OFF-PAVEMENT ETHICS

Parks are made to bring the music to the many, but by the time many are attuned to hear it there is little left but noise.
-- ALDO LEOPOLD
Nobody likes to be told what to do. But as more and more people go into the outdoors, we all need to practice some simple common sense and basic good manners in order to keep from ruining the landscape and the experience for everyone else.

Dealing with obstacles

Stay on the route. If you come to a section which isn't passable, you have three choices:
  • If you have a shovel and a winch with a tree strap, use them to get across the obstacle on the existing track.
  • Turn around and find a different track to drive.
  • Park it and walk.
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Using a winch without a tree strap is not ethical. Driving a new route around the obstacle is not ethical. Making new routes leads to erosion and an ever-increasing proliferation of widening braided multitracks.

Parking and turning around

Choose a spot which is free of vegetation -- preferably bedrock. Don't park any further off-track than is necessary to allow other vehicles to pass.

Litter

Carry out everything you bring in. That includes the small items like plastic bottle caps and rings, which will last longer than you will, and cigarette butts. The small items mess up routes and camp sites almost as much as the large ones do.

Fires

Don't deplete the firewood. Use a stove, or if you must use a fire then bring your own firewood and use a firepan. If you can't even do that, then at least use existing fire rings and clean them out after you're through. Don't even try to burn foil, plastics, or other non-or semi-flammables. Carry everything out.

Tents

Don't excavate new flat areas for tents; use areas that are naturally flat already. If previous campers have mashed plants by pitching tents, use those sites instead of mashing new areas.

Wildlife

The animals were there before you were, so leave them in peace. Unless you are acting in accordance with a valid hunting license, don't shoot them, chase them, or harass them. Keep your pets on leash, or watch them closely enough to guarantee that they don't even think about terrorizing the locals.