As our population grows, so too grows the number of outdoor enthusiasts; and this outdoor society is putting a strain on our trail systems.
Going National
Go to any National Park these days, especially in the summer, and you will be hard pressed to find a space to park, much less to camp. Popular parks like Rocky Mountain National Park, Yellowstone, and Yosemite have shuttle buses to drop hikers at trail heads and scenic stops because of the overwhelming number of visitors. Original parking areas created at most trail heads are inadequate for today’s crowds and are usually full soon after sunup.
The Numbers Don’t Lie
This obviously means more traffic on the trails as they get way more crowded than they were meant to handle. The National Park Service reports 307,247,252 people visited all the parks in their system in 2015 and peaked at 331 million in 2016. That’s a pretty exact number and a mighty large one too. There is no way of telling how many of those folks hiked their trails but I’m sure that’s way up there too. Add in all the state and county trail systems and there are a lot more folks hiking out there.
Sometimes We Got it Wrong
Part of the problem is how trails were laid out. As we get more knowledgeable on erosion and wear and tear we are finding better ways to make trails. Going around some areas is sometimes way more sustainable than going straight through, but we didn’t always know that in the past. The problem with rerouting trails is the worn out paths left behind. Mother Nature can heal, but not always and not always quickly.
What’s in a Name?
There is an exit on I-70 west of Denver, Colorado that will put you on a dirt road to St. Mary’s Glacier. This is a small glacier that has been inundated with tourists and hikers for years due to its close proximity to the highway and the rarity of a glacier so far south. There is a small community there called Alice and the residents were tired of the cars and crowds while officials were concerned the retreating glacier was being loved to death.
The simple solution was to take the word “Glacier" off the highway signs. The exit is now marked as the “St Mary, Alice" exit. Hikers are still welcome but just taking the word “Glacier" off the sign has stopped a lot of spur-of-the-moment or casual visitors from showing up and has eased a lot of the concerns of overuse.
Selfies Partly to Blame
The ease with which we can take stunning photos and instantly post them on social media hasn’t helped. Sure, everyone is welcome to our public parks and trails but having these stunning photos and the accompanying info is introducing spots that were once only known to locals or those who did their research. Most sites have been there for years, but it is only in the last five years or so that visitors have been packing in and parking became a problem. This is partly due to all the photos being taken showing what an awesome spot it really is. Now anyone on social media is well informed on any and every trail worth checking out.
Help is on the Way
There are programs you can join to help maintain and repair trails such as The American Hiking Society Volunteer Vacations Program; or you can always donate cash. New trails are being cut occasionally and volunteers are the backbone of every effort to create them or maintain our old ones. We need to keep in mind: there is only so much land out there so maybe we should do a better job of maintaining what we have.