Posts tagged leave-no-trace
I'm currently trying to remark a trail that seems to be forgotten or had very little use in the past few years. The markers that remain (different types of ribbon) are fraying or crumbling dependin...
I did not use to think of geotagging photos as a leave-no-trace issue. In fact, one slogan says leave only footprints, take only photos. Yet the Leave No Trace Social Media Guidance states: T...
When we venture into the wilderness, we bury our solid human waste (or may even have to pack it out in some places). The basic guideline is to not leave faeces anywhere where it can be discovered ...
We recently (July, 2019) went to Bar Harbor, Maine, United States, to visit friends who live on the ocean. My husband took a walk on an established path (he's very serious about Leave No Trace) at ...
Is it okay to throw away the non-edible part of the apple - the apple core / or in general fruit waste? Does it decompose on the rock (maybe with the help of animals) and temperature, or does it in...
Assuming the cat-hole is the preferred protocol for waste disposal in the area you are backpacking, what should you do when the soil is buried below A LOT of snow, and/or frozen?
It's possible to buy tea that is loose leaf instead on in the tea bags and use it while in the outdoors such as cold brewing in a Nalgene. Coffee grounds need to be packed out but what about tea le...
If one makes coffee in the backcountry, there will be used grounds. Coffee grounds are biodegradable, but should one instead pack them out completely? What is the Leave No Trace way to deal with u...
Sometimes in areas with sandy/muddy ground, multiple parallel trails will start to form. What is the least impactful way to walk a trail like this? Do you stay on whichever trail shows the most ...
When you find large trash items left by others in less accessible places, what should be done? The exact scenario: We were hiking a ten mile trail on US Forestry Service land with river crossings ...
As a fair-weather walker I frequently find myself on routes that have suffered from erosion due to the large numbers of people hiking along them. I wish to cause the least possible amount of furthe...
I was recently told that many of the clothes we wear are made up of materials that are dangerous to marine wildlife, and the undersea environment. I'm curious as to whether or not it's true. I kn...
The roadside in our semi-rural area is relatively litter free. With very few exceptions, it can be easily picked up with one hand, and is not gross. But one litterer is getting to me. He (or s...
The skills mentioned in "What is bushcrafting?" sound useful but potentially destructive. How does bushcrafting relate to the "leave no trace" principles?
In the backcountry, we should bury solid human waste (i.e. poop), and we are told to carry out toilet paper. According to this answer on tissues, for some kinds of waste the ecological impact is s...
What kind of mementos am I allowed to collect from State and National parks in small quantities, if any? I am especially wondering about: pebbles, shells, sea-urchin-skeletons, sand-dollar-skelet...
I have made camp for one or more nights in a pristine wilderness. It may be desert, tundra, or a forested environment. At a suitable distance from camp, I have dug a nice cathole (toilet-hole) an...
According to leave-no-trace principles, one should bury human waste (poo). But burying damages plants and roots. Is this really always better than not burying it and pooing on the surface? (Of c...
I've been an avid lover of the outdoors for all of my life, camping in quite varied terrain, but so far in all these locations I've been able to use the usual LNT cat-hole methods to take care of h...
See this article on plogging, from the Washington Post Swedish Fitness Craze Coming to the US (March 06, 2018): Have you recently spotted people toting trash bags while jogging? Or their hand...
India is known for its historical monuments and Caves are essential part of them. While among them, almost all major tourist attractions are very well conserved and looked after, unfortunately some...
As my other litter question stated, I live on a semi-rural road, and about twice a year pick up litter from the verge. Others pick up litter too, but there are swathes of floodplain land, conserva...
How long does it take for trash like beer cans, old mattress springs, or glass bottles to go from trash and need to be packed out to being a historic artifact with archaeological significance?
I was wondering if there was a way to make a fire pit and start a fire in it, and have a way to protect the ground beneith it as much as possible. I don't really know how I could manage to do that...
I have been reading about dryer lint as an effective kindling material, but I keep having the feeling that in some way it implies burning "plastic": all the artificial materials, coloring (although...
I was wonder how long it takes plastic to biodegrade and if there is anything a person can or should do to facilitate the process for plastics in the outdoors. I know that optimally "Carry in, Car...
I just came back from a backpacking trip in an alpine area. I was cleaning some kitchen items (pot, spork, pan, etc) with some remnant food particles that were coming off. I use a very small amount...
I saw this article recently. I also know that human solid (not sure about liquid) waste is collected in buckets on river trips down the Grand Canyon. What are some basic guidelines for determinin...
So of course the common standard for proper burying of solid human waste is burial in a cat-hole, and generally this means one hole per instance per person. This is what I practice and teach on per...
While in the Wind River Mountains, I found a bronze plaque that marked the spot where a person's ashes where scattered, and while that was done in the early 1930s, it made me wonder if it would sti...
I am a staunch proponent of leave no trace. I don't carry dish detergent (sand and small rocks work much better on stainless steel anyways,) and I don't use soap or shampoo, not even of the biodegr...
I recently went backpacking above treeline in Colorado. It was in a National Wilderness and there were no designated camping areas. Finding a flat enough spot for 3 tents proved to be difficult at ...
I was sitting and thinking last night... If you have gas and loose stool (diarrhea) and you are squatting over a cathole in the wilderness how do keep your pants and foot wear clean? Related ...
Are there any recommended methods for disposing of ash from fire pits while primitive camping? I have run into several fire pits in National and State forest camping areas where the fire pit or fir...
This question lists the principles of Leave No Trace, taken from the Center for Outdoor Ethics website. While the general principals apply to many types of outdoor activities, this particular set ...
I visited my local forest preserve recently (in a suburb of Chicago, IL) and found new signs every mile or so that read something to the effect of Please stay on the trail so as to preserve th...
I went for a few hikes in Gran Canaria. The trails were perfectly signposted and everything. My beautiful experience was a little bit disturbed by the sheer amount of stone piles everywhere. You co...
I was staying in the spectacular free and open Ragohytte in magnificent Rago Nasjonalpark, and used some of the provided firewood and coal to heat up the stove in order to dry my gear and enjoy a b...
On my last tour I've found a lot of litter in the woods again. While I do my best to get things out, I was not able to take an old oil barrel and a care tire with me =). However, these two items ma...
There are few feelings worse than hiking deep into an area that should be pristine and finding garbage. What are some steps that I could take to help prevent or lessen this?
I am only considering those situations where human waste can be buried, since if that has to be carried out in a wag bag, then the food should be as well. If someone burns the oatmeal to a crisp, ...
I'm looking for a good solution for clothing (or clothes washing) on long hikes with the following considerations Southeastern United States, Appalachians We hike light 10+ day trips I don't wa...
I've read one one of the US national forest or wilderness websites that when camping in the wild, one should camp at a certain distance from a water source. Should I understand a water source to m...
I'm absolutely harsh when it comes to littering in the woods. After a break I take an extra turn to check if everything was picked up. Someone accidentally left a tissue on the last tour and I put ...
How do I prioritize teaching about the concept of Leave No Trace to someone who is unfamiliar with it, without coming across as off-putting because there are so many rules?
According to the Centre for Outdoor Ethics: "The use of campfires, once a necessity for cooking and warmth, is steeped in history and tradition [...] the natural appearance of many areas has ...
Suppose you needed to dispose of a large carcass for one reason or another while in the backcountry... what would be the best way to dispose of it in the woods so that it wouldn't be discovered? Yo...
Say you're camping in the backcountry where there aren't any developed campsites or fire rings. What methods are there for building a camp fire that will leave absolutely no trace afterwards?
What are the fundamental principles of leaving no trace in the backcountry?
Stealth Camping definition: Stealth camping is the act of quietly finding a place away from people where you can camp for the night and then quickly slip away in the morning without being detec...
