Leave No Trace!

As a company, Outabout Walks is committed to maintaining the natural splendour of the forest areas
through which we pass. We have adopted the principles of the Leave No Trace outdoor ethics.

The following information comes from a Wikipedia article on Leave No Trace.

Instilling values in people and helping them to make ethical choices throughout their lifetime is always a worthy endeavour. Leave No Trace reinforces such principles, and reminds us to respect the rights of other users of the outdoors as well as future generations. Appreciation for our natural environment and a knowledge of the interrelationships of nature bolster our respect for the environment and the natural world.

Leave No Trace instills an awareness that spurs questions like "What can we do to reduce our impact on the environment and on the experiences of other visitors?" We should use sound judgment and experience to tailor our practices to the environment where the outing will occur. Forest, mountain, seashore, plains, freshwater, and wetland environments all require different minimum impact practices.

Help protect the bush by remembering that, while you are there, you are a visitor. Leave everything just as you found it. Walking in the bush, without a trace, is the sign of someone who cares for the environment. Travel lightly on the land.

Leave No Trace provides a framework for outdoor recreation decision making, which is summarized in the following 7 principles:

Plan Ahead and Prepare

Poorly prepared people, when presented with unexpected situations, often resort to high-impact solutions that degrade the outdoors or put themselves at risk. Poor planning can result in improperly located campsites because groups failed to plan enough time to reach their intended destination, or improper campfires or excessive trash because of failure to plan meals or bring proper equipment.

Travel on Durable Surfaces

Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces: Damage to land occurs when surface vegetation or communities of organisms are trampled beyond repair. The resulting barren area leads to unusable trails, campsites and soil erosion. In high-use areas, Leave No Trace suggests that people concentrate activity, which makes further damage unlikely. In areas of very little or no use, Leave No Trace encourages people to spread out. Taking different paths when hiking off-trail will avoid creating new trails that cause erosion. Dispersing tents and equipment, and moving camp daily will avoid creating permanent-looking camp sites.

Dispose of Waste Properly

Though most trash and litter in the backcountry is not significant in terms of the long term ecological health of an area, it does rank high as a problem in the minds of many backcountry visitors. Trash and litter are primarily social impacts which can greatly detract from the naturalness of an area.[5] Thus, Leave No Trace recommends that trash and litter should be packed out. Further, backcountry users create body waste and waste water which requires proper disposal according to Leave No Trace. Waste water: Avoiding soap and dispersing dishwater far away from natural water sources will prevent contamination. Human waste: Proper human waste disposal prevents spread of disease, exposure to others, and speeds decomposition. Catholes, 6 to 8 inches deep and 200 feet from water, are often the easiest and most practical way to dispose of faeces.

Leave What You Find

Leaving rocks, plants, archaeological artifacts and other objects as found will allow others a sense of discovery. Similarly, Leave No Trace directs people to minimize site alterations, such as digging tent trenches, hammering nails into trees, permanently clearing an area of rocks or twigs.

Minimize Use and Impact of Fire

Leave No Trace encourages people to use lightweight camp stoves, instead of fires, because the naturalness of many areas has been degraded by overuse of fires and the increasing demand for firewood. If a campfire is constructed, Leave No Trace suggests using an existing fire ring in a well-placed campsite or to use a fire pan or mound fire. True Leave No Trace fires show no evidence of having ever been constructed.

Respect Wildlife

If enough people approach or interfere with wildlife, it can be disruptive to animal populations.

Be Considerate of Other Visitors

Following hiking etiquette and maintaining quiet allows visitors to go through the wilderness with minimal impact on other users.