If you are planning to visit a camping ground with your family and friends, I’m sure you know that if you pack it in, you should pack it out. Not only pertaining to your belongings only but everything you have with you when you get there. However, as a responsible camper yourself, you should also know that you need to protect nature. Yes, enjoy it, but don’t destroy it – a general rule of thumb.
Many camping and hiking sites that you know have this major principle – leave no trace at all – which means leave nature as unchanged by our presence as possible so that future generations can enjoy it too. Needless to say, we need to lessen our impact and leave as if we weren’t even there.
And in order for that to happen, we all need to know a quite few things about how to be a responsible camper or hiker. We should remember that we were all beginners once, naive of all these rules. So here are some basic but really helpful tips for you:
- Plan Ahead of Time
> Know your spot, know what to bring and bring only what’s needed. Also, do not forget to check the forecast. Know the trail conditions to make sure you have the right gear and you are up to the challenges of the trail.
- Dispose Your Waste Properly
> In the great outdoors, the smallest actions leave lasting impressions – it will count years until this impact’s gone. Tossing a banana peel in the bushes or picking that beautiful yellow flower along the trail may seem harmless, but every choice we make has the potential to alter the natural balance of our world. So as many guides say, leave the area exactly how you found it and it is never okay to just throw food in the woods.
- Minimize campfire damage
> Plan to use and cook over a stove, not on a campfire. Camping is never complete without a bonfire, but a campfire can do a very significant amount of damage if it’s improperly managed. If you do build a campfire when spending the night in the woods, learn how to minimize your impact and clean it properly when it’s your time to leave.
This article is certainly not just for the readers who love to hike and camp in their leisure time but for everyone who loves outdoor activities and spends time in nature.
