Hiking is a wonderful activity for the whole family to enjoy together. It is important to remember the environment when hiking. Teach your children the importance of keeping the forest clean and untouched. It’s not hard to hike without hurting the environment. The following tips should get your started on the right path.
1. Always take your trash out with you when hiking. I hate walking trails and seeing all the rubbish people leave behind. It amazes me that people can’t pick up after themselves. Have a rubbish bag with you at all times just for this purpose.
2. Pick up other peoples trash they’ve left behind. This is a great way to contribute to helping the environment. We pick up trash we see along the trails all the time. You may need more than one rubbish bag if you decide to help in this way.
3. Stay on the hiking trails. Most trails are marked with blazes so they are easy to follow. Going off the hiking trail can hurt vegetation and disturb animals.
4. Bury your poop, or better yet, take along bags to carry it out in. Never just use the bathroom and leave it! There are little fold up shovels just for this purpose. You can find them at any store that has camping and hiking supplies. It’s not that hard to dig a small hole and then cover up after yourself.
5. Use fires only where allowed. Don’t make camp and start a fire any where along the trail. Try to find a spot that has been used often, or that is specifically for camping. You can see the fire rings or remnants of other fires. There is no reason to make extra spots when one is already available.
These are just a few simple tips for being environmentally friendly while hiking. It is by no means an exhaustive list of the things that should be done. By doing these few here you will help tremendously. Use common sense when hiking and you should not hurt the environment. Everyone knows what to do; it’s just doing it that’s the problem sometimes. People get lazy. Don’t be one of them. Think Green when you hike!
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