A few days ago I posted a picture of a family struggling to hike beside a snow-melt soggy trail. The exceeding wet trail itself had been left deeply rutted by previous hikers. At the time, I wondered is hiking down a trail in such condition, or even beside it, wise?
I now know the answer: It isn't.
To quote the Dogwood Audubon Center: "So who cares about a few ruts or a bit of mud?" The Centre's answer is "We all should" and continues by explaining why. Proper land management and erosion control are two big reasons.
Other sites may advise not hiking on trails left soggy from melting snow or a heavy rain as it is simply good trail etiquette. We all must strive to minimize trail destruction.
https://www.deschuteslandtrust.org/news/blog/2019-blog-posts/2019-muddy-trails "Hiking and biking on muddy trails is destructive . . . "
Going around muddy spots on the trail widens the trail and erodes the trail. Widening trails kills or harms fragile plants along the trail. It also turns lovely small trails into wide roads. This in turn requires time and money to repair. The good news is trail widening can be avoided if everyone follows the “If you leave tracks, turn back” adage.
Google "stay off muddy trails" and in under a second you will have 13 and a half million hits! (Like the following.)
1 comment:
It just makes sense.
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