A beautiful vista, a double rainbow, a hello from a wild creature, the perfect Kitchen Rock.  These are but a small sample of the things for which we are thankful while enjoying the outdoors and each other. 

Our gratitude for the areas where our feet take us, and the importance of preserving it, is a never-ending conversation for our crew.  At times, we turn to foundational rules or guidelines that have become a part of us. For example, Wendy grew up in the world of Girl Scouting, where respect for resources and leaving a place better than you found it were part of the tenets. Julie, having taught outdoor education for years, is a proponent of the National Park Service Leave No Trace principles, among others. Kristen spent youthful summers at YMCA camps and recreating with family. Jenae grew up exploring the outdoors with friends and family and was likewise taught the responsibility of taking care of the lands we love.

While the exact manner in which we each learned to appreciate the outdoors differs, our passion for its meaning and practice is similar.

While the exact manner we each learned to appreciate the outdoors differs, our passion for the spaces we explore and the ways we care for them is similar. In addition to a small celebration when one of us finds and picks up micro-trash while on the trail, the art of following the best practices of the outdoors was immediately turned into a game, by Julie, during our first signature hike together.

We hadn’t been on the trail for 20 minutes when Julie began quizzing us on our knowledge of the seven Leave No Trace principles. She would provide hints and we would shout out potential answers, hoping that if our voice was loudest we would be identified as a winner. Julie was of course in charge of both the rules of the game and the awards handed out. We enjoyed the challenge, and learned more about that particular set of guidelines. What we didn’t know is that there would be pop quizzes, well, forever. Truly. We never know when she will take a moment to throw out a question taking us all back to that beautiful field in 2015 through which we were walking when this conversation first began.

We all appreciate the wild areas so much, and hope that you too will become familiar with the Leave No Trace guidelines if you haven’t already. Who knows, maybe you will find an opportunity to turn it into a trivia question while on the trail with others.

Leave No Trace Seven Principles

 

1. Plan Ahead and Prepare
2. Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces
3. Dispose of Waste Properly
4. Leave What You Find
5. Minimize Campfire Impacts
6. Respect Wildlife
7. Be Considerate of Other Visitors

Learn more: https://lnt.org/