Treading Lightly
I recently enjoyed a trip that took me out of the Las Vegas heat (109 degrees) to the nearby Mount Charleston area. I stayed at the Blue Tree Group Campground. While on this trip I consciencely exercised the Tread Lightly principles.
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I stayed on designated roads
I would have respected the rights of other campers, but it just so happened that I had the entire campground to myself.
I stopped at the Forest Service welcome boards at the entrance to see if there was anything I needed to know. I spotted a notice stating, "No Fires". As I pulled on in and picked out a camp spot and started to set up, I saw there was a yellow "No Fires" flag in the fire circle. I was disappointed. I was really looking forward to setting next to a campfire in the evenings. Oh, well.
I went for some hikes in the area and stayed on established roads and trails.
In the mornings and evenings, I would walk around the group camp area, which was quite large, and pick up trash I found left by others making the site a little nicer for the next campers to come along.
I returned home and backed my trailer into my narrow driveway (which I still have much difficulty doing. I used my neighbor's driveway to try and straighten the truck and back it up. I thought the trip went well and that I managed to Tread Lightly. But then I noticed all the black marks I left on my neighbor's driveway across the street and realized I had failed to not leave a trace.
I met with the neighbor, apologized and asked her permission to clean the marks I had created. She said yes. I ordered some Simple Green specifically for driveways and concrete. A few days later I walked across the street with the Simple Green, some large water bottles, a long handled stiff bristle brush, and the help of my roommate.
A word of warning here. We applied the Simple Green, scrubbed, rinsed with water, and saw the black marks disappear. But then we poured water only on another black mark, scrubbed, and rinsed. And guess what? The black spot disappeared. That's right, the Simple Green that I paid $23 for was not even needed. Water along did the job.
Visit the Tread Lightly website and learn to tread lightly on your next offroad adventure.
Continue Reading
I stayed on designated roads
I would have respected the rights of other campers, but it just so happened that I had the entire campground to myself.
I stopped at the Forest Service welcome boards at the entrance to see if there was anything I needed to know. I spotted a notice stating, "No Fires". As I pulled on in and picked out a camp spot and started to set up, I saw there was a yellow "No Fires" flag in the fire circle. I was disappointed. I was really looking forward to setting next to a campfire in the evenings. Oh, well.
I went for some hikes in the area and stayed on established roads and trails.
In the mornings and evenings, I would walk around the group camp area, which was quite large, and pick up trash I found left by others making the site a little nicer for the next campers to come along.
I returned home and backed my trailer into my narrow driveway (which I still have much difficulty doing. I used my neighbor's driveway to try and straighten the truck and back it up. I thought the trip went well and that I managed to Tread Lightly. But then I noticed all the black marks I left on my neighbor's driveway across the street and realized I had failed to not leave a trace.
I met with the neighbor, apologized and asked her permission to clean the marks I had created. She said yes. I ordered some Simple Green specifically for driveways and concrete. A few days later I walked across the street with the Simple Green, some large water bottles, a long handled stiff bristle brush, and the help of my roommate.
A word of warning here. We applied the Simple Green, scrubbed, rinsed with water, and saw the black marks disappear. But then we poured water only on another black mark, scrubbed, and rinsed. And guess what? The black spot disappeared. That's right, the Simple Green that I paid $23 for was not even needed. Water along did the job.
Visit the Tread Lightly website and learn to tread lightly on your next offroad adventure.
