surfaces
available: rock, gravel, sand, compacted soil, dry
grasses, or snow.
These guidelines apply to most alpine settings and may be
different for other areas, such as deserts. Learn the Leave
No Trace techniques for your crew's specific activity or
destination. Check with land managers to be sure of the
proper technique.
3. Dispose of Waste Properly (Pack It In, Pack It Out)
This simple yet effective saying motivates back�country
visitors to take their trash home with them. It makes sense
to carry out of the backcountry the extra materials taken
there by your group or others. Inspect your campsite for
trash or spilled foods. Accept the challenge of packing out
all trash, leftover food, and litter.
Sanitation
Backcountry users create body waste and wastewater that
require proper disposal.
Wastewater. Help prevent contamination of natural water
sources: After straining food particles, properly dispose of
dishwater by dispersing at least 200 feet (about 80 to 100
strides for a youth) from springs, streams, and lakes. Use
biodegradable soap 200 feet or more from any water source.
Human Waste. Proper human waste disposal helps prevent
the spread of disease and exposure to others. Catholes 6 to
8 inches deep in humus and 200 feet from water, trails, and
campsites are often the easiest and most practical way to
dispose of feces.
4. Leave What You Find
Allow others a sense of discovery, and preserve the past.
Leave rocks, plants, animals, archaeological artifacts, and
other objects as you find them. Examine but do not touch
cultural or historical structures and artifacts. It may be
illegal to remove artifacts.
Minimize Site Alterations
Do not dig tent trenches or build lean-tos, tables, or
chairs. Never hammer nails into trees, hack at trees with
hatchets or saws, or damage bark and roots by tying horses
to trees for extended periods. Replace surface rocks or
twigs that you cleared from the campsite. On high-impact
sites, clean the area and dismantle inappropriate user-built
facilities such as multiple fire rings and log seats or
tables.
Good campsites are found, not made. Avoid altering a
site, digging trenches, or building structures.
5. Minimize Campfire Impacts
Some people would not think of camping without a
campfire. Yet the naturalness of many areas has been
degraded by overuse of fires and increasing demand for
firewood.
Lightweight camp stoves make low-impact camping possible
by encouraging a shift away from fires. Stoves are fast,
eliminate the need for firewood, and make cleanup after
meals easier. After dinner, enjoy a candle lantern instead
of a fire.
If you build a fire, the most important consideration is
the potential for resource damage. Whenever possible, use an
existing campfire ring in a well-placed campsite. Choose not
to have a fire in areas where wood is scarce--at higher
elevations, in heavily used areas with a limited wood
supply, or in desert settings.
True Leave No Trace fires are small. Use dead and downed
wood that can be broken easily by hand. When possible, burn
all wood to ash and remove all unburned trash and food from
the fire ring. If a site has two or more fire rings, you may
dismantle all but one and scatter the materials in the
surrounding area. Be certain all wood and campfire debris is
dead out.
6. Respect Wildlife
Quick movements and loud noises are stressful to animals.
Considerate campers practice these safety methods:
- Observe wildlife from afar to avoid disturbing them.
- Give animals a wide berth, especially during
breeding, nesting, and birthing seasons.
- Store food securely and keep garbage and food scraps
away from animals so they will not acquire bad habits.
Never feed wildlife. Help keep wildlife wild.
You are too close if an animal alters its normal
activities.
7. Be Considerate of Other Visitors
Thoughtful campers respect other visitors and protect the
quality of their experience.
- Travel and camp in small groups (no more than the
group size prescribed by land managers).
- Let nature's sounds prevail. Keep the noise down and
leave radios, tape players, and pets at home.
- Select campsites away from other groups to help
preserve their solitude.
- Always travel and camp quietly to avoid disturbing
other visitors.
- Make sure the colors of clothing and gear blend with
the environment.
- Respect private property and leave gates (open or
closed) as found.
Be considerate of other campers and respect their
privacy.