Leave No Trace走過不留痕跡

I gave a presentation on Leave No Trace on the Beginner Backpack Workshop held by Appalachian Mountain Club, Delaware Valley Chapter, April 22, 2006.

What I presented was based on the principles conducted by The Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics and which fall in these seven categories (For steps to follow, in order to apply the principles, please download and read this file: Leave No Trace Principles of Outdoor Ethics.)

1. Plan Ahead and Prepare
2. Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces
3. Minimize Camp Fire Impact
4. Respect Wildlife
5. Be Considerate of Other Visitors
6. Dispose of Waste Properly
7. Leave What You Find

According to my personal leading experience, I emphasized the following:

1. Established versus Non-established:

If there is something established such as trails, camp sites, out houses, etc, use it. If there is nothing established, do your best so that nobody can find out you have been there.

For example, if there is a trail, walk on the trail, and make efforts to walk in the center. Do this even if there is a small puddle of water or mud, so that the trail will not be widened. Don’t take shortcuts when you can use a trail. For bushwhacking, the group should spread out instead of walking towards the destination one after another, so that the soil gets minimal impact and has a chance to recover.

When conducting primitive camping, don’t camp on the same spot for consecutive nights. After taking down the tent, you should put back leaves or bushes and make it seem like nobody has been there before to avoid attracting other people to camp on the spot again.

2. Biodegradable versus non-biodegradable:

Pack in and pack out. Just because orange peels or apple cores are biodegradable don’t think that we can leave them behind. It takes a long time for them to degrade (Remember: We even have to bury human waste at least 6 inches deep in order to speed up the biodegrading process.); besides, they don’t belong there in the first place.

3. Water source related

Don’t wash anything at any water source. If you need to rinse your pans and pots, carry the water and do the chores at least 200 feet away. The training I have about cleaning dishes after a meal is to leak them first and then use some drinking water to get the leftover food particles and drink it as soup. I know it sounds a bit disgusting or scary but you’ll get used to it. At least you can do your best not to wash them in a stream, spring or any water source and collect as much left over food as possible using your spatulas or a scrape.

Ps. this is the last article of the Beginner Backpack Workshop Series. Other articles include:

Beginner Backpack Workshop – Boots
Beginner Backpack Workshop – Nutrition, Cooking and Water Supply
Beginner Backpack Workshop – Socks
Beginner Backpack Workshop – Blisters


戶外倫理：走過不留痕跡（Leave No Trace）。這篇文章是根據我在四月二十二日，由Appalachian Mountain Club, Delaware Valley Chapter 舉辦的Backpacking 入門講座的講稿寫成的。

這篇報告主要是根據，走過不留痕跡戶外倫理協會，所訂定的七大原則敷衍而成：（詳細的實做步驟，可以參考這個檔案：Leave No Trace Principles of Outdoor Ethics。中文版本可以參考Raven的文章：http://adventurespirits.blogspot.com/2005/10/leave-no-trace.html

根據我個人的領隊經驗，特別強調了以下幾點：

1. 規劃的設施VS天然

如果是規劃好的設施，像是步道、露營區、或是廁所等等，使用該設施。如果沒有任何規劃的設施，純為天然，那麼，盡你最大的努力將破壞減低到最少，所以在離開後，他人無法發現你曾經造臨的痕跡。

舉例來說，如果有步道，走在步道上，並且盡量走在步道的正中央。儘管步道上有小水窪，或是泥濘，也該如此，這樣才不至於過份擴展該步道。也千萬不要貪一時之快，自行創造捷徑，有步道，就要使用步道。如果說，一點步道也沒有，要自行找路朝目標前進，那麼一行人要盡量散開，不要一個跟著另一個人的腳後跟走，這樣走過的路徑所受到的衝擊可以減到最低，土壤和植被有機會可以恢復生息。

在野外露營，也不要在同一個地點連續紮營。撤掉帳棚之後，要恢復原狀，將落葉或是斷落的樹枝掃回，他人無法辨認你曾經在該處紮營的痕跡，也才不會貪一時方便，在同一個地點紮營。

2. 可分解的垃圾？！

帶了東西出來，就要帶回家去。千萬不要因為蘋果核，橘子皮是可以分解的，就隨地亂丟，你知道要讓那些果皮天然分解需要花多少時間嗎？（這也就是為什麼，在野外方便的時候，要把人體廢棄物埋在深達15公分的地方，就是為了加速分解的過程），另外，蘋果和橘子也本來就不屬於那片天地啊。

3. 水源相關

別在水源處洗任何東西：碗盤、衣服等等。如果需要清洗碗盤、餐具，則取水之後，帶離距水源處至少70公尺的距離清洗。我個人所受，關於餐後清洗廚具餐具的訓練是這樣的，將食物殘渣盡量舔乾淨，之後用一些飲用水，加上湯匙的輔助，將剩餘的沒舔盡的部分掃進水中，之後當作湯喝掉。聽起來似乎有些噁心地嚇人，不過那些本來就是能吃的東西，習慣也就好了。真的沒辦法這麼做，也要盡量用湯匙或是其他的餐具，將食物殘渣刮除乾淨當垃圾收集好，再取水到遠離水源處清洗之後，將廢水均勻地撒在地面上。

註：這是Backpacking入門講座系列的最後一章文章，這一系列的其他文章列表如下：

Backpacking 入門講座 – 登山鞋篇
Beginner Backpack Workshop – Nutrition, Cooking and Water Supply
Backpacking 入門講座 – 襪子篇
Backpacking 入門講座 – 水泡成因，預防與護理