MINIMUM IMPACT – WALK SOFTLY IN THE WILDS

Eroded footpaths, overused campsites and contaminated water sources are now part of the outdoor scene. Chris Townsend and Cameron McNeish reckon we should be treading more lightly on the hills, walking more softly in the wilderness

A NUMBER of years ago, at a BMC dinner, Jonathon Porritt said that if walkers and climbers weren’t friends of the earth, then God help us all, but in all the wild areas of the UK it’s not difficult to find bags of rubbish that have been left in bothies, water sources that have become contaminated by human waste, and litter crammed into the crevices of cairns and stone walls. Those responsible have been walkers and climbers.

Then there’s the damage we do without even realising it. Take a typical Bank Holiday on Skiddaw. An almost continuous line of people make their way up the main path to the summit. Considering the vast numbers who climb up there the path is in surprisingly good nick but the past ten years have seen it widen appreciably and the edges have become comparatively badly eroded. Some of the steeper sections have been worn right down to the bedrock. Spur paths have appeared in places too.

The problem is numbers. These paths were never built for such a volume of traffic, so damage has become inevitable. The Lakeland hills are so popular that many of the traditional paths have become eroded scars and some wild camping spots, such as Styhead Tarn, are over-used and look worn and shabby. Yet the vast majority of folk who walk and camp in the Lake District do so because they love the place.

“Loving the hills to death” has become a little clichéd but it’s true, and that deadly love affair has become a growing problem throughout our hill areas.

Much of the damage is done through ignorance. Many people simply do not know how to respect wild country. Some of the ways to minimise your impact are not that obvious and even experienced walkers can do unthinking harm. In the UK little advice is given on how to walk and camp softly in the hills, leaving little or no trace of your passing.

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