Leave No Trace for the Sacred Backpacker

Leave No Trace ("LNT") is a system of outdoor ethics.

For a more detailed description of how each of these principles should be applied as a backpacker, I direct you to the Leave No Trace website, since this esteemed organization exists to best communicate these values.

Often, before people can decide to leave no trace in the backcountry, they must feel a personal connection to the land; they need a reason to care. Caring can take many forms: a love of beauty, an enjoyment of wild plants and animals, an interest in learning about the natural world, a feeling of oneness with nature, a desire for fun and leisure, the excitement of discovery, or even a need to be challenged. All these examples help illustrate how we are a part of the web of life that surrounds us.  (Quoted from the Boy Scouts of America Teaching Leave No Trace web page; according to the preface, "Any part of this manual may be reproduced and used in any manner that will help further knowledge of Leave No Trace principles, skills, and ethics.")

Leave No Trace is the natural base for the ethical system of the Gaiaped tradition.  Below you shall find the detailed list of the seven Leave No Trace principles, detailed as on the Leave No Trace website and with additional information for Gaiapeds laid out in yellow italics following the original text.  Please note that this is an ongoing project; as the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics or the Gaiapeds Alliance discover new information, any of these principles are subject to change.  We will always place Gaiaped commentary on the original Leave No Trace principles in yellow italics to avoid any confusion.  Any suggestions on how better to apply LNT principles to leading a good life should be submitted via the feedback page.. 

Plan Ahead and Prepare

• Know the regulations and special concerns for the area you'll visit.  Be in tune with the planet and allow Her needs to come before your desires.
• Prepare for extreme weather, hazards, and emergencies.
• Schedule your trip to avoid times of high use.  Have the patience of the Earth.  Be willing to postpone your ritual if your group is not yet ready.
• Visit in small groups. Split larger parties into groups of 4-6.
• Repackage food to minimize waste.  Grow your own vegetables if you are able.  Reduce your waste by recycling, composting, donating to  local thrift stores, and giving items away through networks like Freecycle.
• Use a map and compass to eliminate the use of marking paint, rock cairns or flagging.  Make a plan for your life that uses your gods-given faculties and doesn't fail to consider the lives of those you will meet.

• Durable surfaces include established trails and campsites, rock, gravel, dry grasses or snow.
• Protect riparian areas by camping at least 200 feet from lakes and streams.
• Good campsites are found, not made. Altering a site is not necessary.
• In popular areas:
  • Concentrate use on existing trails and campsites.  If you want to avoid other people, you must also avoid popular areas.
  • Walk single file in the middle of the trail, even when wet or muddy.  Convenience is the first sacrifice for the good of the Earth.
  • Keep campsites small. Focus activity in areas where vegetation is absent.
• In pristine areas:
  • Disperse use to prevent the creation of campsites and trails.
  • Avoid places where impacts are just beginning.

• Campfires can cause lasting impacts to the backcountry. Use a lightweight stove for cooking and enjoy a candle lantern for light.
• Where fires are permitted, use established fire rings, fire pans, or mound fires.
• Keep fires small. Only use sticks from the ground that can be broken by hand.
• Burn all wood and coals to ash, put out campfires completely, then scatter cool ashes.
• Ritual fires, though important, are never to be used if it will endanger the wilderness we seek to honor.

• Observe wildlife from a distance.  Do not follow or approach them.  It's the Heisenburg principle applied to the wilderness:  observation can very easily affect what is observed.  Observation which is too close will result in something which is no longer wild.
• Never feed animals.  Feeding wildlife damages their health, alters natural behaviors, and exposes them to predators and other dangers.
• Protect wildlife and your food by storing rations and trash securely.
• Control pets at all times, or leave them at home.
• Avoid wildlife during sensitive times: mating, nesting, raising young, or winter.

• Respect other visitors and protect the quality of their experience.
• Be courteous. Yield to other users on the trail.  This is not so very different than the Christian admonition to turn the other cheek.
• Step to the downhill side of the trail when encountering pack stock.
• Take breaks and camp away from trails and other visitors.
• Let nature's sounds prevail. Avoid loud voices and noises.  The Earth's sounds contain much wisdom.

[ Up ] [ How Leave No Trace Applies to the Gaiapeds ] [ Stewardship for Gaiapeds ] [ The Ashes of Community ]

^*If you came to this page via Webring or directly from a search engine, click one of links below to restore the frames.

Home    RA Ward