Planning Ahead for Outdoor Adventures

Leave No Trace Friday! ✨ (Save this post for later reference and share with anyone who goes outside, so everyone lol) Last Friday we discussed the basic breakdown of what the Leave No Trace principles are and today we are going to discuss the first principle in a little more detail! Let’s also keep in mind that LNT encompasses all outdoor activities EVERYWHERE from visiting a local park in your neighborhood to backpacking a mountain halfway around the world. Principle one is to PLAN AHEAD AND PREPARE. This doesn’t mean saying ‘I want to go for a hike’ opening all trails, picking a random trail, and going that day. Not that you can’t go in the same day but planning ahead requires a bit more research and preparation in order to successfully leave no trace. It’s important to evaluate: ✨The trail-getting a basic idea of what the trail leads to and downloading a map for the possibility of losing service will keep you safe and keep you from going off trail and destroying resources. ✨The weather in the area-knowing the weather and the terrain for where you’re visiting will keep from destroying resources in a panic to get out of the rain or a flash flood zone. ✨The experience of you and the people in your group-for example, if someone has never been camping before they are more likely to overpack and leave waste out in nature. ✨Equipment, food, and safety supplies needed-Knowing what activities you have planned and how much food you will need for you and each member of your group will keep the risk of going off trail and having extra food to pack out lower. ✨Any regulations or restrictions in the area you’re visiting-Planning to cook your food over a fire and getting to your location only to find out there is a fire ban or a lack or firewood in the area will cause most people to build a fire anyway breaking a law or try to find firewood and search through resources that are clearly being overused. Not only will evaluating each of these things help you leave no trace and keep you safe but it will make your outing more enjoyable and present you with more time to learn about nature. Do you consider all of these things prior to spending time outdoors?