An Etiquette Guide to the Outdoors – Leave No Trace

We all want to be able to enjoy the majestic beauty of local, state, and national parks throughout our lifetimes and for generations to come. That’s why when it comes to practicing resource stewardship, one measure that I fully support is Leave No Trace.

Why am I discussing this?

Previously I have gone on hiking trips with other people who took fossils and rocks from public land, left trash on the ground, or ventured off of marked trails despite multiple warning signs imploring hikers to stay on designated paths. These people were not acting maliciously at all; their outdoor blunders were a result of their ignorance and lack of outdoor experience.  In the hope that I can reach someone venturing out to one of our wonderful parks for the first time, today’s article is on the seven Leave No Trace principles.

I understand how lucky I was in my youth to be a part of groups that discussed these principles, but I realize spending time outdoors was not part of everyone’s upbringing and many might not be familiar with the principles of Leave No Trace. If you have heard of it, you might think it revolves around cleaning up after yourself. That’s partially true, although it encompasses much more than that.

What is Leave No Trace?  

The Leave No Trace Principles are guidelines that help people plan, prepare, and adventure more consciously in any outdoor area from remote wilderness to local parks. These principles are widely understood and practiced by outdoor enthusiasts to help ensure our enjoyment of the outdoors isn’t reduced by our own impact.

Best said on their website, the organization accomplishes its mission by providing innovative education, skills and research to help people care for the outdoors. By working with the public and those managing public lands, the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics focuses on educating people (instead of costly restoration programs or access restrictions) as the most effective and least resource-intensive solution to land protection.

With well over 100 million visitors on more than 10 billion outings in U.S. parks each year, our love for the outdoors can take a toll. Impacted areas suffer from litter, invasive species, habituated wildlife, trail erosion, polluted water sources and more. While most of us don’t intend to harm our natural surroundings, we may lack the knowledge to preserve it, or we’re simply overlooking a few important behaviors.

The 7 Principles of Leave No Trace Apply to Almost every Outdoor Activity:

In more detail (the information below is abbreviated to focus on day hikes. Please visit the Leave No Trace website for a more complete explanation of the principles)

• Plan Ahead and Prepare
  • Know the regulations and special concerns for the area you’ll visit. With Covid, the rules are constantly changing, so do your research.
  • Prepare for extreme weather, hazards, and emergencies. Drink plenty of water and bring two sources of water when it’s hot, pack salty snacks to help prevent hyponatremia, wear the right shoes, and remember layering is your best friend when it’s a little cooler.
  • Schedule your trip to avoid times of high use. I don’t know anyone that escapes to the great outdoors to be elbow-to-elbow with other visitors.
  • Visit in small groups when possible. Consider splitting larger groups into smaller groups.
• Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces
  • Durable surfaces include maintained trails and designated campsites, rock, gravel, sand, dry grasses or snow.
  • Protect riparian areas by camping at least 200 feet from lakes and streams.
  • Concentrate use on existing trails.
• Dispose of Waste Properly
  • Pack it in, pack it out. Inspect your food preparation areas, and rest areas for trash or spilled foods. Pack out all trash, leftover food and litter. Bigfoot is the Leave No Trace mascot. You would never know he is there – follow his lead!
  • Utilize toilet facilities whenever possible. Otherwise, deposit solid human waste in catholes dug 6 to 8 inches deep, at least 200 feet from water, camp and trails. Cover and disguise the cathole when finished. Another option is Biffy Bags. They make great stocking stuffers!
  • Pack out toilet paper and hygiene products.
• Leave What You Find
  • Preserve the past: examine, photograph, but do not touch cultural or historic structures and artifacts. Photos make great trip souvenirs.
  • Leave rocks, plants and other natural objects as you find them. It can be tempting to take a rock or shell during an outdoor journey. (I was guilty of taking a purple shell at Pfeiffer Beach but now I am wiser.) But if everyone had that mindset, a unique and pristine environment could soon be barren and unappealing. This concept is so important to me.
  • Avoid introducing or transporting non-native species, ESPECIALLY between countries. Austin has been hit hard by invasive zebra mussels that were transported to Austin lakes on contaminated boat hulls.
  • Do not build structures, furniture, or dig trenches.
• Minimize Campfire Impacts
  • Campfires can cause lasting impacts to the environment. Use a lightweight stove for cooking and enjoy a candle lantern for light.
  • Where fires are permitted, use established fire rings, fire pans, or mound fires.
  • Keep fires small. Only use down and dead wood from the ground that can be broken by hand.
  • Burn all wood and coals to ash, put out campfires completely, then scatter cool ashes.
• Respect Wildlife
  • Observe wildlife from a distance. Do not follow or approach them.
  • Never feed animals. Feeding wildlife damages their health, alters natural behaviors, and exposes them to predators and other dangers. You might notice the overfed squirrels and chipmunks at the parks and what a nuisance they are.
  • Protect wildlife and your food by storing rations and trash securely. A bear introduced to human food is a big threat. Please properly dispose of food!
  • Control pets at all times or leave them at home.
  • Avoid wildlife during sensitive times: mating, nesting, raising young, or winter.
• Be Considerate of Other Visitors
  • Respect other visitors and protect the quality of their experience.
  • Be courteous. Yield to other users on the trail. If hiking on steep terrain, remember hikers heading uphill have the right-of-way.
  • Step to the downhill side of the trail when encountering pack stock.
  • Let nature’s sounds prevail. Avoid loud voices and noises.

The two principles that I like to focus on while day-hiking are Dispose of Waste Properly and Leave What You Find. Remember that Bigfoot is the Leave No Trace mascot because he’s been leaving no trace for years! These principles can really make a difference in our world and implementing these strategies will help protect our public lands for centuries, so the best time to begin implementing these principles is now! No one is perfect and we will make mistakes, but if we all strive to follow these guidelines we can make our world a better place for generations to come.

From the Leave No Trace website:

These principles were established by the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics, and built on work by the US Forest Service, National Park Service, and Bureau of Land Management in the mid 1980s. This relationship continues today. The principles are based on and informed by scientific research in the fields of recreation ecology and human dimensions of natural resources. Take a look at the science behind the principles on the Leave No Trace website.

Thank you for doing your part to protect our natural world.

The center’s best practices are embodied in the Leave No Trace Seven Principles (© 1999 by the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics: www.LNT.org), each of which covers a range of practices.