The Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics is an educational, nonprofit organization dedicated to the responsible enjoyment and active stewardship of the outdoors by all people, worldwide.
Last Friday evening we were invited to talk about Leave No Trace with a pack of 14 Cub Scouts and their families in northern Pennsylvania. The opportunity to work with the kids through PEAK pack activities such as Minimum Impact Match allowed us to help the scouts make connections between the 7 Principles of Leave No Trace and enjoying the outdoors responsibly. The evening wrapped up with a group discussion about the group's next adventure into the outdoors and how to approach outdoor recreation in a responsible way.
Ahead this week the Traveling Trainers visit Princeton University to work with students who will be facilitating outdoor recreation trips for incoming freshman during the fall of 2010.
Bigfoot has had an extremely active summer! There have been rumors of sightings at the Outdoor Retailer show in Salt Lake City and the Lights On summer camp in Lander, WY. There has also been confirmation that Bigfoot was seen dancing up a storm at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, Rocky Grass and Folks Fest, the Planet Bluegrass music festivals in Colorado. Apparently he likes to boogie! Keep your eyes peeled because Bigfoot could be attending an event near you. If you have not seen him yet, worry not. You can get your Bigfoot fix by taking this months Bigfoot Challenge and be entered to win great outdoor gear from our partners. Remember, you can reenter each month of 2010 for your chance to win!
Happy Adventuring...Kate, Tracy, and Bigfoot!
Friday, August 27, 2010
Above is a photo of the ultimate non-LNT campsite, found on a Big City Mountaineers backpacking trip in the Wallowa Mountains in Oregon with a bunch of teens from the Youth Employment Institute in Portland. Brendon (guide) had just told the crew they couldn’t set up camp within 200 feet of a water source, and while looking around for a new site, they found this underwater fire ring.
For information about Campfire impacts visit our website: http://www.lnt.org/programs/principles_5.php.
For more information about Big City Mountaineers visit their website: http://www.bigcitymountaineers.org/
When people take the Bigfoot Challenge, we always ask for pictures and stories. This recent submission was sent to us from Mary J. Hinchman.
"I shared my love of the outdoors and hiking with my dogs with a couple young families and their dogs. We did some letterboxing after making log books."
We've been back east for a few weeks now and luckily have had time to do some exploring as we travel and teach. While at the New River Gorge last week, we checked out historic downtown Fayetteville and hiked a number of trails to incredible panoramas of the gorge. On our way north from West Virginia, we decided to take the scenic route and enjoyed a winding drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway as well as a great hike out to McAfee's Knob (pictured above). Shenandoah National Park was our next stop and we enjoyed our visit despite the torrential downpour of rain we experienced at the Loft Mountain campground.
Keep an eye out for us in Pennsylvania and New Jersey in the weeks ahead as we continue our journey as Subaru/Leave No Trace Traveling Trainers!
On Saturday, we spent the day doing outreach at the Canyon Rim Visitor Center at the New River Gorge in West Virginia. We talked to over 1oo visitors who came to the Visitor Center to get information about the many hiking opportunities available in the park, to catch a glimpse of the gorge, or on their way to raft down the river.
The local TV station, WOAY, stopped by and interviewed Jason about the Leave No Trace program and our important partnership with the National Park Service. The piece was the highlight of the evening news program!
A special thank you to Jodi French-Burr for putting our visit together and being such a gracious host.
All week long, more than 250 athletes are lacing up their sneakers and testing their endurance at the Gore-Tex Trans Rockies Run. This race begins in Buena Vista, CO and travels for over 113 miles up to Beaver Creek, CO through beautiful mountain scenery along the Continental Divide Trail. We were excited to be invited to speak to all of the athletes during the opening ceremony dinner and share with them tips on how to leave no trace during the race, as well as share our latest Leave No Trace video! We joined all of the athletes at tent city, shown above, at the Arrowhead campground. The amazing part of this race is that the runners only need to worry about running through the high altitude terrain. Trans Rockies takes care of food, medical supplies, lodging, and entertainment! Gore-Tex and Solomon even provide a "relaxation station" where the athletes can recover after the days stage of the race. We were invited to be a part of the relaxation station and speak with the athletes about Leave No Trace.
One topic that continually came up was what to do with orange and banana peels on the trail. Even though these items are biodegradable, it can still take up to two years for one peel to decompose. Another reason to pack out those peels is the wild life impact they can represent when left behind. Once animals get a taste for human food, they can potentially lose their fear of humans and become habituated. This represents a potential dangerous situation for both humans and wildlife.
Transrockies, a partner of Leave No Trace, does an excellent job of educating their runners before the race begins about the skills and ethics of Leave No Trace through emails and newsletters. We applaud their efforts and look forward to working with them at future races.
It is undeniable that large groups have unique challenges when it comes to minimizing their impacts. Now scale that up to 50,000 people, and imagine the possibilities. Now read about the annual Burning Man event that is largely figuring it out: http://bit.ly/bBSwnw
Stephanie accepted the challenge to hike a trail she had never hiked before and she shared her experience with us. “I love the Bigfoot Challenge! I went on a 4 day backpacking trip into the Havasupai lands in Arizona. The Havasupai tribe lives 8 miles inside the Havasu Canyon, which houses the Havasu Creek that leads into the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. The campgrounds are 2 miles from the village for a total of 10 miles to get to our camp. We then hiked 16 miles round-trip to the Colorado River and then 10 miles out our final day. I have attached pictures of the descent from Mooney Falls, to one of the many creek crossings on the hike to the Colorado River and finally the ascent back up to the campgrounds from below Mooney Falls. The entire trip was quite an adventure especially since it was my first backpacking trip. We respected the land by having no campfires and packing out all of our trash. I have recently become a member of Leave No Trace and plan to educate others about the amazing things you guys are doing! Enjoy!”
Thanks,
Stephanie Reed
Take the Bigfoot Challenge online this month for a chance to win a Coleman soft cooler, Coleman family cookware set, and Coleman two-burner stove.
We ventured into the far corner of southeastern West Virginia on Tuesday for a full day of presentations for the Operation Purple program at Camp Twin Creeks in Minnehaha Springs. Operation Purple is a program developed by our partner, the National Military Family Association, to provide an opportunity for kids with a mom or dad at war to go to camp.
Throughout the day, we taught the principles of Leave No Trace through various activities including, Watch Your Step, Minimum Impact Match, and How Long Does it Last?, to over 150 kids ranging in ages from 6 to 16. All the young campers were excited to learn about Leave No Trace and were enjoying themselves at camp.
Did you know that we offer many of our teaching materials, for FREE on our site? It' true! While our online store can't be matched for its quality, some times you just need the info...for FREE. We offer PDF versions of many of our materials for your printing and distributing pleasure. Check it out here: http://www.lnt.org/training/educationaltraining.php
Planet Bluegrass celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Folks Fest held every August in Lyons, CO. Camping is available on-site, so for the fourth year in a row, Planet Bluegrass has partnered with the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics to promote the "How Green Is Your Grass?" Campsite Challenge. We challenge festavarians to stop by our booth and let us know how they are being sustainable, creative, and clean at their campsites. A random winner is chosen each day, then from those three entries the grand prize winner is chosen. What is the grand prize you ask? None other than a pass for on-site camping at the festival the following year! The daily winners received an awesome prize package including a pair of Keen Shoes, Planet Bluegrass CDs and DVD, and Bigfoot also threw in a hat, patch, and a one year membership to Leave No Trace. Congratulations to all of the campsites that took the challenge of keeping your grass green! Speaking of membership...we had twenty festivarians join Leave No Trace as individual members this weekend. Everyone who signed up for a membership at Folks Fest received a pair of Smartwool Socks and were entered in a drawing for a pair of Chaco Shoes or a Seal Line Urban Backpack from Cascade Designs! We want to thank all of our partners who support the Traveling Trainer Program! Also a big shout out goes to all of our volunteers this weekend- Betsy, Lindsey, Alex, Molly, and of course Bigfoot!
Over the years I've found it interesting that some of the hardest people to teach about Leave No Trace are my closest friends. That's not to say that they're disinterested or don't care about protecting the places they love to recreate. Yet, I think it's easier for a friend to question a particular practice, technique or an ethic than it is for someone you don't know well or someone you just met. I have tried a variety of different approaches with my friends and what I've found is that when I tailor Leave No Trace information/education for a particular friend's style, it's often better received. That doesn't mean that it's easy but I have realized that by "picking my battles" with friends, I've made far more headway than by being dogmatic. The other key for me is to simply lead by example. If I walk through a puddle along a trail or pick up trash at a campsite or clean up a fire ring, my companions see those actions and realize that leaving no trace is easy.
August 15th is the last day you can submit your application to The North Face Explore Fund!
The Explore Fund will support organizations that encourage youth outdoor participation, focus on sustainability initiatives, or help to create a connection to nature that will empower the future leaders of tomorrow. Grants will be given up to $2,500.
Please visit the Explore Fund for more details and to apply
We have spent the last three days on the Current River in Missouri at the Jellystone Park in Van Buren. We spoke to a number of families during the five sessions we held and introduced a variety of activities, including What Principle Am I?, How Long Does it Last?, Minimum Impact Match from the PEAK pack. At the last session, we made Leave No Trace posters for the campground. A special thank you to the Wacaster family for inviting us to their campground and for their enthusiasm!
This week the Subaru/Leave No Trace Traveling Trainers are visiting Van Buren, MO to work with staff and guests at the Jellystone Park camp resort. We will be teaching PEAK activities with Yogi and BooBoo in the morning sessions, and talking about enjoying the Frontcountry campground more responsibly in our evening sessions.
After a busy week at the Outdoor Retailer Show in Salt Lake City, we rejuvenated by hiking through the beautiful Big Cottonwood Canyon. A little time in nature always provides much needed therapy after a nonstop work week. After enjoying the fresh air of the mountains, we were back at it again providing a PEAK (Promoting Environmental Awareness in Kids) presentation at the REI store in Salt Lake City. We trained 7 participants that have strong ties with teaching the youth of their community. We would like to thank the enthusiastic Celeste Eppler for hosting the Traveling Trainer program. We are already looking forward to a repeat visit in the Salt Lake area. Below is the two of us inviting the group to put on their 8 year old hats and enjoy the activity "What Principal Am I?"
We’re the new guys on the block, having been with Leave No Trace for all of one month as the 2010 e-tour Team, and to presume that we have “Road Wisdom” would be, well, presumptuous. We could certainly speak to the many lessons already encountered in our short experience: how not to setup and breakdown our Coleman pop-up camper, when to be skeptical of instructions from “Sue”, our otherwise reliable GPS guidance system, and more. Perhaps we’ll eventually gain some wisdom to share through these lessons, or at least learn well enough ourselves to keep from making the same mistakes over and over. So, even though this essay is entitled “Road Wisdom,” we decided to write about the National Boy Scout Jamboree, where we have spent the last 5 days not actually on the road, but encamped in a dusty field at Fort A. P. Hill, Virginia. We definitely feel more than a bit wiser, and humbler, for the experience.
What we have learned is something that we hope everyone associated with Leave No Trace has had or will have the opportunity to experience. Standing by the Leave No Trace display at the Boy Scout Jamboree has given us a real appreciation for the outdoor ethic that is embodied in the 100-year history of the Boy Scouts. For the Scouts, Leave No Trace is not just an exercise in sloganeering or rote memorization, and there are none of the cherished merit badges to be earned through Leave No Trace activities. Nope, it was definitely a deeper motivation that compelled literally thousands of scouts to visit the Leave No Trace area at the Jamboree. What we witnessed here over the past week was testimony that young folks (and lots of troop leaders) want to do the right thing when it comes to outdoor recreation. In order to do the right thing, the scouting community is actively seeking a better understanding of how to practice and teach the outdoor ethics that will preserve the environment and the quality of our recreational experiences… not just for our enjoyment, but for generations to come.
We’ve been especially blown away when young scouts dig into their wallets and shyly make a $2 or $3 donation to Leave No Trace. Even at 10 years old, they know that this Leave No Trace movement is a very good thing and among the basic tenets in life that we would all do well to live by. And then there is the adult, with sweat dripping off of his or her brow, who arrives at our booth saying, “I finally made it here…. I’ve been trying to come by. I really want to become a member of Leave No Trace… Is this where I sign up?” Our Traveling Trainer buddies Agata and Jason thoughtfully placed chairs near the table for exhausted folks to take a load off while they fill out their membership forms.
Today we close up our dusty shop here with our fellow Leave No Trace road warriors and friends, and head off in different directions as we continue our e-tour. True, we’re more than a bit exhausted ourselves after a pretty intense week, but the experience has left us feeling pretty elated, too. Now that’s a great e-word for the e-tour: “elated.” All in all, after spending a week with over 50,000 scouts, maybe we have gained a little “Road Wisdom…”
Soon to be fifth-grader, Maria Sobinovsky, from Martinsburg, West Virginia loves to hike, climb trees, play tag, sled down the gigantic hill in her back yard and talk about Leave No Trace. Last year she made it to regionals with a social studies fair project about the program. Below, Maria answers a couple of questions for Susy Alkaitis at the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics: Susy Alkaitis: What do like best about Leave No Trace?
Maria Sobinovsky: The thing that I like best about Leave No Trace is that the guidelines teach people how to treat nature and places which is so important.
SA: Describe your project?
MS: My West Virginia Social Studies Fair project title was "Preserving & Protecting our National Parks". The topic hit me almost instantly because my family and I have now visited 297 national parks, so I knew a lot about this subject. In addition to visiting national parks, I have earned 217 Junior Ranger badges so far. I think that my badge vest was a nice touch to my project because it might encourage other kids to earn their own badges. In my project, I talked about the history of national parks, some of the partners that help them (such as Preserve America and Leave No Trace), how kids can help preserve and protect them and what some of the concerns are (such as endangered species and graffiti.) I also distributed a survey to my school (with almost 500 replies) to see what kids my age (10-11) knew about national parks and the Leave No Trace ethics. I found that most kids are not familiar with the Leave No Trace guidelines. I think that we all need to do a better job of educating everyone.
SA: How did you do in the Social Studies Fair?
MS: The WV Social Studies Fair was fun and lot of work...it took me a few weeks to work on my report, abstract, backboard and display. I also had to practice my oral presentation. At my school level, I place 1st in my category of Geography. Then I moved on to the county level where I also placed 1st out of eight counties. In the regional level, I placed 2nd.
SA: How do you and your family practice Leave No Trace?
MS: To name a couple things, our family practices Leave No Trace by following the guidelines such as leaving only footprints and taking only pictures and when camping, we pack everything out.
SA: You're a very accomplished Junior Ranger. What is your favorite part of that program?
MS: My favorite part of every Junior Ranger program is when the ranger gives me my badge. It's nice when kids (and even adults) say "WOW!" and want to earn a badge too. I now have 217 badges. We are fortunate to go to all these wonderful places. I learn so much.
SA: Describe your perfect day outdoors with your family:
MS: My perfect day outdoors with my family would have to be hiking, biking and picnicking in a secluded place where we can listen to nature's music.
I have dirty dishes. Just plain dirty. I’ve been on back-to-back car camping and rafting trips and I just don’t know a good way to wash my dishes in the out of doors in these situations. Help!
Signed,
Mr. Clean
Dear Mr. Clean,
Thanks for asking. In both car camping and rafting situations, there is a great option for washing dishes in a way than ensures they’re clean, that your waste water is dealt with appropriately and that there aren’t any scraps left over for the critters.
A four-bucket wash system is easy to use and inexpensive to set up. It consists of four containers of equal size (wash tubs, 5-gal buckets, etc.) and large enough to hold dishes, lots of them if you’re with a larger group. It’s also handy to have a dedicated “boil bucket” that can hold a large amount of water in order to heat all the hot water you’ll need in one
shot. The next item is a screen for filtering out leftover food particles (you can use a piece of fine mesh, a kitchen strainer or even a bandana in a pinch) that is large enough to easily pour larger quantities of water through. The last item is a tarp or “scrim” cloth to put the buckets on to catch any food or other garbage that may hit the ground. Ideally, the system is made even easier by finding a mesh stuff sack to put everything in for storage.
Here’s how the system works (assuming you’re using tubs that hold 2
gallons of water):
1.Boil 2 gallons of water.
2.While the water is boiling, fill all four tubs with water. Two tubs are filled full, while the other two are only filled half way.
3.At this point, you’ll need to decide which way you’re going to wash – to the left or the right. It
doesn’t matter as long as everyone involved in the process knows which direction the washing is going.Along rivers, it’s easiest to orient the washing downstream.
4.Once the water boils, pour half in each of the two tubs that were only filled half way.
5.Set the tubs up in this order: tub #1 – cold rinse (full tub), tub #2 – hot wash (use biodegradable phosphate-free soap whenever possible and use only what you need to get the job done), tub #3 – hot rinse, and finally tub #4 – cold bleach solution (bleach is a powerful chemical and should be used sparingly – 7-10 drops per gallon).
Once the system is set up, scrape the dishes off into the trash to remove any of the big stuff. Next you put all the dishes (or as many that will fit) into the cold rinse bucket. Think of this as the “funk” bucket. This bucket is critical and will help keep the rest of your system cleaner. After a good soaking in the funk bucket, begin to cycle the dishes through the hot wash, hot rinse (make sure they’re rinsed well) to the cold bleach solution for final sanitation. For longer trips, the final dunk in the sanitation bucket is key. Ideally, the dishes would soak for 5-15 minutes in the solution, depending on the time you. Once the dishes come out of the final bucket, they can be air-dried in a mesh “hammock” or hand dried with a towel or dishrag.
Now, your dishes are clean but you have a few steps to go:
1.Using the strainer, pour the contents of tub #1 through the strainer, ideally into another bucket. Once you have the strained water, you can see if there are options for disposing of it in a provided facility (sink, toilet, etc.) if allowed. Other options include broadcasting the wastewater 200 ft from camp, trails and water sources, or on some western rivers in arid environments, it may be permissible for the wastewater to be put directly in the river. Always check land manager regulations for proper disposal of wastewater.
2.Again, using the strainer, continue the process until all four tubs have been strained and the wastewater disposed of in an appropriate and approved method. All collected food particles need to go in with the trash.
3.You can consider pouring the soapy water into the dirtier tubs to help keep them clean. If you choose to do this, you’ll need to adjust your straining order accordingly.
4.Once your tubs are strained, cleaned and stowed, you’ll need to check the tarp or “scrim” cloth for any food scraps or trash, which would go in with your trash.
5.At this point, you’re almost done. All you need to do is consider storing your dish wash components securely from animals. It’s hard to get all the food smells off which could attract company.
This system can work well in many situations, and it’s a great way to ensure clean dishes for you and your companions.
“He who wants to change the world should begin by cleaning the dishes.”
These Bigfoot Challenge Takers show off their "big feet"!
Hey Leave No Trace!
We took the Bigfoot Challenge to pick up trash along the trail during our Leave No Trace Master Educator course hosted by Landmark Learning. Seven Master Educator students lead by two trusty instructors reused grocery bags to collect everything from the little corners of granola bar wrappers to metal oil drum lids in Pisgah National Forest as we backpacked and learned about Leave No Trace. The trash got heavy to carry as the course progressed and we found more and more of it, but the pain turned into pride when we were finished and looked at all the trash we removed from the National Forest.
Along the way, we decided to leave the forest better than we found it by cleaning up some heavily used campsites and restoring established but bombed out campfire rings. We cleaned four campfire rings - one for each night out on the trail! And picked up gobs of trash. We put the trash on display at the end of the course for visitors to Grandfather Mountain to see which gave us a chance to share the message of Leave No Trace with them. We also handed out dozens of Leave No Trace hangtags and promotional materials while at Grandfather Mountain.
We are proud to have taken the Bigfoot Challenge and hope our story encourages others to do the same! We never knew being like Bigfoot could be so easy! Thanks for all your support and we look forward to carrying on the Leave No Trace message as Master Educators!
Jon Lowrance, Instructor Landmark Learning
Course Participants: Jon Lowrance (instructor) Laura Bonner (instructor) DJ Hoessle Katie Coley Mandy Harrison Hal Petzold John Shryock Christine Moyers Sarah Banks
Lucky winners of the Great Gear Giveaway, sponsored by Backpacker Magazine and Subaru Our youngest winner ever of the Great Gear Giveaway Bigfoot entertains the crowd during the Great Gear Giveaway High 5's for all of our daily winners The eager crowds await the daily drawing
We are attending Outdoor Retailer Summer Market Trade Show this week. It has been a great chance to meet up with many of our corporate partners as well as non-corporate partners. The Subaru/Leave No Trace Traveling Trainers are doing a Great Gear Giveaway each day at the show, giving away 7 different prize packages from many of our corporate partners. Of course Bigfoot is here. Bigfoot has made a couple of appearances over the last couple of days. I am hoping to catch a photo or two today and I will post them here. Please check back.
If you are at the show stop by the Subaru/Leave No Trace Traveling Trainer booth or come say hello upstairs at the Center's booth.
Introducing the new 7 Principles Poster! Perfect for everything from the retail shop to a campground kiosk, even a teaching prop. These posters are 11 x 16.5 inches on waterproof paper. Pick em' here: https://store.lnt.org/teach Only $2.95 this month!
The group of volunteers and staff from the Boy Scouts Outdoor Ethics action center at the 100th anniversary National Jamboree. Many thanks to Charlie Thorpe and the entire crew for all the hard work put into this year's event.
Soon to be fifth-grader, Maria Sobinovsky, from Martinsburg, West Virginia loves to hike, climb trees, play tag, sled down the gigantic hill in her back yard and talk about Leave No Trace. Last year she made it to regionals with a social studies fair project about the program. Below, Maria answers a couple of questions for Susy Alkaitis at the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics
Susy Alkaitis: What do like best about Leave No Trace?
Maria Sobinovsky: The thing that I like best about Leave No Trace is that the guidelines teach people how to treat nature and places which is so important.
SA: Describe your project?
MS: My West Virginia Social Studies Fair project title was "Preserving & Protecting our National Parks". The topic hit me almost instantly because my family and I have now visited 297 national parks, so I knew a lot about this subject. In addition to visiting national parks, I have earned 217 Junior Ranger badges so far. I think that my badge vest was a nice touch to my project because it might encourage other kids to earn their own badges. In my project, I talked about the history of national parks, some of the partners that help them (such as Preserve America and Leave No Trace), how kids can help preserve and protect them and what some of the concerns are (such as endangered species and graffiti.) I also distributed a survey to my school (with almost 500 replies) to see what kids my age (10-11) knew about national parks and the Leave No Trace ethics. I found that most kids are not familiar with the Leave No Trace guidelines. I think that we all need to do a better job of educating everyone.
SA: How did you do in the Social Studies Fair?
MS: The WV Social Studies Fair was fun and lot of work...it took me a few weeks to work on my report, abstract, backboard and display. I also had to practice my oral presentation. At my school level, I place 1st in my category of Geography. Then I moved on to the county level where I also placed 1st out of eight counties. In the regional level, I placed 2nd.
SA: How do you and your family practice Leave No Trace?
MS: To name a couple things, our family practices Leave No Trace by following the guidelines such as leaving only footprints and taking only pictures and when camping, we pack everything out.
SA: You're a very accomplished Junior Ranger. What is your favorite part of that program?
MS: My favorite part of every Junior Ranger program is when the ranger gives me my badge. It's nice when kids (and even adults) say "WOW!" and want to earn a badge too. I now have 217 badges. We are fortunate to go to all these wonderful places. I learn so much.
SA: Describe your perfect day outdoors with your family:
MS: My perfect day outdoors with my family would have to be hiking, biking and picnicking in a secluded place where we can listen to nature's music.
We recently did a family raft trip on a river in Utah that was rich with cultural history. Pot shards, rock houses, petroglyphs and other signs of past generations. One particular area was littered with pot shards and all the kids were amazed. They also wanted to each take home one or more pieces, which gave me a great opportunity to help them understand why the pot shards should be left where they were found. It took a little convincing but eventually all the kids (8 of them under the age of eight) decide to leave the artifacts for the next "kids so they could see them." It was great to see little people beginning to develop an outdoor ethic.
Consider joining Leave No Trace as a member. Special Jamboree membership benefits include Smartwool socks, a Bigfoot Patch, and your choice of a member t-shirt or water bottle.
Membership benefits include:
One year subscription to Learn.Network.Together., Leave No Trace's electronic newsletters that keep you updated on programs;
Personalized Leave No Trace membership card;
The Membership Resource Guide to help you get involved and stay connected;
Invitations to attend events and presentations in your area by others in the Leave No Trace community;
Receive 10% off your gourmet backcountry purchase at PackIt Gourmet (email us for your password).
The Leave No Trace bumper sticker and reference card;
Memberships of $35 or more will receive either a limited edition Member t-shirt or a Leave No Trace waterbottle;
Eligibility for the Subaru VIP Partners Program after six months of being a member, helping you save as much as $3,300 when you purchase or lease a new Subaru;
Unique discount opportunities from other Leave No Trace partners for cool schwag and gear;
Access to the on-line Coleman Pro Store (email us for your password), to take advantage of exclusive prices on quality outdoor gear and accessories;
Satisfaction that you are furthering your essential role in spreading Leave No Trace.
Last Friday evening we were invited to talk about Leave No Trace with a pack of 14 Cub Scouts and their families in northern Pennsylvania. The opportunity to work with the kids through PEAK pack activities such as Minimum Impact Match allowed us to help the scouts make connections between the 7 Principles of Leave No Trace and enjoying the outdoors responsibly.
“I love the Bigfoot Challenge! I went on a 4 day backpacking trip into the Havasupai lands in Arizona. The Havasupai tribe lives 8 miles inside the Havasu Canyon, which houses the Havasu Creek that leads into the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. The campgrounds are 2 miles from the village for a total of 10 miles to get to our camp. We then hiked 16 miles round-trip to the Colorado River and then 10 miles out our final day. I have attached pictures of the descent from Mooney Falls, to one of the many creek crossings on the hike to the Colorado River and finally the ascent back up to the campgrounds from below Mooney Falls. The entire trip was quite an adventure especially since it was my first backpacking trip. We respected the land by having no campfires and packing out all of our trash. I have recently become a member of Leave No Trace and plan to educate others about the amazing things you guys are doing!
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