Leave No Trace in the Backcountry — A Practical Guide for Backpackers

Leave No Trace exists because backcountry areas are finite, fragile, and increasingly popular. Every improperly disposed campfire ash, every off-trail shortcut, every improper waste burial compounds into real ecosystem damage over thousands of visitors. LNT principles aren’t arbitrary restrictions — they’re the practical result of decades of wilderness research.

Here’s how to apply them in the field.

Principle 1: Plan Ahead and Prepare

Most LNT violations happen because people weren’t prepared. Researching regulations, understanding the terrain, and planning waste management before you go prevents the improvised decisions that cause damage.

Practical steps:

• Check fire restrictions before every trip (conditions change seasonally)
• Know whether your destination requires a bear canister or allows hanging
• Research water sources so you’re not filtering from marginal sources near campsites
• Know your bailout options — rescues cause significant trail and vegetation damage

Principle 2: Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces

The rule: use established trails and campsites. When off-trail travel is necessary, spread the group out and step on rock, gravel, snow, or dry grass — never wet soil or cryptobiotic soil crust.

Campsite selection:

• Use established sites where they exist. A worn campsite concentrates impact better than spreading across pristine ground.
• Where established sites don’t exist, camp on rock, gravel, or dry grass at least 200 feet from water
• Never camp in meadows — the root systems are fragile and take decades to recover from compaction

The 200-foot rule: Camp, cook, and dispose of waste at least 200 feet (70 adult paces) from lakes, streams, and trails.

Principle 3: Dispose of Waste Properly

Human Waste

The cat hole method: dig a hole 6-8 inches deep, 4 inches wide, at least 200 feet from water, trails, and campsites. After use, fill and disguise the hole. Pack out toilet paper — it doesn’t decompose quickly and cairns of paper around popular campsites are a serious problem.

Essential gear:

• Deuce of Spades trowel (0.6 oz) — lightest, most reliable cat-hole tool
• Biodegradable TP — pack it out anyway
• Ziplock or dedicated waste bag for used TP

Some areas require packing out human waste entirely. Use WAG bags (Restop 2) in these zones — common in desert canyons and alpine areas. Check regulations before you go.

Gray Water

Strain food particles from dishwater and pack them out. Scatter strained gray water at least 200 feet from water sources. Never dump directly into streams or lakes. A fine-mesh strainer or bandana works fine for filtering.

Trash

Pack it in, pack it out. All of it. Including micro-trash — bread crumbs, sunscreen smears on rocks, flagging tape. An odor-proof OpSak bag doubles as trash and food storage.

Principle 4: Leave What You Find

Don’t pick wildflowers, collect rocks, carve trees, or move natural objects. The cultural artifacts in wilderness areas — stone rings, historic campsites, cairns — belong to everyone and should be left untouched.

Cairns specifically: Only follow established cairns on maintained routes. Don’t build new ones — unauthorized cairns misdirect other hikers and degrade the navigation experience.

Principle 5: Minimize Campfire Impacts

Campfires cause the most persistent backcountry damage of any single activity. Charred wood, ash, and fire rings persist for decades.

When campfires are appropriate:

• Only where fires are permitted (check current restrictions — they change)
• Only use existing fire rings — never build a new one
• Use only small sticks found on the ground — never break branches from living trees
• Keep fires small
• Burn all wood to ash, extinguish completely with water, scatter cold ash

The better option: A canister stove and a puffy jacket. Cooking on a stove leaves no trace, is faster and more reliable, and keeps you fed in any conditions. The MSR PocketRocket 2 or BRS-3000T are proven LNT-friendly cooking setups — see our best camp stoves guide for alternatives.

Principle 6: Respect Wildlife

The 100-yard rule for bears and wolves, 25 yards for all other wildlife. Observe from a distance — getting closer for a photo stresses animals and habituates them to human presence.

Food storage: Use a bear canister (BearVault BV500) or Ursack AllMitey (where legal) in all areas with bear activity. Habituation leads to aggressive behavior, which leads to hazing or euthanasia. The consequences of improper food storage are real. See our bear canister guide for regional requirements.

Don’t feed wildlife. Not chipmunks, not marmots, not birds. Fed animals lose their foraging instincts and often starve in winter or become aggressive nuisances that get relocated or killed.

Principle 7: Be Considerate of Other Visitors

• Yield to uphill hikers on trail
• Keep noise levels low — voices carry in the backcountry
• Camp out of sight and sound of other groups when possible
• Dog waste follows the same rules as human waste — pack it out or bury it

The Most Common LNT Mistakes

Improper cat holes: Too shallow (under 6 inches), too close to water, leaving TP behind.

Social trails: Taking shortcuts between switchbacks. Each shortcut becomes a trail; dozens of shortcuts erode a hillside.

Campfire scars: Building fires outside existing rings, burning trash, leaving ash unscattered.

Food storage: Hanging food incorrectly (too low, too close to the trunk) or leaving food in tent vestibules “just for tonight.”

Picking wildflowers: Seems harmless. In heavily visited areas, the cumulative effect is visible.

LNT Essentials: Gear Checklist

Everything you need to backpack LNT-compliantly:

Resources

• LNT Center for Outdoor Ethics: lnt.org
• Your land management agency (USFS, NPS, BLM) publishes area-specific regulations
• WTA (Washington Trails Association) and similar regional organizations publish trail condition and LNT guidance

Related Guides

• Bear Canister Guide: Where, Why & Which
• Beginner’s Guide to Backcountry Camping
• Best Backpacking Camp Stoves

Leave it better than you found it.