New Year Resolutions

Since the world did not end, we all have to scramble to think of our New Year’s resolution in just a little over a week. The typical resolutions are to lose weight, quit a bad habit, or spend more time with your family and friends. We suggest to not only stick with the typical resolutions, but we also want to encourage everybody to add in a Leave No Trace resolution. Here are some examples of how you can resolve to limit your impact on the environment and on other visitors.

Here are just a few examples for 2013:

· Walk through mud puddles in the middle of the trail, rather then walking on the sides of the puddle and erode the sides of the trail.

Tip- Buy gaiters, waterproof boots, or wear older shoes that you do not mind getting muddy.

· Pick up litter every time you go out hiking.

Tip- Bring along extra trash bags to collect litter.

· Rather then burning logs that are too large to burn down in an evening, burn small wood that you have collected far from camp. By burning smaller wood you will not leave a large log that the next campers do not want in their pit.

Tip- Remember the 4 Ds – Dead, Down, Dinky, and Distance (collect wood far from camp)

· Pick up and pack out your dogs waste when you are outside hiking.

Tip- Keep a doggy bag tied to your leash or stash some in your backpack.

· Minimize the impacts of your climbing chalk so it does not have an effect on other visitors.

Tip- Try not even using climbing chalk, clean it off when you are out bouldering, or use a type of chalk that does not leave as much residue on the rock.

· Volunteer at your local land management agency. You can look for opportunities to help clean up rivers and lakes, build and maintain trails, or remove invasive species.

· Teach another person or people about the Seven Principles and how they can use them when they are outside camping and hiking.

These are just a few ideas for how you can resolve to limit your impact in the new year. Enjoy the winter weather and the upcoming New Year. Thanks for reading and remember to be like Bigfoot and Leave No Trace.

Pat and TJ