Читать книгу Backpacking Arizona. From Deep Canyons to Sky Islands онлайн

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That said, every backpacker shares the responsibility to leave no trace of his or her presence. Arizona wilderness is dry, plants are slow growing, and litter lasts for centuries. Adopt the United States Forest Service’s “Pack it in, pack it out” slogan. Simply put, if you carried it in, you can carry it out. Never bury or burn any sort of trash. Animals dig up food scraps, and man-made materials such as plastics degrade slowly or not at all. Most backcountry litter is accidental, and we can all help by packing out a bit of litter on every trip.

When following a trail, stay on it and do not cut switchbacks. Taking shortcuts greatly increases erosion and trail maintenance costs, and you’ll always expend more energy than if you followed on the trail. When hiking cross-country, avoid fragile terrain such as cryptobiotic soil as much as possible. Cryptobiotic soil is a thin crust of cooperating plants that forms in desert areas, and especially in pinyon pine and juniper forests. The fragile crust protects the sandy soil from erosion and takes many years to reform once crushed. Don’t build rock cairns to mark your cross-country route. Such markers diminish the next backpacker’s experience and aren’t necessary.