I like to think most hikers consider themselves to be good stewards of the land. It’s in their interest to take care of how they travel and camp in the backcountry. After all, part of the reason people hike is to experience unfettered travel through a pristine landscape.

But too many hikers trample vegetation, scare wildlife and scar the land. As we set out to travel Maine’s trails this season, it’s a good time to think about our effect on our surroundings, human and natural.

Individually, hikers don’t create much impact on the earth. But when your footsteps are added together with all the other hikers out there, it affects the nature of the backcountry. However, if hikers practice Leave No Trace principles, they can reduce the impact of thousands of footsteps on the places they frequent.

The Leave No Trace Center came into being as a nonprofit entity in the 1980s as a cooperative effort between the USDA Forest Service and the National Outdoor Leadership School to lessen the impact in wilderness areas in the western states. What they started is now the accepted set of principles guiding backcountry use in all the state parks and land management areas across the country, including Maine.

The idea is simple, really. To minimize the impact of thousands of people hiking and camping, teach them ethical use of natural resources, with an emphasis on softening adverse effects.

Leave No Trace uses seven principles to accomplish this. They are:

. Plan ahead and prepare,

. Travel and camp on durable surfaces,

. Dispose of waste properly,

. Leave what you find,

. Minimize campfire impacts,

. Respect wildlife and

. Be considerate of other visitors.

Many of these practices only require a little common sense to be put into use by responsible hikers and backpackers. At first it may not seem obvious how planning ahead can reduce your impact, but if you plan ahead you’ll know which areas have restrictions on campfires, for example.

If you’re not allowed to have fires and didn’t bring a stove to cook supper on your overnight, you could be tempted to start an illegal fire, blackening soil and scarring the land. In some spots on the Appalachian Trail in Maine – Bigelow Mountain is one – fires aren’t allowed. If you knew that by reading a hiking guidebook when you planned the trip, you would have brought a backpacking stove, avoiding any impact and probably a ticket from the fire warden.

Traveling and camping on durable surfaces is a technique that is meant to reduce damage to the surfaces on which we walk. This one’s pretty obvious as most trails are designed to keep foot traffic concentrated on the trail and away from sensitive areas, plant life and wetlands. It’s as basic as staying on the trail and traveling in single file.

Switchbacks are usually built on trails to ascend steep slopes with unstable soil. If you encounter switchbacks on the trail, avoid the tendency to cut across them. You’ll keep the hillside intact and avoid trampling vegetation. If you must stray off the trail for lunch with a view, find a route that is hard and durable, maybe like a series of rock ledges.

It’s easy to see how disposing of waste can reduce impact. It’s as simple as repackaging meals in plastic bags to minimize waste, then packing it back out when you leave. Human waste is more delicately handled. Most high use areas in Maine have privies to handle the problem. However, in the backwoods you’ll need to dig a cat hole 200 feet away from water and trails, bury your waste and carry out the toilet paper.

If everyone who hiked picked wildflowers along the way, there’d be a shortage of wildflowers. By leaving what you find, the damage to the ecology will be less and the wildflowers will be there for the next hiker who comes along. The same thing goes for rock cairns which mark the trail. If you resist the urge to dig rocks up from the ground to add to cairns, you are reducing your impact, in the form of holes in the ground.

Minimizing campfire impact can be as easy as carrying a backpacking stove and plenty of fuel. There are times, however, when it’s just nice to have a campfire. It should be in an approved spot with an established fire ring. To minimize your impact, don’t cut live trees for firewood and keep the fire small. Limit the amount of wood you collect to avoid overbrowsing.

Keeping a safe distance from wildlife is the best way to lessen the effects of human intrusion into what is, after all, their world. Watch wildlife without harassing it, with a subdued tone of voice. Never chase whatever animal you encounter on the trail, you’ll see more.

The last and probably the most important technique for practicing Leave No Trace is to be considerate of other visitors. Everyone wants to have fun outdoors. That doesn’t mean bring the party to the woods. Instead, remember that although the trail is remote, you are not the only one out there. Keep voices subdued and groups small. Step off the trail onto a durable surface when encountering others, to let them pass.

Most of these techniques are easily learned and become second nature after a while. These are only a few of the ways that Leave No Trace works to make a better hiking experience for everyone. The organization has a Web site, www.LNT.org, which explains all the Leave No Trace practices and many more methods for traveling lightly when hiking and backpacking. Remember to leave only footprints and take only pictures. Other hikers will thank you for it.

sourball@gwi.net

LEAVE NO TRACE

The Seven Principles

. 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