Tramping Theory: Following Leave No Trace principles in the outdoors

"...take only photos, leave only foot prints..."

I have a keen interest in nature and the environment so I thought it would be a good idea to discuss how I incorporate environmental concerns into my tramping. To that end I practice the principles of Leave No Trace while out in the back-country.

© 1999 by the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics: www.LNT.org.

Lets have a look at Leave No Trace and discus how it impacts my style of outdoor adventures

What is Leave No Trace

Leave No Trace is an ethical framework which provides us with a way of interacting with nature. The movement started in the United States in the 1990's but has since spread to various  areas of the globe. The framework is based on the realisation that the environment is fragile and under increasing pressure from mankind, we as outdoors people must all play our part in preserving it.

Irish version of the Leave No Trace principles

Leave No Trace means engaging with nature in its natural state, not altering it to suit your own purpose.Obviously there are few if any places around the world mankind has not impacted in some fashion. Following the Leave No Trace guidelines mean we can minimise our individual and collective impact on the extant environment.

The seven principles of Leave No Trace theory:

Leave No Trace has seven guiding principles, these are meant to shape the actions of practitioners while in the back-country. They promote a sustainable way to co exist within nature. 

These seven principles are:

Principle 1: Plan ahead and prepare

Principle 2: Travel and camp on durable surfaces

Principle 3: Dispose of waste properly

Principle 4: Leave what you find

Principle 5: Minimise camp-fire impacts

Principle 6: Respect wildlife & farm animals

Principle 7: Be considerate to other visitors

My approach to Leave No Trace

While I am no expert on Leave No Trace I have made a conscious effort to incorporate the seven principles into all of my outdoor activities. I also talk to people about the principles to disseminate the information as widely as possible. This is an approach we can all easily incorporate, together we can work to change everyone's attitudes.

Jon in his natural environment...

 Here are a few photos demonstrating aspects of the seven principles of Leave No Trace and how they impact on the environment.

First up...if you are camping try to camp on a durable surface like rock, sand or mineral dirt. If there is a pre-existing camp-site on these type of surfaces use it. Rather than damaging virgin bush use one of the over 200 DOC camp-sites scattered around the country.

One of the nearly 200 DOC camp-sites in New Zealand: Torrent Bay Camp-site, Abel Tasman NP

My Luxe tent set up in the established camp site at Cowshed Bay, Marlborough

Plan and prepare your itinerary and gear before undertaking any outdoor adventure. In the Army we had a saying Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance- if you plan thoroughly your performance in the outdoors will be much better. The Mountain Safety Council has a wealth of resources on planning a trip into the outdoors.

Plan thoroughly to prevent accidents...

 
Always, always pack out what you have packed in, do not leave litter in the natural environment. Don't burn plastics in a camp fire or wood burner. If you have space take any rubbish you find with you. Trying to minimise the packaging you use is also a good general method of environmental care.

Lucky Jon carrying the rubbish bag...

If you must start a fire make sure it is on a durable surface like rock, sand or bare mineral earth. If a pre-existing fire ring or fireplace is available please use it, try to avoid a multitude of ugly fire circles.

Firing up the billy on sand minimises its long term visual impact...

...or use an existing fire pit!

 Better still, forget about that fire and use a small cooker...no embers, no smoke and no trace left behind!

Brew time on the bed of the Blue Grey River, Victoria FP in 2016

If you find some kind of historic structure or artefact please respect its scientific, cultural and historic values and leave it in place! Often its importance is tied to the location...removing it or vandalising it devalues its worth. This is especially important for Maori artefacts...they represent the history of their people and should never be touched.

Historic boat wrecks, Quail Island, Banks Peninsula

When I'm out tramping I stay on the tracks whenever possible, obviously this is not always possible but if there is a choice between track or virgin bush always use the track. Do not go around muddy spots on a track, doing so will encourage others and widen the track.

Following the St James Walkway in 2015, nice dry track, use the stiles and bridges provided

A muddy track...go through it not around it!

You should avoid building shelters in the outdoors unless it is an emergency. Moving the materials for these shelters can damage the local ecology by removing a natural home/food source and are visually offensive. If you must build a shelter make sure you return the materials to their original location afterwards.

Don't build shelters of natural materials unless absolutely necessary!

In New Zealand we do not have a lot of the larger mammals you find in other back-country regions of the world. Therefore our interactions with them are limited.

St James wild horses...one of the few large wild animals we have in New Zealand!

What we do have are birds...when you are out on your adventures ensure you interact with our native birds in a careful and responsible manner. Do not feed them, do not interfere with them and respect their boundaries.

Kea or New Zealand Mountain Parrot at Arthur's Pass...don't feed them!

A Weka or native Wood-hen, fearless scavengers of human detritus

When you are tramping do so in either a small group or solo. Large groups are far more likely to disturb any resident wildlife as well as causing greater cumulative damage to the flora they pass.

Tramping in a small group is less invasive to the environment

Educate yourself about the Leave No Trace principles and try to put them into use whenever you are in the outdoors.

Final thoughts on Leave No Trace

At heart I am an environmentalist, I believe that man is the most dangerous threat to the natural world. Nature is to be enjoyed but we must strive to minimise our impact upon it. For that reason I wholeheartedly approve the Leave No Trace framework.

Waimakiriri River Valley...the type of rugged beauty we are trying to preserve

When I am in the back-country I put these seven guiding principles into practical use at all times.  I would rather expend a bit more effort than deprive future generations of the right to experience the majesty of mother nature.

Me enjoying quiet commune with nature, Travers-Sabine Circuit 2018

If you would like more information about the Leave No Trace movement then check out the Leave No Trace website or look for a related programme in your local area. There are also many educational courses available which will allow you to educate others about the principles of Leave No Trace, check your local University, Polytechnic or Outdoor education provider.

The next time you go tramping I would urge you to follow the general principles of Leave No Trace, play your own small part in preserving our natural environment.

...take only photos, leave only footprints!

Useful Links: Leave No Trace

Here are some links that you may find useful:

Department of Conservation: Leave No Trace care codes

Leave No Trace.Org:  Leave No Trace Centre for Outdoor Ethics

Mountain Safety Council of New Zealand: Trip planning resources 

The New Zealand Leave No Trace site: Leave No Trace New Zealand

Wikipedia: Leave No Trace

Whats in a DOC Hut?: An overview of a what to expect...

 Backcountry huts: A guide for new trampers...

One of the unique things you will encounter tramping in New Zealand are the DOC huts which are such a feature of outdoor life here. We have 900+ back country huts scattered around the country which can be used for a very minimal charge.

That first tantalising glimpse of your home for the night...Magdalen Hut

Your average Kiwi tramper will probably stay in huts for 90% of the time when tramping, the other 10% will be camping.

A good hut has an awesome location...Nina Hut, Lewis Pass Scenic Reserve

That is a lot of hut life!

 I don't know about you but huts are one of the things I most enjoy about tramping. 

A breakdown of DOC hut amenities

I thought it might be interesting to look at some of the amenities DOC huts contain as well as discussing some of the rules of good hut etiquette before you start your tramping adventures.

Living Space

  Most of the larger huts will have some sort of living area, what this entails varies from hut to hut. Generally this will consist of a table of some description with wooden benches, a cooking bench (see below), heating source (see below) and possibly some shelving space. 

Living/Cooking space, Te Matawai Hut, Tararua FP

 If we look at a specific hut, Boyle Flat Hut on the St James Walkway we can see what the hut contains in the way of living space. This is one of my favourite huts, I have been here several times now and I have always enjoyed my stay.

As you can see below there are several tables with bench seating, there is also a very nice bench seat under the window. There are a series of drying wires across the living space for trampers to dry their gear on.

Living area in Boyle Flat Hut

In this photo we can see the integrated gun rack that has been built for this hut, there is a book shelf with some reading material and some information panels on the walls.

Looking towards the bunk room in Boyle Flat Hut

  The other side of the room has a cooking bench along the wall, with shelf units above and below it. The sleeping area at Boyle Flat consists of two separate 10 bunk rooms. This hut was built by the Walkways Commission back in the early 1980's so it has a much higher level of amenity than your more typical 4 or 6 bunk hut.

Other side of Boyle Flat Hut living area

Compare Boyle Flat to the classic NZFS 6 bunk Hackett Hut in Mt Richmond FP. The New Zealand Forestry Service (NZFS) was the precursor to DOC, they had generic 2, 4, 6 and 8 bunk hut designs which they scattered wildly about the country. A NZFS hut has the same amenities as a larger hut but in a much more compact form.

 Generally these smaller huts are an open room design, they will not have a table but will still have a cooking bench, heating and shelving in the living area.

Entrance way for Hackett Hut, Mt Richmond FP

Hackett Hut Interior

Sleeping areas

Many of the DOC huts were built as overnight shelter for NZFS forestry workers, deer cullers and musterers so of course they needed sleeping facilities. 

Some of the older huts still have the original canvas/burlap sacking bunks which was the standard format up till the late 1960's. This consists of a piece of canvas stretched over poles to make a hammock like bunk. 

If you never have the doubtful pleasure of sleeping in one just let me say...they are damn uncomfortable!

Canvas sacking bunks, West Harper Hut

Far more common are huts with mattresses and bunks/sleeping platforms. A sleeping platform is one large expanse of wood or concrete which you top with the supplied mattresses. This is the most economical use of space as 10 people can fit on a sleeping platform that will only hold 6 individual bunks.

Sleeping platform in the new (2014) Anne Hut

 
Let us look once again at the facilities at Boyle Flat Hut.  Boyle Flat is a 20 bunker, i.e. it has space for 20 people to sleep inside. In this case the sleeping areas consist of two bunk rooms separated by a wall. The bunks in this particular hut are of the "sleeping platform" type and can accommodate 10 people per room in two layers.

Sleeping platforms at Boyle Flat Hut

Bunks are individual spaces, just big enough for the standard DOC foam mattresses to fit on and are more common with huts built after the mid 1970's. All DOC huts can be partially characterised by the number of bunks supplied: for example Anne Hut is a 24 bunk hut, whereas tiny Harpers Pass Bivouac is a 2 bunk.

Individual bunks in Anti Crow Hut, Arthur's Pass NP

Some huts will also have you sleeping on the floor, an example being Lagoon Saddle Hut in Craigieburn FP. There is a combined table/sleeping platform for one person in the hut, the other two residents sleep on the floor on the mattresses provided.

Lagoon Saddle Shelter, 1 person sleeping space (2 more on floor)

When you leave in the morning you need to stack the mattresses on their sides in an orderly fashion, this protects them from dust, vermin and mildew.

Nicely stacked mattresses in Christopher Hut

A note concerning bunk reservations...

 If you are hiking with a group and arrive piecemeal, good hut etiquette dictates that you cannot reserve a bunk for your mate....they need to be there in person to claim a bunk.

 Hut floors, decks and verandas make great back ups if the bunks are all taken and this perfectly allowable (I have slept on a hut table a couple of times...). You can sleep in your tent and only use the hut for cooking, socialising etc if that proves necessary.

Packhorse Hut, Banks Peninsula, 10 bunks...awesome views!

Share the hut: if there are 6 of you in a 6 bunk hut and a group of 4 arrive move over, make room for them and welcome them in.

This is how a real kiwi tramper acts...be a real kiwi tramper!!

Verandas/Decks

There is a trend in the newer huts to include both verandas and decks to maximise the usable living space.

Decks are a welcome addition to huts, as they provide space to sit in the sun, dry out gear and generally stop mud from entering the hut itself. There is nothing finer of an afternoon than sitting on a sunny sand fly free deck supping a hot brew.

Anne Hut, the wrap around deck look...

 Verandas are often built onto existing huts to provide a place for hanging wet gear out of the rain as well as providing storage areas for firewood. They range in size from small alcoves right through to fully enclosed secondary rooms.

Boyle Flat Hut, open deck and enclosed veranda

 

Inside the Lakehead Hut veranda, Nelson Lakes NP

 Water sources

With some exceptions every DOC hut will have one of two types of water source: a water tank or a nearby stream or river.

Your source of water, the Robinson Rive, Victoria Forest Park

The vast majority of huts will still get their water from a nearby stream or river but this is changing. With climate change, drier weather and more people visiting back country areas these water sources either disappear or become vectors for sickness. The solution is rain water tanks.

Boyle Flat Hut, stream fed water tank

Increasingly DOC huts are provided with a rainwater tank, these take rainwater from the hut gutters and store it in large capacity tanks. This is especially prevalent in low precipitation areas like the Richmond Range and at those huts atop ridge lines or on drier east facing hills.

 

Magdalen Hut, brand new rain water tank next to hut

 All new huts are built to this standard and more and more older ones are having them added as maintenance is done on the huts. Eventually all of the huts maintained by DOC will get the majority of their water from rain.

NB: Not all of the huts are owned & maintained by DOC, a lot are owned by 4 W/D/hunting/skiing/mountaineering clubs and increasing numbers are maintained by volunteers.

Water is a precious resource please conserve it: take only what you need.

Cooking spaces

  Cooking mishaps are the number two reason huts burn down so DOC have provided us with metal cooking benches for our stoves. Please use these, as cooking on one of the wooden tables or the floor of a hut can easily cause a fire.

  

Small Hut: Magdalen Hut,Lake Sumner FP: the cooking bench

In the newer huts these benches will be stainless steel, generally with a metal back splash on the nearby walls. There will be a window for ventilation and candle holders or solar lighting panels to illuminate the area. 

Inside a larger hut: Lakehead Hut cooking area, table and bench

In the older huts the bench will be made of zinc covered wood but they provide the same fire protection for the hut.

Some popular huts may have pots, pans, utensils etc. but don't count on this, bring your own.

Hut etiquette note:

Please make sure you have adequate ventilation while using a stove. Solid fuel, white spirit, meths and gas canisters all give off carbon monoxide in use, open a window so it can escape. Be extremely careful when refilling gas bottles or changing canisters as fire is a real risk at that time. 

Classic NZFS zinc covered cooking bench, Mid Robinson Hut

Many of the established DOC camp grounds will have a covered shelter where you can cook and hang out. Generally these are set up like a hut: steel/zinc covered bench, picnic table with seating or benches and water supply from tank or stream. If the bugs aren't too bad these are excellent places to mingle with other trampers.

Cooking shelter, Bay of Many Coves, Queen Charlotte Track

Fire places/stoves

Most DOC huts in will have a fireplace, gas heater or wood burner in them. These are there to provide heating as well as a place to cook. What you wont always get is wood- only the Great Walk and Serviced huts will have a fuel supply- otherwise it is up to you to provide. Fuel can be wood, coal or gas depending on the location.

Example of an open fireplace at West Harper Hut, Craigieburn Rnge

Firewood waiting to go into the wood shed at Lakehead Hut

A sight to gladden any budding pyromaniacs heart...a full wood shed!

All huts with wood heating will have either an axe (usually chained to the wood shed) or a bow saw for cutting firewood. Please return them to their spot so other trampers can use them in the future.

With axe and saw we get firewood...

...and fire!!!!

 Please don't steal the tools: some day a cold, wet and hypothermic tramper might turn up at that hut and find no means to cut wood for a life saving fire...

Consider your actions!

Extra fuel for the wood burner at Magdalen Hut

Hut etiquette note:

Please do not cut up the furniture, decks, doors etc. and burn it (yes people have done this), not only is it ridiculous it also the number one way to get off side with fellow trampers. If I turn up at a hut and I see you shoving the last piece of the table into the fire rest assured I will tear you a new one....

Please do not cut down the 200 year old tree next to the hut....go find some standing dry in the forest and cut it up with the axe or saw provided. Look for standing trees that are dead but not rotting, these will often burn extremely well. Rotten wood WILL NOT burn so please don't gather it up.

Don't use all the wood, replace the dry wood you use so the next visitors have some.

Nothing like a blazing fire...

Make sure the fireplace is cleared or at least fully out before you leave. More huts burn down because of careless ash handling than any other cause. Dowse them or put them in the ash barrel if there is one. As a last resort leave the cooling ashes in the fireplace with the door firmly shut, at least they wont burn down the hut if they are contained.

Ash barrel at Lakehead Hut, Nelson Lakes NP

Finally, if it is a sweltering 30 degree summer day don't light the fire, it is not necessary. You are just wasting firewood and irritating your hut mates.

Cheers!

Toilet facilities

Ah... a subject dear to the heart of all trampers....toilets!

Almost all of the 900+ DOC huts will have toilet facilities of one sort or another, the quality will depend on popularity of the hut, its age, location and users.

Were there be people there be long drop....

The toilets will range from very basic long drops right through to palatial toilet mansions with flushing toilets, sinks, fresh water, a disco ball and even a supply of paper in some cases.

Most basic toilet...a handy patch of bush...

A "Bog" standard DOC long drop toilet

Better: Slightly more up market facilities, Hawdon Hut

Oh yeah!!!: High quality DOC campground toilet block

Two things to consider:

1.  Bring your own paper as 98% of the DOC facilities will not have any.

2.  USE THE TOILETS! There was a lot of hate for Te Araroa thru hikers in the media earlier this year as tales of sordid toilet habits were made public. It seems that some people were "doing their business" outside hut doors and on tracks rather than using the toilets provided.

It was probably not TA walkers but that is who got blamed.

Don't be that guy or gal... if there is a toilet available then bloody well use it!

If you must "s - - t in the woods" do it right and bury your waste at least 100 meters away from water/tracks/huts.

Martins Hut, Longwood Forest...the first/last hut on the Te Araroa Trail

Miscellaneous Hut Gear

Stuff you will commonly find in a DOC Hut:

• Broom (Hint: You use it to sweep the floor...)
• Ash bucket for the fire
• Axe and/or saw for cutting firewood
• Half brush and shovel
• A green DOC hut visitors book

Axe and bow saw, Mt Rintoul Hut, Richmond FP

Stuff you might find in a hut but don't rely on it:

• Buckets/bowls/pots/pans
• Cleaning materials/soap/dishwash
• Reading matter
• Paper/matches/lighter for starting a fire
• Pack of Cards
• Spare tramping food left by other visitors

Cleaning materials at Hawdon Hut

 Weird stuff I have found in a hut:

• an unopened 750ml bottle of good red wine (seriously...why didn't you just drink it...it was delicious by the way).
• A pair of lavender frilly french knickers?
• a 12 pack of condoms...found near the knickers...???
• One sized 10 boot??????
• a kiddie paddling pool???????

 Use them....don't abuse them!

Outdoor loving kiwis are justifiably proud of our hut network and we are also very protective of it. We are privileged to be able to use these huts, just imagine how different the New Zealand outdoor experience would be without them.

East Hawdon Biv, Arthurs Pass NP

Please remember they are a finite resource: DOC is strapped for cash so if you damage a hut or burn it down it will probably not be repaired or replaced (Casey Hut in Arthur's Pass is a case in point...).

Please fill in the hut book, DOC maintain these huts based on the number of visitors to them and hut book statistics are their main source of data. No data....no maintenance! 

Standard DOC hut visitors book

Pay your hut fees........I do, so should you. This includes all kiwi trampers...no you haven't already paid for them with your taxes, Joe Taxpayer paid for them back in 1971 when the hut was built! A DOC hut pass costs about $100 per year - how many coffees is that: 25!

Don't be so goddamn cheap!

 

If in doubt, treat the hut like you would your own home, thanks very much...