I'm leaving no trace

Today was my last official day of work here at SNP... **sniff** I had a great way to end it all with a two day Leave No Trace outdoor ethics training. During various points in the backpacking trip, we would stop to talk about the seven leave no trace outdoor principles. Without boring you to tears, the seven principles are...

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

It was some excellent discussion varying from an in-depth talk of pooping in the woods to using cell phones in the wilderness. Even after years of backpacking and working at an outfitter, I still learned a lot of new ways to minimize my impact. For anyone that likes to do things outdoors, as our education grows, our passion for being responsible for our impact grows as well. I hope that the visitors that I came in contact with this season had a chance to learn a little bit about impacts on the wilderness from the information I was able to give them. Knowing why regulations are in place has so much more of a lasting impression than just knowing that the law says so (a.k.a. the man is keepin’ you down)

If you want to know more about leave no trace principles, ask me sometime (I am now certified to teach a course!) or check out the website. Or if you want to buy a Subaru, you can save $3000 by being a leave no trace member (a tip to tuck away).

An added bonus was the free inspiration from the two course leaders who have worked in national parks from Alaska to Hawaii, and from the Grand Canyon to the Rockies. One was a vice president of a company and he walked away from the corporate world to follow his dream of working for the park service. Stories like his are not uncommon in the park service; a lot of people make sacrifices to follow a dream. I’m grateful that these encouraging tales are swimming through my head as I pack my bags and wave goodbye to my summer home on government property.