Leave No Trace is a simple idea: we can visit wild places in a manner that records little or no sign of our passing.

Leave No Trace hopes to influence the decisions people make while visiting public lands by educating them about recreational effects on the land and techniques to minimize or prevent impacts. Leave No Trace is best understood as an educational and ethical program, not as a set of rules or regulations.

Leave-No-Trace -- Dispose of Waste Properly

Minimize Impacts of Waste: Carry out all trash. Leave the wilderness cleaner than you found it. Urinate away from drainages. The Leave No Trace organization advocates putting toilet paper and feces in plastic bags and carrying it out. Otherwise, bury feces and paper in a small hole about 4-8 inches deep and 100 yards from water. Avoid the urge to burn toilet paper, a surprising number of wildfires are started this way. Keep water clean by not putting human waste, soap, food, or trash in water sources.

This is not LNT pooping! Don't leave a pile of poop at the edge of your tent pad. Even if you have to go in the middle of a rainy night, do your business -- but clean it up in the morning. At the least, use a stick to flick it off into the bushes. Not only is leaving poop exposed on the ground unhealthy and unsightly, it is also extremely rude to fellow hikers. Bury feces and paper in a small hole about 4-8 inches deep and 100 yards from water or carry it out. Avoid the urge to burn toilet paper, a surprising number of wildfires are started this way.

Carry out all trash. Leave the wilderness cleaner than you found it. Orange peels dry out and can last for years in the desert. For all practical purposes, orange peels are not biodegradable.

Happy hiking! All distances, elevations, and other facts are approximate.
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