The Leave No Trace Center For Outdoor Ethics lists the following 7 key principles as the “framework of minimum impact practices for anyone visiting the outdoors”
- Plan Ahead and Prepare
- Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces
- Dispose of Waste Properly
- Leave What You Find
- Minimize Campfire Impacts
- Respect Wildlife
- Be Considerate of Other Visitors
This framework, while oriented specifically towards backcountry travel, also functions as a good analog for how we can be good stewards of the world as a whole. Apply these principles to 56,000 miles of hiking and paddling across a continuum of ecosystems between Baja and Newfoundland, and it becomes clear that each region is impacted by different actions differently. So allow me to attempt to break down how we can all Leave No Trace while travelling in the backcountry, in the big picture, as individuals, and for myself over the course of the next 10 years.
