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Hiking and Backpacking Etiquette

Reprinted (in part) with permission from the Club Tread, Victoria BC

Website contains complete text: http://www.clubtread.org/etiquett.php

Basic Philosophy

As outdoor recreation becomes increasingly popular it is evident that the days of the "skilled woodsmen" who modified the environment for their personal comfort are over. Pristine areas are fragile and need protection from damage. Heavily used areas need protection from overuse.

It is now essential to do everything possible to minimize the impact and damage to an area by practicing "low impact", "no trace" skills, leaving as little trace of our presence as possible. It is with this in mind that we would like to share some ideas which will help you to leave an area as you would like to find it.

The following are simply guidelines to consider, not a set of rigid rules. Depending on the circumstances and situation, judgment should be used and alternatives considered.

Trails

Many of us have come across areas that are criss-crossed with trails where others have taken "short-cuts" down hillsides or around problems. These practices lead to erosion and excessively wide trail systems. It takes very few footsteps to create a new trail in a fragile alpine area but years, even decades, for the environment to recover from the loss of vegetation, erosion and compacting of the soil this causes. Such problems are simple to avoid but very difficult to rectify.

• Keep to trails where possible.
• In alpine areas walk on rocks and snow as much as possible.
• Try not to expand or create new trails around problems areas such as mud. This tends to create a wide area which is damaged.
• Where there are multiple options consider which one results in the least environmental impact.
• When off trail, try to minimize the damage to vegetation (including moss and lichens).
• In sensitive areas (e.g. alpine) compacting the soil is also damaging.
• Moving on scree slopes can cause rock slides.
• Avoid building rock cairns.

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One of the Champion Ponds viewed from the Mel Deanna trail

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