LNT 101: Don’t Be An Outdoor Asshole

Don't be an outdoor asshole

Are you breaking the LNT Principles and being an outdoor asshole?

Nobody wants to be an asshole, especially towards Mother Nature. But go to any beautiful natural spot and you’ll find an asshole or two—people leaving trash, playing loud music, or feeding animals. Let’s charitably assume these aren’t intentional assholes, just people being ignorant or forgetful. To help make sure you don’t end up an unintentional asshole, follow the Leave No Trace Principles. Created by the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics, the Leave No Trace (or “LNT”) Principles “provide guidance to enjoy our natural world in a sustainable way that avoids human-created impacts.” In other words: not being an asshole while in nature. We included helpful hand motions to go along with each principle as mnemonic devices to help the LNT principles stick in your mind.

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1. Plan Ahead and Prepare

LNT: Plan Ahead and Prepare

A 2009 study by the University of North Dakota found that the most common attributing factors in Search and Rescue incidents in National Parks were “an error in judgment, fatigue and physical conditions, and insufficient equipment, clothing, and experience.” All of those errors show a serious lack of planning. When you prepare for outdoor trips:

  • Make sure to bring appropriate gear—including water, extra clothes, a map, etc.
  • Plan and know your route.
  • Know the abilities and lowest common fitness level of your group.
  • Look at the expected weather conditions.

This kind of information is everywhere, so there’s really no excuse. Don’t be the idiot shivering in the woods that forced Search and Rescue to leave their warm beds and find your sorry ass.

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2. Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces

LNT: Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces

“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

While this may be good metaphorical life advice, it’s absolutely wrong when it comes to traversing through the wilderness. The primary “durable surfaces” inside virtually all parks are the existing trails. Stick to them at all times. A common mistake is following “social trails”, which are unofficial paths created by other assholes that came before you. Forging your own path causes erosion and damage to natural habitats, so if it’s not an official trail, stay off of it.

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3. Dispose of Waste Properly

LNT: Dispose of Waste Properly

“Pack it in, pack it out” isn’t an LNT principle, but it’s thematically identical. This includes all trash and food. Don’t be the asshole that throws his orange peel into the woods and says, “it’s biodegradable.” Everything is (eventually) biodegradable. But your orange peel is unsightly, not native to the area, and can negatively affect an animal if they eat it. Another type of waste people leave behind is poop. Is there anything worse during a beautiful nature experience than finding human shit? If you’re “liberating the brown trout” in the woods, make sure to follow the How to Poop in the Woods: The 9 D’s of Defecation.

4. Leave What You Find

LNT: Leave What you Find

As the saying goes, “Take only pictures, leave only footprints.” This applies to historic or cultural artifacts and structures. But it also applies to rocks, plants, or any natural object. While it might not seem like a big deal to bring home a small memento from your trip, think of somewhere like Yosemite National Park that saw over 5 million visitors in 2016…if they all took even just one rock, it would severely alter the landscape.

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5. Minimize Campfire Impacts

LNT: Minimize Campfire Impacts

This one might be the easiest to follow, yet have the most severe consequences if ignored. Think of the recent Soberanes wildfire in Big Sur, CA. It cost $229 million dollars to fight, burned 132,000 acres and 50 homes, and even killed someone—and it began as an illegal campfire. This kind of behavior goes beyond asshole. If found, the people who started the fire face huge fines and (likely) jail time. So 1. Don’t build fires outside of established fire rings. 2. Know whether fire restrictions are in effect and 3. Avoid building fires in the backcountry. If you must build a fire, keep it small and make sure it is 100% out, including smoldering coals, before leaving it unattended.

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6. Respect Wildlife

LNT: Respect Wildlife

A good heuristic for thinking about how to respect wildlife is considering an animal’s caloric intake and expenditure. If you’re causing an animal to 1. eat something other than their natural diet, or 2. expend more calories (e.g. move) than they would otherwise, then you’re being an asshole to wildlife. Avoid accidentally feeding wildlife by packing out all food and food waste. Feeding an animal (intentionally or not) alters their behavior, damages their health, and exposes them to predators and other dangers. You’re essentially decreasing the animal’s chances of survival, arguably putting you on the same moral spectrum as, say, a poacher. Don’t be that asshole. Secondly, while you can accidentally stumble into wildlife (thus violating the second principle), it’s usually easy to keep a safe distance from animals. Just keep a lookout for the basic signs of animals in the area, and if you do see some, don’t approach them for any reason.

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7. Be Considerate of Other Visitors

LNT: Be Considerate of Other Visitors

Everything you need to know about basic consideration you should have learned in kindergarten, or maybe Sunday School (the “Golden Rule”, anyone?). The LNT principle “Be considerate of others” really just means “don’t be an asshole.” Anything you would do in normal life to avoid being an asshole, continue doing that while you’re in nature. Nobody likes their neighbor that plays really loud music—so don’t do that in your campsite. Everyone hates getting cut off on the freeway—so don’t do that on the trail. No one wants a roommate who doesn’t pick up after themselves—so don’t do that to Mother Nature. This is the easiest principle to understand, but it might be the most commonly broken. Do your part and be considerate to others.

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LNT 101: Conclusion

Being an asshole is often simply a matter of being uninformed. But now you’re informed. Go forth, follow the LNT principles, and leave your inner asshole behind.

Are you ready to take your LNT practice to the next level? Reduce your impact on our landfills by repairing your own gear instead of buying new gear.

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