Get Outdoors - DayHike: Pack It in, Pack It out

Taking home your trash is one of the easiest ways to show respect for the land upon which you tread. The common saying, Pack it in, pack it out, is a simple yet effective way to get hikers to take their trash home with them.Plan ahead and prepare.

Much backcountry trash and litter originates from food items. Perhaps the easiest way to practice the principle of Pack it In, Pack it Out is to plan ahead and prepare.

It is possible to leave most potential trash at home if you take the time to properly prepare food supplies. Reduce the volume of trash you have to pack out and save weight by repackaging solid food into plastic bags and liquids into reusable containers.Under no circumstance should food scraps be buried!

Discarded or buried food scraps becomes attractive to small animal life which live in the area. It is common to see chipmunks, ground squirrels, and various species of birds gathering around camp kitchens. These camp robbers have become habituated to campers as a food source. Human food is not natural to wild animals and their natural feeding cycles and habits have become disturbed. A contentious no-trace camper always keeps a clean camp.Your first preference for dealing with trash should be to pack it out.

Much trash is not burnable and not all outdoor settings are acceptable for building fires. Areas are often closed to fires due to high fire hazards or excessive campsite damage. Some areas, such as desert settings, are impractical for fres due to the scarcity of firewood.When traveling in bear country, the disposal of garbage takes on a new significance.

The primary concern here is safety, both for the visitor and for the bear. Personal safety is the first priority; a bear can be a very dangerous animal if provoked or habituated to humans.

Safety of the bear is also a concern. Once a bear is habituated to people, usually because it associates people with food, it can rapidly become a problem bear and will have to be dealt with actively, sometimes at the expense of its life. Though black bears present less of a threat to the personal safety of backcountry visitors than grizzly bears, the potential for personal injury does exist and preparations should be taken.