Public-land closures and crowding restrictions almost always trace back to user impact. Permit lotteries at Angels Landing, the Subway, and Mount Whitney exist because the underlying ecosystems were degrading. Campfire bans across much of the West exist because of decades of human-caused fires. Every closure makes the next trail harder to keep open.
Leave No Trace is a seven-principle framework developed by the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics, refined over four decades of research into what actually reduces user impact. Following it isn't aspirational; it's the price of admission for keeping these places open and beautiful for the next generation. Here are the seven principles, plain and practical.
1. Plan ahead and prepare
Know the regulations specific to where you're going. Some areas require permits, some prohibit fires entirely, some have group size limits. The day-of "I'll figure it out when I get there" approach is responsible for most rule violations.
Know the weather, terrain, and your group's capabilities. Most LNT failures cascade from poor planning — a group that's out longer than expected starts cutting corners on the other principles because they're tired, hungry, or behind schedule.
Bring the right gear so you don't have to improvise. Trash bags so you can pack out waste. A stove so you don't need to gather firewood. A map so you don't need to bushwhack.
2. Travel and camp on durable surfaces
Stay on the trail. Cutting switchbacks creates erosion channels that take decades to repair. Walking parallel to muddy trails widens them and damages adjacent vegetation. When the trail is muddy, walk through the mud — not around it.
For camping: choose existing campsites, durable rock, gravel, or dry grass — never fragile vegetation, especially alpine meadows. The damage from one night of trampling can persist for years above treeline.
In dispersed camping areas (where designated sites don't exist), follow the "200 feet from water, trail, and other camps" rule. Concentrate impact in already-impacted spots rather than creating new ones.
3. Dispose of waste properly
Pack out everything. This includes food scraps, fruit peels, sunflower-seed shells, and toilet paper. The "biodegradable" label is a marketing convenience — biological decomposition in dry or cold environments takes years, and concentrating organic waste at popular sites teaches wildlife to associate trails with food.
For human waste: dig a six-to-eight-inch deep cathole at least 200 feet from water, trails, and campsites. Cover and disguise it after use. In high-altitude or fragile ecosystems (many alpine wildernesses), you may be required to pack out solid waste in WAG bags — check the area's rules.
For toilet paper: pack it out in a sealed bag. Burying TP doesn't work — animals dig it up, and even buried it takes years to break down.
4. Leave what you find
No picking flowers, no taking rocks, no carving initials into trees or sandstone. The "I'm just one person" math fails because a hundred thousand people apply it on the same popular trails.
Cultural artifacts (Native American pottery shards, historic homestead remnants) should be photographed and reported but never disturbed. They're federally protected under the Archaeological Resources Protection Act and the Antiquities Act, with real penalties for removal.
5. Minimize campfire impacts
Use a stove instead of a fire when possible. Stoves cook faster, leave no scar, and don't risk wildfire.
If you do build a fire: use only existing fire rings, burn only small dead-and-down wood (nothing larger than wrist-thick), burn everything to ash, and drown the fire completely before sleep — a fire that "feels cool" can reignite for hours after.
Many regions now ban open fires entirely during fire season (often May through October in the West). Check current restrictions on the land manager's website. The "I was just having a small fire" defense doesn't work — most of California's catastrophic wildfires were started by exactly that.
6. Respect wildlife
Never feed wild animals, even by accident. Habituating wildlife to human food makes them dangerous (they associate humans with food and lose fear) and shortens their lives (managers eventually have to remove them).
Store food properly. In bear country, use bear boxes, hard-sided canisters, or proper food hangs (10 feet up, 4 feet from the trunk, 4 feet below the branch). Cars are not bear-proof in many western parks — bears will tear them open for a scent of food.
Maintain distance. The NPS guideline is 100 yards from bears and wolves, 25 yards from everything else (bison, elk, moose, etc.). Most wildlife injuries trace to people getting closer than this for photos.
7. Be considerate of others
Yield correctly: uphill hikers have right-of-way, and everyone yields to horses. Step off-trail to the downhill side to let others pass.
Keep voices down. Many people come to the backcountry specifically for quiet. Save the loud conversations and Bluetooth speakers for the car.
Choose campsites away from other groups when possible. Visual privacy matters as much as audible distance.
Manage dogs: leashed where required, controlled in voice command everywhere else. A poorly-controlled dog is the fastest way to ruin a stranger's day.
Follow group-size limits — many wilderness areas cap groups at 8 or 12 for ecological reasons.
Why LNT is more relevant than ever
Trail usage in the US has roughly doubled since 2010. Areas that absorbed minor impact 30 years ago now show measurable degradation. The choice for the next decade isn't "should we follow LNT" — it's "do we follow it voluntarily, or wait for permit systems and closures to enforce it for us."
Every popular trail that gets closed or permit-restricted shifts pressure to the next-most-popular trail. Practicing LNT isn't just about the trail you're on today; it's about keeping the network of trails available for everyone.
One last reframe. LNT isn't a code of moral purity or an aesthetic preference. It's the practical engineering of how high-use public lands stay open and functional. Treat it that way — not as something you do because you're a "good" outdoorsperson, but as the basic competence required to keep going outside without ruining it for everyone behind you.
