Hiking Taboos: 9 Things You Should Never, Ever Do on the Trails
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Loading... - Emma Gagnon
- 12 Apr 2022
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IT’S EASY TO FIND hiking tips online, but it’s just as important to know what not to do when you hit the trails, too.
Whether you’re a first-time hiker or have been peakbaggin’ for years, some things are obvious — most people know not to go hiking in flip-flops or leave plastic food wrappers in the woods. But there’s a lot more to the culture of hiking that you might not know, and some hiking tips only focus on things you should do, not things you shouldn’t do. But knowledge is power, and the list of hiking tips before focuses on hiking taboos — things to never do, unless you want to be the least-popular person on the trail.
Sure, hiking tips are great, but hiking taboos are pretty important to know, too.
1. Playing loud music
I know this may be hard to hear, but bear with me: your music isn’t that good. And even if it was, your fellow hikers don’t want to listen to it. That goes for any music, even music that’s David-Bowie-Circa-Ziggy-Stardust levels of good. For many hikers, being outdoors is a chance to enjoy the sounds of nature or have a conversation with their trail partners. Blasting your music — which, by the way, sounds terrible to anyone not directly next to your speaker — is not only rude to everyone else on the trail but can scare animals and be disruptive to the environment.
If you want to listen to music (or, my favorite, a podcast), totally cool. Just wear headphones (but make sure you can still hear people and animals around you on the trail). Wearing one headphone and keeping the other ear free can be a good solution for listening to music while still ensuring you can hear people coming up behind you.
2. Being a close-walker
Just like you shouldn’t play music to ensure your fellow hikers can enjoy the outdoors, so too should you not invade their personal space. Sure, it’s inevitable on some trails — no one is expecting space to themselves if they decide to hike up Yosemite Falls on a Saturday afternoon. But for an average trail, it’s good to give everyone as much personal space as possible. What’s that look like in real life? Just be courteous: if a faster group comes up behind you, let them pass rather than trying to speed up. If you and another group appear to be moving at the same pace, consider taking a long break to let them move ahead, or speeding up for a while to create some distance.
3. Littering of any kind
The most important rule to remember on the trails is do not litter. For your benefit, don’t litter, as reactions from your fellow hikers could range from dirty looks to reporting you to a park ranger to something far more confrontational. But really, don’t litter because it’s horrible for the planet and people; what’s the point of making so much effort to spend time in nature if you’re just going to fill it with trash?
And remember: littering isn’t just plastic bottles and cigarette butts. Litter is anything that doesn’t occur naturally in the environment you’re in, including things like banana peels, coffee grounds and liquid, and toilet paper. If there’s no other hiking tip you remember, remember this one.
4. Smoking like a chimney
I’m not here to tell you how to live your life, and if you smoke cigarettes, that’s up to you. But the last thing anyone wants is to smell cigarette smoke when they’re enjoying the fresh air — nor does anyone want a forest fire to start because someone was careless with their cigarette butt (oh, and if you do start a fire, even on accident, expect to go to jail). While it seems a little strange to huff and puff up a mountain only to smoke a cig at the top, you’re allowed certainly allowed to. But you need to go as far away from other hikers as possible, especially if there’s a breeze. And always try to smoke downwind whenever possible.
In the hiking community, you’ll generally find that most folks are kinder to cannabis than nicotine. But all the same, it’s best not to light up if there are other people around, regardless of what you’re smoking.
5. Not moving when you should
If you’re on a trail built just for hikers, it’s pretty easy: people going uphill have the right of way, so all you have to do is step aside if someone is coming up while you’re coming down. But on mixed-use trails, there’s a different hierarchy: everyone yields to equestrians, hikers yield to equestrians but not bikers, and mountain bikers yield to everyone. But in a real-world hiker-biker situation, it’s almost always easier for the hikers to step aside, especially if a mountain biker is trying to climb up a steep section.
When encountering equestrians, try to step off the trail enough to give the horses a few feet of space, but you don’t need to move too far. Horses get spooked easily, and it’s better if they can see you rather than you ducking behind a rock.
If you’re a hiker, it’s nice to yell when a mountain biker passes you something like “just me” or “one more up ahead,” so the biker knows if they need to keep an eye out for more people (and if you’re biking, you should relay the same information to any hikers you pass). Make sure you can hear people coming and going behind you if you’re wearing headphones. Read More...
