LEAVE NO TRACE

Challenge, adventure, a sense of discovery and solitude can be part of your backcountry experience. In order to ensure that Glacier’s backcountry remains unimpaired for future generations, visitors must be motivated by an ethic that compels responsibility toward our natural resources. It is the responsibility of every backcountry visitor to practice Leave No Trace Outdoor Skills and Ethics. Leave No Trace Outdoor Skills and Ethics is a national program promoting responsible outdoor recreation and stewardship of our public lands. The National Park Service is a cooperating partner in this program, along with other federal land management agencies.

Practice the 7 Principles of Leave No Trace:

PLAN AHEAD AND PREPARE:

• Know and respect the regulations and risks inherent in backcountry travel.
• Select terrain, mileage and elevation changes that everyone in your group can handle.
• Carry adequate food, water, clothing and other trip essentials.

TRAVEL AND CAMP ON DURABLE SURFACES:

• Camp in designated campsites to limit impact.
• Stay on maintained trails and walk single file down the middle of the trail, even when muddy.
• Shortcutting switchbacks is destructive and illegal.
• If you travel off trail, walk abreast and select the most durable route. Avoid fragile vegetation and saturated soils. Choose durable surfaces such as rock, snow, gravel or dry grasses for all activities.

RESPECT WILDLIFE:

• Enjoy wildlife at a distance. Photograph with telephoto lens.
• Never intentionally approach, feed or harass wildlife.
• Secure food and garbage properly. Remember – a fed bear is a dead bear!

LEAVE WHAT YOU FIND:

• All natural and cultural resources are protected by law, with the exception of berries and fish for personal consumption only.
• Never make alterations to tent sites or natural features.
• Avoid new impacts to rehabilitated areas and blocked social trails.

DISPOSE OF WASTE PROPERLY:

• Keep Glacier litter free: Pack it in—Pack it out!
• Never bury food or garbage—pack it out.
• Use toilets when available for both urine and feces.
• In lieu of toilets, deposit feces in a cathole, 6-8″ deep in organic soil, at least 200 feet from water. Fill and disguise hole and pack out paper.
• Urinate on durable surfaces (such as rocks) to reduce vegetation damage from salt-craving wildlife.

MINIMIZE CAMPFIRE IMPACTS:

• Self-contained camp stoves have the least impact.
• Fires are restricted to designated fire pits only.
• When permitted, collect down and dead wood only (size of wrist) and keep fires small and totally contained in fire pit.

BE CONSIDERATE OF OTHER VISITORS:

• Avoid conflicts with other types of users.
• Keep group size small and minimize noise in camp.
• Yield the right-of-way to horses (step off to the down hill side of the trail when encountering stock).