5 Solutions to Save Endangered Hiking Trails

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Endangered Hiking Trails

We have a growing issue with endangered hiking trails. Five threats confront our hiking trails. Five solutions can help solve the problems the threats posed to our endangered hiking trails.

First, what are the five threats to our hiking trails? If we know the threats, that is the first step to protecting our trails.

5 Hiking Trail Threats:

Urban development
More human infrastructure
Trail user group conflicts
Losing the quiet
Overcrowding

Urban Development

New development marks hiking trails. As the U.S. population increases, businesses look for less expensive real estate.

Often developers find less expensive land near our endangered hiking trails. Development intrudes on our trail system.

More Human Infrastructure

Population growth leads to trail threats. Some of these threats from growth include:

New roads
New power sources including new power lines
Adding communications sources.
Cutting down trees.

Hiking Trail’s User Group Conflicts

As the human population grows and open space shrinks, conflicts can sometimes happen. Different trail user groups have different interests.

Competing interests lead to conflicts. Hikers, bikers, horseback riders, and off-highway vehicles all use trails differently. Each group wants trails for their uses.

Losing the Quiet Hiking Trails

Aircraft noise, cars, and even cell phone calls are common on the trail now.

Overcrowding

We have many overcrowded trails. Overcrowding adds to concerns about our endangered hiking trails. Many popular U.S. wilderness areas now limit group sizes.

On the Appalachian Trail (AT), hiking traffic increased dramatically.

The AT saw a 155% increase in the number of attempted northbound thru-hikes between 2010-2017.
This link displays a table that shows the increased number of AT hikers by decade. Appalachian Trail 2,000 Milers by Decade
The number of thru-hikers completing the Pacific Crest Trail increased. Thru-hikers completing the trail went from 156 in 2011, to 719 in 2016.
Finally, the number of hikers completing the Continental Divide Trail went from 7 in 2011 to 51 in 2016.

Some of the Impacts of Trail Overcrowding Include:

Erosion – Boots on the trail cause erosion. Erosion happens when hikers leave the trail. Leave No Trace wrote that hiking off-trail tramples “vegetation or communities of organisms” beyond recovery.

Also, losing plant life:

Causes soil erosion
Damages surrounding habitats
Leaves less attractive trails.

Litter and waste – The McAfee Knob Task Force recently hauled around 150 pounds of trash from McAfee Knob. McAfee Knob is one of the most beautiful spots on the AT. Overcrowding often leaves outdoor restrooms overflowing. Overflowing causes unsanitary conditions.

Noise! – A lot of hikers enjoy the trail’s quiet. However, overcrowding brings noise from cell phones, loud music, and large hiking groups.

5 Solutions To Save Our Hiking Trails

Solutions to save our endangered hiking trails include:

Park Limits
Hiker Registrations
Limits and Lotteries
Alternate Hikes
Education

Hiking Discrete Cap Model (Park Limits)

One solution includes a discrete cap model. This model means parks have limits. Parks put limits on the number of campsites and parking spaces available each day. The limits restrict the number of daily visitors.

Hiker Registrations

Another solution to save our endangered hiking trails might be a formal registration process. Registration applies to northbound thru-hikers, flip floppers, and section hikers. This includes most of the AT hikers.

Flip floppers start in the middle of the Appalachian Trail. They begin at Harpers Ferry, W.Va. then hike north to Mount Katahdin.

Flip floppers return to Harpers Ferry then hike south to Springer Mountain. Flip flop hiking the AT helps avoid overcrowding.

High use areas like Springer Mountain in Georgia have a voluntary registration program.
The Presidential Range in New Hampshire’s White Mountains also uses voluntary registration.
The Appalachian Trail Conservancy began a voluntary registration system this year.

Using the voluntary registration system, thru hikers share their start dates with other hikers. By sharing their start dates, thru hikers plan hikes that avoid crowds on the AT.

Alternate Hikes

The Georgia Appalachian Trail Club information and education director lists three ways to save our endangered hiking trails. The three ways are: “education, education, and education.” The director agrees that “alternative thru hikes” help stop trail damage.

Alternative hikes include flip flop hikes. These hikes also include the section hikes discussed above. Additionally, the director wants to recognize alternative trails that parallel the AT.

The Benton MacKaye Trail (BMT) runs from Springer Mountain to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Including the BMT as part of a thru hike, spreads out hikers.

Hiking Trails Limits and Lotteries

We might need to limit the number of hikers with Limits and Lotteries. In the Western U.S., high demand parks already use a lottery system.

The lottery awards hiking permits. The permits limit the number of hikers. Lotteries could also be a solution to overcrowding on certain Appalachian Trail segments.

Hiking Preparation and Education

The White Mountain National Forest began using volunteer trail head stewards. Trail stewards help educate new hikers.

The stewards are also known as ridge runners. The forest places stewards at the bases of popular trails.

Ridge runners check hiker preparation for a day on the trail. The volunteers also help educate hikers.

Hiker education includes the importance of the Leave No Trace Seven Principles. Education also includes the new Leave No Trace Social Media Guidance.

Read this for more information about The America Is Beautiful National Parks Pass.

The Leave No Trace Seven Principles

Plan Ahead and Prepare.
Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces.
Dispose of Waste Properly.
Leave What You Find.
Minimize Campfire Impacts.
Respect Wildlife.
Be Considerate of Other Visitors.

The New Leave No Trace Social Media Guidance

Tag thoughtfully.
Be mindful of what your images portray.
Give back to the places you love.
Encourage and inspire Leave No Trace in social media posts.

Summary – 5 Solutions to Save Endangered Hiking Trails

Educate others about how to protect our forests, trails, and backcountry. Spread the word about how fun it is to be outdoors.

To save our endangered hiking trails, experienced hikers need to practice what we preach. We need to set examples for others. We also need to use available media to spread wilderness ethics.

Hikers need to practice the Leave No Trace Seven Principles.
We need to volunteer for trail maintenance.
Hikers can pick up trash or become a ridge runner.

Increased trail use can be positive. More people need to enjoy our wilderness areas. Help more hikers enjoy the trail by:

Educating new hikers about wilderness ethics
Working together to protect our trails

We want to help build a long term future for outdoor areas. Let’s build a future that offers a fun way to get away from it all.