TheTahoeWeekly.com
BE PREPARED TO USE
TAHOE’S TRAIL AMBASSADORS MAN TRAILHEADS BY T I M H AU S E R M A N
LEAVE NO TRACE PRINCIPLES 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
> Use Tim’s Tips for Pooping in the Woods > Read about the harmful impacts of dog poop bags > Explore Tim’s Top Tahoe Rim Trail Picks > Follow Tim’s Tips for practicing Leave No Trace
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PHOTO A stop at one of the many lakes in Desolation Wilderness along the Tahoe Rim Trail. | Tim Hauserman
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VER THE LAST 25 YEARS I’VE SPENT A LOT OF TIME ON THE TAHOE RIM TRAIL. WHILE THE TRAIL IS AS BEAUTIFUL AS THE FIRST TIME I SET FOOT ON IT, THE NUMBER OF USERS HAS DRAMATICALLY INCREASED IN THE LAST FIVE YEARS.
This has led to more litter, more trail damage, increased fire danger and conflicts between user groups (bikers, hikers, runners and equestrians). Tahoe Rim Trail Association, with support from Tahoe Fund’s Take Care Tahoe, has initiated a new program to try to help with the problem: Taskforce Trailhead. It brings volunteer trail lovers to trailheads throughout the Tahoe Basin to provide information on the trail. Volunteers will pass on helpful tips such as where are the views and water, while also reminding users about Leave No Trace principals such as peeing and pooping etiquette for humans and dogs. Oh, don’t get me started about people who leave their dog’s poop bags. What are they thinking? That there is a poop fairy? In addition, Taskforce Trailhead members will remind people to bring out whatever they take in, and perhaps, bring back some of the litter that other trail users have left out there. The approach will be to provide information gently to those who are interested in it, but not bombard folks as they head out on their dirt adventure.
MANNING THE TRAILHEAD I decided to join Taskforce Trailhead and attended the first training session at the Rim Trail’s Brockway Summit Trailhead in June. I knew this was a busy sec-
tion, but until you hang out at the trailhead for a few hours you don’t realize how truly busy it is. More than 100 people passed by our little booth in just a few hours. Users included several thru hikers who had been hiking for days and were carrying amazingly small packs for such a long trip, and a few segment hikers who were taking on the 20-mile section as a day hike. The overwhelming majority of people, however, were just out for their first fairly quick jaunt to Picnic Rock (or as I call it Flintstone Rocks) a 3-mile out and back. While it was a bit shocking to see all those people, it was quite encouraging that for the most part, the hikers were willing to stop and chat and were appreciative of what we were trying to do. They understood the importance of picking up and bringing their dog’s poop out, of not leaving any trash and of not short cutting the trail. And as first-time hikers, they are just the people you want to reach with information about proper trail etiquette. The only true concern I had was the large multigenerational group that didn’t know how far or where they were hiking and wanted to know where they might find a restroom on the trail. We explained that there were no restrooms and that it was important that if they had to go, to be sure and get off the trail and bring back out any toilet paper they might have used. The TP discussion initiated a look of shock from several of the hikers, while several others you could tell had already decided that they would rather pee in their pants than go in the woods. This group reminded me of what could be the reason for increased impacts on our trails: a lack of understanding of the difference between a walk in a city park,
