Trail
Etiquette
Trail Mix, Inc. works with public agencies - the US
Forest Service, Alaska State Parks and Recreation, City
and Borough of Juneau Parks and Recreation - to build
and maintain trails on public lands. As such, Trail Mix
endorses their efforts to promote respectful use of those
lands so that the experience of wilderness can be enjoyed
by succeeding generations. Some easily remembered principles
of outdoor etiquette have been developed by the Leave
No Trace
organization. Please refer to them and download our
Outdoor Safety and Trail Etiquette Brochure to learn how to minimize our impact on wild areas.
Alpine areas - fragile, treat with care!
Trail Mix would like to draw special attention to uses
of public lands in alpine areas. Above treeline, flora
and fauna have only a few short weeks in summer to thrive
and reproduce. Vegetation at lower elevations may tolerate
and recover from off-trail hiking and camping, but in
the alpine zone, similar practices often cause damage
from which vegetation has no time to recover.
Please stay on established trails - compacting thin
layers of soil off-trail may mean surface root systems
become damaged beyond recovery. Please avoid stepping
in areas where you see impacts just beginning.
Lichens - the colorful encrustations covering rocks,
wood, meadows - are particularly important constituents
of the alpine environment. Among their roles:
- capture moisture from fog and dew in areas that are
susceptible to runoff and drying winds
- accumulate and release nutrients such as nitrogen
and phosphorous, allowing other vegetation to thrive
- serve
as a sink for carbon dioxide, mitigating the effects
of excess carbon emissions from combustion
of fossil fuels
- serve as a critical energy source
for fauna, from microscopic invertebrates to megafauna
like
spruce
grouse, deer,
marmots, and mountain goats
- provide birds and
squirrels with nesting material, moths and butterflies
with camouflage and defensive
chemicals
- break down rock minerals chemically
and physically, contributing to soil formation
Lichens reproduce by producing spores and growing
microscopic fungal hyphae which encroach
over rock surfaces by
distances of millimeters each season.
So, when stepping on rocky outcrops and
trails in alpine areas, please minimize
the impacts
on lichens by staying
on areas that are already devoid of lichens.
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