Doing Your Part to Preserve Public Spaces

As summertime approaches, you might already have your sights set on your next hiking, camping, or backpacking adventure in North Park. With hundreds of miles of trails, dozens of pristine campgrounds ranging from primitive dispersed sites to RV ready, you have plenty to choose from in some of the most beautiful territory in Colorado.

Compared to other places to explore in our state, Jackson County holds a spell over visitors mainly because of how seemingly untouched it is. Visitors to North Park often remark that it reminds them of how Colorado was twenty years ago or more, before places became overcrowded, charged exorbitant fees for day use and camping, or simply got too trashed out to enjoy anymore. It takes a lot of work to keep our public lands beautiful so that future generations can enjoy them. We need everyone to pull together to make sure that continues to happen.

Changes on the Horizon

The recent restructuring of the National Forest system has a lot of people worried about the future of public land use throughout the US. Already, the National Forest Service has faced cuts to staff and funding, and current changes are yet to be determined as far as just how this will impact management of our public lands moving forward.

A couple important things to keep in mind are that Law Enforcement and Fire Suppression in the National Forests is handled under a separate budget from research, management, and maintenance. Even though the rules of public land use and hopefully deterring and fighting fires during this very dry upcoming fire season are not brought into question as much as how these changes will affect our public lands, other elements such as campground maintenance, trails, and forestry are still a matter of debate.

There’s still a lot we can do as citizens to ensure the protection of our public lands, and much of it starts with how we ourselves use and interact with our environment. Sustainable practices we can all do will go a long way to keeping our public lands safe. Here’s how you can do your part.

Leave No Trace

Have you heard the saying of “take only photographs and leave only footprints?” It’s not a bad place to start when it comes to low impact public land use. There’s a lot more that we can do beyond that. For best practices guidelines about Leave No Trace camping and recreation, please check out this website. 

Pack Your Trash

Only a few campgrounds throughout North Park have trash service. For one thing, it is expensive to haul garbage out of remote areas and the dumpsters and cans often draw more problems such as hungry bears and other wildlife close to humans. Unfortunately, a lot of visitors think that the food, containers, and wrappers they bring into an area will biodegrade, which isn’t always the case.

That paper bag or candy wrapper might take years to break down. Burning plastic in a fire will often cause hazardous off-gassing and leave plastic residue in firepits. Broken glass will last for decades and not only look terrible but could potentially cut people or animals.

The best practice for your trash is if you brought it in, you need to pack it out again. It’s simple. It’s effective. And it goes a long, long way to ensuring the health of our public spaces. Trashed out campsites often get closed off, and are just plain ugly to look at. Why be a part of the problem when it’s so easy to be part of the solution? Pick up your litter and throw it away at home. Or even use the public dumpsters in Walden at the RV dump at the baseball fields on 3rd and Washington Street.

Target Practice

Contrary to what a lot of visitors might think, exercising your 2nd Amendment Right doesn’t mean turning every wild camping site into a shooting gallery. So many campsites are trashed every year when people carelessly fire and forget in public lands. Not only are pieces of glass and metal pulverized and put into the ground around a site, but also lots of heavy metals such as lead. Brass and plastic shell casings are an eyesore and totally unnecessary to leave behind.

If you want to target practice during your visit to North Park, there is a public shooting range available four miles east of Walden, CO on County Rd 12. Read more about it here. Be respectful and safe and clean up after yourselves when target shooting. Skip campground shooting and take it to the range.

Fire Pits

There’s nothing better than a campfire when you are enjoying the outdoors—though this year might be a little short-lived with fire season looking like it will be bad. Either way, firepits are NOT trash cans. Don’t try to burn glass bottles, plastic jugs or bags, food waste, or other junk in the firepit. Some items such as batteries leave toxic trace elements that get into groundwater and soil. Leaving bags of trash in firepits for the next person to clean up is just disgusting and a great way to make scavenging animals sick. Or have areas shut down permanently because they have become so wrecked with garbage. If you are a true outdoorsman, you don’t expect your mother to clean up after you, do you? Why would you act that way in the wild?

When using fire pits, burn only dry fallen wood or buy firewood from sellers. Bringing in wood from other areas might even lead to the introduction of invasive species such as pine beetles or parasites that can endanger our forests. Cutting trees—even if they are dead—is NOT “leave no trace” camping. 

When you are done using your firepit, make sure it is dead-out cold. Pour several buckets of water over the embers and cover with clean dirt or sand to smother any embers you may have missed. Stir the ashes and continue to pour in water to make sure any hot spots are soaked and unable to flare up. Campfires have been known to keep live embers even under a heavy blanket of snow and can flare up in windstorms. Avoid using bagged charcoal, as briquettes can last a very long time and get very hot. Don’t use river rocks when building a firepit, as some rocks might hold moisture and explode when heated.

• Here’s a few other things to keep in mind:
• Never leave a campfire unattended. Even if you are sleeping nearby. 
• Keep campfires small and manageable
• Make sure it is out and always have plenty of water or buckets of dirt available
• Use metal fire rings whenever provided
• Keep the surrounding area around pit clear of flammable material including firewood
• Don’t burn wet wood as they can pop and eject embers when burning
• Don’t use accelerants such as gas or diesel to start fires
• Avoid paper as kindling or tinder as live embers can fly for long distances
• FOLLOW ALL FIRE REGULATIONS AND RESTRICTIONS 

Campsites and Keeping It Clean

Low impact camping is possible, whether it is pitching a tent in the wilderness or glamping at an RV site. The more area you use will likely become trampled down and in the Colorado mountains it takes a long time for vegetation to regrow.

To limit your impact, whenever possible, use designated tent pads. These areas are usually flat and level, often with a wooden border or sawdust/woodchip base. Not only do tent pads limit impact, but they also insulate your tent from the cold ground.

Don’t carve or hack trees. People who carve their initials into trees are just killing the trees and making an area ugly. They also pose the risk of creating deadfall and inviting parasites which is also a fire hazard. If you use cordage to suspend a tent or hammock, be sure to take the ropes with you when you are done. Not only are they an eyesore, but can also injure wildlife who might get tangled in them or try to ingest the rope.

If picnic tables or other facilities are provided, leave them as good as you found them, if not better. If you see trash, pick it up! These features are provided for your convenience and not for your amusement in destroying them. Leaving your mark on a camp site will only encourage others to do the same, which will irreparably damage an area and ruin it for the next person. Don’t be that guy.

Trail Etiquette

When using trails, it’s important to follow some basic rules when it comes to etiquette. Don’t leave garbage, be respectful of others using the trails, and stick to the trails! Not only will you prevent yourself from getting lost or injured, but you will also limit the impact you have on the surrounding landscape. Meandering off the trail can accelerate erosion and lead to excessive damage off the trail.

If you need to relieve yourself while hiking and it can’t wait, follow National Forest Service recommendations for digging cat holes to do your business. Bury toilet paper a minimum of six inches. If you are hiking with pets, don’t leave your poop bags on the trail for someone else to pick up. Seriously? Carry it out with you or don’t bother hiking in the first place. It’s just that simple.

The outdoors are a place for everyone to enjoy. Don’t blast your music as you hike. Don’t act aggressively towards other people on the trail. Don’t stack rocks, sticks, or other items–even if you consider it as art. Save that for your mom’s fridge, Banksy, and let other people enjoy the natural beauty of the outdoors. Also, don’t deface signs, rails, or bridges. Not that we would need to tell that to any of our readers. 

How Else Can You Help?

With trail maintenance and repair being part of the grey area with the National Forest restructuring process, there’s still plenty you can do to support your outdoors infrastructure. The Continental Divide Trail Coalition is having a Cleanup Day at the Muddy Pass section of the CDT in North Park on Friday, May 15th. Do your part to support outdoor activities and support the trail to keep it beautiful for everyone.

For more information, scan the QR code in the graphic or register here as a volunteer through the link. Do your part as a grass roots type volunteer. It’s up to all of us to pull together to preserve our public lands, rather than leave that up to politicians thousands of miles away.

Plan Your Trip Now!

It’s never too early to start daydreaming about planning your next adventure in North Park. Jackson County is Colorado’s best kept secret when it comes to outdoor activities, fishing, and wildlife watching. Whether it is hiking, climbing, mountain biking, or just taking a long drive to pass the weekend away from the city, add the Walden, CO area to your itinerary of places to discover the real Colorado. And leave the crowds behind.

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