The Tahoe Sierra is blessed with a plethora of beautiful trails for hiking and mountain biking. When lots of people descend on those trails, however, as they did this summer as soon as the stay-in-place order was lifted, the trails become damaged or destroyed. It’s important that all trail users treat the Tahoe environment with the respect it deserves. All it takes is to follow a few simple trail-etiquette rules and to apply these principles to hiking, camping or mountain biking on Tahoe trails.

A good place to start is with the seven principles of Leave No Trace:
• 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

Plan ahead & prepare
Bring plenty of water, food and the right clothing for your outdoor adventure. Prepare for how strenuous the trail will be and how long you will be going out. Let someone know where you are going and when you will return. Getting lost in the woods, especially during a pandemic and red fire alerts, is not only a danger for you, but is also a burden on our already stretched rescue personnel.

When lots of people descend on trails, as they did this summer, the trails become damaged or destroyed. It’s important that all trail users treat the Tahoe environment with the respect it deserves.

If you choose a popular trail, understand that parking will be limited. Get to the trailhead early or choose a less popular trail. This first principle of LNT could also be called the Principle of Common Sense.

Travel & camp on durable surfaces
Stay on the trail. Riding or walking off trail causes erosion and widens the trail. The COVID-19 exception for this rule is to step off the trail when other users pass so you can maintain at least 6 feet of physical distancing.

Dispose of waste properly
There are three kinds of waste to talk about. The first is litter. Carry a bag for trash with you and pack it in, pack it out. This time of year, trash cans are often overflowing, so be prepared to take your garbage home with you if necessary. Don’t leave your garbage next to an overflowing trash can where wildlife can get into the trash. If you want to make a positive contribution, pick up someone else’s trash when out on the trails, which will improve the experience for the next user.

The second kind of waste is human waste, also known as No. 2. If you need to go, be sure and do it in a hole at least 6 inches deep; then bury the doody. Bring a plastic bag or dog bag with you (biodegradable is preferred) and carry it out with your used toilet paper. It is not fun to be hiking through the spectacular Desolation Wilderness and see white toilet paper flags covering the ground.

The third kind of waste comes from dogs. We have a lot of dogs around these parts and yet there is still not any dog poop fairies. Dog owners must pick up their dogs’ poop. Equally importantly, take the dang poop bag with you. Because as I said, there are no poop fairies taking the bags out of the woods for you.

Leave what you find
If you pick up that pretty rock or flower, the next person doesn’t get to enjoy it. Just leave it there. Now if you see a piece of garbage next to that pretty flower, pick that sucker up and take it out. Nice work and thank you.

Minimize campfire impacts
For Tahoe and really the entire Western United States, this means don’t even think about having a campfire. Speaking of fires, keep all burning objects out of the woods, including cigarettes or whatever other burning objects you might be smoking.

Respect wildlife
In Tahoe, leaving your garbage out attracts bears. Once bears get used to human food, they will decide to break into your garbage cans, then your house and your car. Have you seen what is left of the interior of a car after a bear got stuck in there? Often it is so destroyed it will have to be towed away. Attracting bears is not good for the bears or humans. Once they get habituated to humans, bears may eventually be trapped and killed.

Be considerate of others
In many ways this principle sums up the other six. What we do in the woods affects the experience of other trail users. Often there are two groups of users in the forest: those who like to make lots of noise because they have escaped civilization and those who go seeking peace and quiet as an antidote to the noise and clamor of civilization. Obviously those two ways of looking at nature are in conflict. There is enough noise in the world; let’s seek quiet and peace in the woods.

Being considerate of others also means not leaving trash on the trail, giving space to other trail users and sharing the trail with different trail users peacefully. It means remembering what your mom taught you: be nice.

Perhaps most importantly, being considerate of others means appreciating what a wonderful place Tahoe is and understanding that we all need to do our best to keep it that way.