Leave No Trace

There are seven principles to Leave No Trace camping.

1. Plan Ahead and Prepare

Call ahead to places where you camp to make sure you'll have adequate space and facilities for your group, as well as learning the local camping requirements and regulations. This will smooth over any troubles that would otherwise occur from cramped campsites or inappropriate equipment.

2. Camp On Camping Surfaces, or, Concentrate Activity, or Spread Out

In high use areas, it's important to concentrate your activity to places where the vegetation is already absent. This prevents trails and campsites from spreading and includes walking through mud puddles in dirt trails so as not to create a large pit of mud.

In more remote areas, spread out. When camping, make sure not to put your tent in a place where it appears someone has set up a tent recently. This gives the grass a chance to recover. When crossing large meadows or chunks of plain without trails, spread out so that you don't accidentally start a trail. If in doubt, ask the local land manager for advice.

3. Pack It In, Pack It Out

Everything you bring into the backcountry should come out with you. In some areas, this even includes human waste products. Check with the local rangers. If you are allowed to dispose of waste water and human bodily products in the wild, be sure to always be at least 200 ft from the closest water source. Packing out trash is easier if you take the time to remove some of the bulky outer packaging before going camping. Practice 'compating' trash so it'll take up less space in your backpack. Another common practice is 'human sumping'. To do this, wash your dishes without soap, then drink the washwater.

4. Leave What You Find

Leave neat things you find for other to discover. In some places, it is illegal to take them. Also, don't dig trenches around tents or build lean-tos, tables, or chairs. Such heavy modifications mar the landscape and give those after you a less scenic experience. Instead, look for a good site that doesn't require such changes.

5. Minimize Campfire Use

In this age of camp stoves, fire is usually not necesary for cooking. Fires should only be necesary in an emergency, such as hypothermia cases. Fires should use no fuel larger than an adults wrist, and should be burnt down to ashes if at all possible. Make sure the fire is completely out, then clean it up and scatter the ashes over a large area.

6. Respect Wildlife

Keep noise down so as not to startle the wildlife. If you see a deer or other animal, watch it from a distance. Avoid feeding animals at all costs. Some animals carry deadly diseases. Ask the local management about precautions. All of these keep both you and the animals you observe healthy and avoids disrupting necesary survival skills.

7. Respect Others

Everyone else has an equal right to enjoy the outdoors. To allow them the room, it is important to: travel and camp in small groups; keep noise down and leave radios, etc, and pets at home; select campsites away from other groups to allow them privacy; travel and camp quietly; wear gear and clothes appropriate to the situation- 'loud' colors can be distruptive; respect private property and always leave gates the way you found them. This can be basically summed up as a healthy respect for others and their experience as well as your own.

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