I was raised in a home that had a creek behind it. It’s a small detail but one I think made a difference. Growing up exploring the woods behind the house shaped who I am today. As a long distance thru hiker, mountain biker, and trail runner I keep returning to the outdoors to remind myself of the beauty and power our public lands hold. Getting outside and experiencing nature has become more and more popular in recent years, I believe, in large part because of social media. The opportunity to share amazing landscapes and images across social media outlets inspires people to get out and see their public lands for themselves. But with this increase in people exploring nature we have also seen the negative affects of over crowding in our most popular parks and wild places.

The scene at Max Patch, NC in mid-September - photo by Mike Wurman

Recently, this image above of Max Patch mountain went viral across social media. The image shows nearly 120 tents scattered across the 10 acre summit with the Appalachian Trail winding its way through the crowd of people. What this image doesn’t show but was documented by the same photographer is the piles of trash and debris left on the mountain after the crowds had departed.

Max Patch Mountain has grown in popularity over the last 5 years as photos of its 360 views and epic sunrise/sunsets have been shared across Instagram and other social media platforms. The image asks the question that has been forming for some time now, how do we practice Leave No Trace in our social media usage and how do we teach new comers to the outdoors the principles to protect our public lands?

The 7 LNT principles as listed on lnt.org are as follows.

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

lnt.org goes on to explain these principles in detail by showing real-world examples of how not following the guidelines damages and harms the landscapes we so love.

In this digital age of sharing trips and photos from the outdoors LNT has come up with some new guidelines to consider before posting images to social media. The four new guidelines are:

Tag Thoughtfully
Be Mindful of What Your Images Portray
Give Back to The Places You Love
Encourage and Inspire LNT in Social Media Posts

Tag Thoughtfully

There is a growing movement across social media in the outdoors space to stop GeoTagging specific locations. On instagram or Facebook you can search ‘Max Patch’ and find nearly 40,000 images geotagged to the mountain. While Geotagging an image can seem innocent, it can also lead to significant impacts to particular places. LNT suggests that instead of tagging specific places like ‘Max Patch’ you tag general locations such as ‘Pisgah National Forest’ or ‘North Carolina’.

I stopped geotagging specific places on my own social media after thru hiking the Pacific Crest Trail in 2018. It was a hard decision to make because I want to share with people the beauty of our public lands and inspire someone else to go outside and explore these spaces. However, I realized the nature of social media as a double-edge sword and saw the specific places that had become popular across Instagram and other platforms were being destroyed by the over crowding and high traffic.

People will argue this point and say that by not geotagging or sharing specific locations we are gatekeeping the outdoors and public spaces. The truth is, today there are very few truly undocumented hidden gems in the great outdoors that are not easily discoverable on Google or social media. Don’t forget rule #1 of LNT, Plan Ahead and Prepare. This in most cases means do your research on the area you wish to visit, learn about the environment and what to expect. Our culture of instant gratification stands in juxtaposition to the great outdoors which requires us to do the leg work of planning and preparation before setting out to explore its vast beauty.

Be Mindful of What Your Images Portray

This second LNT guideline for social media is nearly as important as the first. As social media has become part of our every day life, some trends have become very popular. We all wish to inspire people, but we want to make sure we are not encouraging them to break the law or destroy the landscape. This 2019 story in California made national news as the state experienced a Super Bloom of wildflowers. Social media influencers quickly started the trend of laying in the fields of wildflowers and even arranging bouquets in their hair and clothing. As this trend spread across social media more and more photos were shared and reposted. Photos of the aftermath show the wildflower fields trampled and destroyed by the crowds of people.

Another popular photo trend across social media is capturing the view from your campsite. This trend is popular for good reason, we all love to imagine ourselves camping in these locations. Always remember though, “great campsites are found, not made.” Be sure to follow LNT principles when choosing a campsite. Camp on durable surfaces and make sure you are at least 200’ away from bodies of water (lakes, rivers, streams). We have all seen photos of incredible campsites located feet from the shore of a pristine alpine lake or stream - this unfortunately stands in stark contrast to the LNT principles and rules. There are many ways to inspire people to camp and explore the outdoors without breaking LNT principles.

Give Back to The Places You Love

When you truly love something you care and protect that thing. Guideline three reminds us to not just visit these amazing places but to also give back and ensure that they are around for generations to come. Our National Parks and National Forest serves often sponsor volunteer days and trail clean ups. You can find more information on their websites.

Encourage and Inspire LNT in Social Media Posts

We all have a voice within our circles of influence to educate and discuss the principles of LNT and how to respectfully visit our public lands. So many people are new to the outdoors and have never heard of LNT and may not know that their action may be hurting the environment they have come to know and love.

I hope that this post encourages you to speak out about LNT and help spread the word so that our landscapes, wildlife, and nature can be enjoyed for generations to come. Please visit lnt.org for more information. Always practice Leave No Trace ethics on your adventures and follow local regulations.

Explore responsibly.