I want to get some people's opinion about certain aspects of Leave No Trace. Here's a link to Yosemite Wilderness regulations for reference. I mostly follow the rules, but re-reading them now I see some that I don't follow so closely.
"Choose a previously impacted campsite...
I guess I don't really follow this rule. I agree that if you find a previously impacted site, it's better to camp on it than next to it. However, I prefer to steer clear of them altogether.
...at least 100 feet (30 meters/40 paces) from any water source or trail."
I usually follow this one. On my last trip, two of our more remote campsites ended up being about 50 feet from small trickles of water. What do people think: bad idea?
"Carry out all trash. Do not burn or bury toilet paper or trash."
I follow this one carefully when it comes to my own trash. However, there are practical limits when it comes to other people's trash. I've carried balloons, banana peels, even a small can or two. At the very bottom of the Tuolumne River trail, my group found some large-ish, thoroughly rusted steel cans wedged under rocks. Presumably they'd been brought in with the aid of pack animals. We chose not to haul them 3600 feet up to White Wolf, our destination for the next day. The biggest piece of wilderness trash that I've personally seen was an unwashed skillet, 10 inches across if not larger, in Marble Mountain Wilderness. Again, nobody in my party wanted to carry it.
"Proper food storage is mandatory."
Don't say this too loudly, but I've gotten away with hanging small quantities of "smellables" in more-remote areas of Yosemite when they didn't fit in my bear can. This is not a recommendation in general, and a definite no-no in heavily used areas, but I wanted to hear what other people have done.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/10/2017 08:57AM by iivvgg.