By Rachel Gaffney

For Los Angeles Audubon’s Western Tanager July–August 2020 Vol. 86 No. 6

Going for a hike is a popular way to get regular exercise. More than 30 million people hit the hiking trails across the country every year for both day hikes and multiple day hikes. However, all that foot traffic on trails and through the wilderness can decimate the local ecosystem. There’s no way to avoid damage to the environment when that many people are hiking. But there are things that individual hikers can do to minimize their impact on the environment and preserve the natural world around them. Always do these five things when you’re hiking to do your part to protect nature when you’re hiking:

Stay On The Hiking Trail
The biggest amount of damage to the environment done by hikers comes from hikers not staying on the marked trails. Hiking trails are designed to make hiking safer and to protect the local environment by keeping hikers out of areas where they could kill plants and trees. Carving your own path can cause massive destruction to the ecosystem. Use a trail map and make sure that you are always using marked trails when you’re hiking.

Choose Your Picnic Spot Carefully
Many trails have shelters or designated areas where people can eat in order to make sure that the animals in the area are safe and that hikers don’t destroy the land when they set up a picnic or start a fire to cook food. Use grills and fire pits at shelters and picnic spots. Many of these areas also have clean water sources so you can fill up your water bottles too. Never start fires anywhere except a designated area and clean up thoroughly when you’re done.

Keep Your Dog Leashed
Hiking with your dog is a lot of fun and it’s great exercise for your dog. But, you need to be sure that your dog isn’t causing havoc on the local landscape. Keep your dog on a leash so that your dog doesn’t chase animals or annoy other hikers. Clean up after your dog and be sure to take the waste with you and dispose of it properly. Keep the dog on the trail with you and don’t let it wander off the trail.

Don’t Litter
You might be surprised at how many hikers think it’s acceptable to leave behind food wrappers, bits of food, sandwich bags, and other trash. It isn’t acceptable. Always pack your trash in a bag or backpack and take it out of the area with you so that you can dispose of it the right way. Many trails have recycling bins and trash bins at the start and end of the trail so that hikers can throw away their trash. Never litter on the trail. If you pack it in, you should pack it out.

Leave Everything Where You Find It
Picking flowers and leaves, taking stones or twigs, or picking up other souvenirs and taking them home isn’t a good idea. If everyone did that soon there would be no flowers and the trees would be stripped of their healthy leaves. Take photos but not actual souvenirs.

Rachel Gaffney works for Personal Injury Help, an organization dedicated to providing the public with information about personal injury and safety information. When she is not working, Rachel enjoys hiking and exploring new trails nearby!