Archive | Leave No Trace RSS feed for this section
Bitterroot Range

Be in the Know, Mentor Others by Kathleen Meyer

Spring is full on—even here in the Rockies, the snow melting, wildflowers popping, bees buzzing—and it’s a gorgeous season to venture into the outback. Which means . . . hmmm . . . it’s also time to brush up on wilderness toilet skills. Maybe even engineer your first-ever backcountry squat? Let me begin by talking [...]

Read full story · Comments { 24 }
Pass the Donuts Left My Rasta Brother

How to Teach Leave No Trace to Beginner Hikers

Also available on Slideshare in a slower format This evening I’ll be giving a lecture on Leave No Trace to the students in the Appalachian Mountain Club’s annual Spring Hiking Program, a 5 evening course that the Boston Chapter holds every year. It’s a great course if you’re new to hiking and want to learn [...]

Read full story · Comments { 5 }
Hiking on a Pre-existing Herd Path

Leave No Trace and Bushwhacking

What is the relationship between bushwhacking and Leave No Trace? Can you bushwhack in a manner that is consistent with Leave No Trace ethics or is all bushwhacking bad? What does bushwhacking have to do with ethics anyway? What are some best practices that one can adopt as a bushwhacker to minimize negative impacts and [...]

Read full story · Comments { 13 }
Bear Bag - High up in a Tree

How to Kill a Bear

If you want to kill a bear, let it eat human food lying on the ground or easily accessible at your campsite. Bears that “steal” food, even if it’s left unattended and in the open, are shot and killed because they’re classified as “problem bears.” They’re blamed, even if hikers and campers fail to take the [...]

Read full story · Comments { 36 }
Why is Shitting Outdoors So Difficult?

Uh-Oh! by Kathleen Meyer

. . . well, let me confess, it’s me! At one time. Of course, I wasn’t organized enough then to think this far ahead, to pause at the trailhead and ponder What do I do when I have to go? Or you would have glimpsed only a streak, as I fled to my comfy couch—adjacent [...]

Read full story · Comments { 47 }
Hikers on the Mount Pemigewasset Ledges

Beginner Hiking Trip/Leave No Trace Workshop to Mount Pemigewasset

I led an Appalachian Mountain Club Beginner Hiking Trip and Leave No Trace Awareness Workshop on Mount Pemigewasset (also called ‘Indian Head’) in Franconia Notch on Saturday that was a lot of fun. We had great weather and clear views from the open ledges on the Mount Pemigewasset summit. This is a fairly short 3 [...]

Read full story · Comments { 2 }
New Yield Signs in The Fells

Multi-Use Conflict and Trail Overuse in the Middlesex Fells

The Middlesex Fells is a 2,500 acre nature reserve just north of downtown Boston. Full of trees and rocky outcroppings, it provides a welcome respite to trail runners, hikers, dog walkers, horseback riders, and mountain bikers who want to get outside an play for a few hours. I hike in The Fells several times a week and [...]

Read full story · Comments { 40 }