The Future of Overlanding; What Can One Person Do?

[Del Albright]

Set the example!

If you're going to stop reading this here, this is a good place to stop -- if you are setting the example on our trails, in our lifestyle, you are doing the BEST that you can do. Is there more? Sure. Read on.

Accept the fact that we will always have the ill-informed or the uneducated on our trails. They may not be bad peeps, but they need learnin'. EDUCATION.

Not all trails are created equal. Some almost encourage resource damage by their design, or user conflict because of a lack of signs or whatever. Maybe you can offer ideas on better trails. ENGINEERING.

Without volunteer work, Trail Guardians, and us showing up to be stewards of our public lands, they WILL not be there like they are today. ENLISTING.

And sometimes we need to encourage more law enforcement on our trails because we need the rules followed. ENFORCEMENT.

So what can one person do to save trails and our overland lifestyle? Pick a few things in EACH of these categories and JUST DO IT. Set the example. Carry a trash bag and use it. Carry a spill kit and use it when needed; show it off to others as advertising of our stewardship. Thank cops you see on or near our trails. Help the state or federal, even private land managers design better trails for us. SHOW UP. Work. Be there when called.

One person can make a difference!

 

[Michael]

Set the example!

If you're going to stop reading this here, this is a good place to stop -- if you are setting the example on our trails, in our lifestyle, you are doing the BEST that you can do. Is there more? Sure. Read on.

Accept the fact that we will always have the ill-informed or the uneducated on our trails. They may not be bad peeps, but they need learnin'. EDUCATION.

Not all trails are created equal. Some almost encourage resource damage by their design, or user conflict because of a lack of signs or whatever. Maybe you can offer ideas on better trails. ENGINEERING.

Without volunteer work, Trail Guardians, and us showing up to be stewards of our public lands, they WILL not be there like they are today. ENLISTING.

And sometimes we need to encourage more law enforcement on our trails because we need the rules followed. ENFORCEMENT.

So what can one person do to save trails and our overland lifestyle? Pick a few things in EACH of these categories and JUST DO IT. Set the example. Carry a trash bag and use it. Carry a spill kit and use it when needed; show it off to others as advertising of our stewardship. Thank cops you see on or near our trails. Help the state or federal, even private land managers design better trails for us. SHOW UP. Work. Be there when called.

One person can make a difference!

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Thank you Del! Most of the time, when folks are doing it wrong, I’ve seen it be lack of information and knowledge. Setting the example really helps. These are great tips!

 

[diabetiktaco]

I agree. I made a website to sell small trinkets and such just to help fund trail clean ups and repair in NJ. What I can accomplish v. the scope of the problem is nominal. But, I look at it the same way I look at business. Multiple small actions will get the job done. People are worried about always looking for the one big easy action. I like to think I'm part of the movement and am doing what I can to help. Keep preaching!

 

[Trail_pilot]

The biggest issue local to me is misinformation. The EDUCATION aspect is huge. I wish there was a way to get the word out to everyone ( including people not directly tied to our specific type of off roading ) to check for private land, don't make it a point to destroy the trails and pick up after themselves ( the last point should really just be a given).

 

[Del Albright]

The biggest issue local to me is misinformation. The EDUCATION aspect is huge. I wish there was a way to get the word out to everyone ( including people not directly tied to our specific type of off roading ) to check for private land, don't make it a point to destroy the trails and pick up after themselves ( the last point should really just be a given).

For sure! I can tell you, if you want to get brave, invest a little time, find out where "these people" hang out. (smile). It's probably not here on OLB. Find the forums or FB pages where they seem to be posting, and start setting the example that way -- and offering up education. Then BE SURe to come back to us here on OLB and let us know how it's working. You can help that way. Just take this bit of advice from someone who has worked/blogged/posted on over 150 forums, you can't shove too hard or too fast. Be patient; stick to your messages; and try to not have thin skin in a few case. :)

 

[Trail_pilot]

For sure! I can tell you, if you want to get brave, invest a little time, find out where "these people" hang out. (smile). It's probably not here on OLB. Find the forums or FB pages where they seem to be posting, and start setting the example that way -- and offering up education. Then BE SURe to come back to us here on OLB and let us know how it's working. You can help that way. Just take this bit of advice from someone who has worked/blogged/posted on over 150 forums, you can't shove too hard or too fast. Be patient; stick to your messages; and try to not have thin skin in a few case. :)

I do my best to try to direct everyone to the OF4WD ( Ontario Federation of 4 Wheel Drive, sort of our local version of tread lightly). The shop I work at offers discounts to members and we sponsor many events. We do our best to get he word out and make sure that the trails we use stay open. the same goes for Facebook for many people I work with, not so much myself on Facebook because I tend to keep low key on there unless I see something that clearly isn't right, however usually by the time I see it there are several posts on it about how or why the person is in the wrong. We have a pretty solid community of offroaders in central Ontario but it is growing quick and there are a lot of people who have been doing the wrong thing for a long time and never been told that it was wrong, and they can be fairly set in their ways.

 

[Laud]

Admittedly stole this and posted it in a FB group that I have a little to do with. I like to think most try.

 

[Del Albright]

Admittedly stole this and posted it in a FB group that I have a little to do with. I like to think most try.

You are more than welcome, anyone, to always share my stuff to any off-road/overland/four-wheeling/adventure site or group -- as long as they are on our side to keep our access open! Thanks. FB groups are a good choice to supplement what we do here on OLB.

 

[tjZ06]

I see the same thing in the "duner" community as well. You get some bad seeds, and some that weren't ever brought up right. Sometimes you see folks that just throw their trash (usually beer cans/bottles) in the sand, the same sand they know they'll be driving through too. They are a tougher fix since it's more of a cultural thing and they almost want to prove they don't give a... Then there's the groups that do things like leave all their trash behind when they pack up and go home. It's all neatly bagged, tied-off and stacked together, but they just ASSume that some magic service comes along and collects it for them.

At the end of the day all you can do is try to lead by example, try to politely educate people when you see them making mistakes, and do our best to clean-up after others so we don't lose our access. I experienced a situation just like this recently: Fool-size Overland Trip: Tamarack Lake in Shasta-Trinity National Forest

-TJ

 

[Munga Brown]

I will occasionally make corrective comments on FB when I see ignorance posted. One thread about fed LE looking for someone for spinning donuts in the snow. One dude commented about it looking like a mud patch & I replied that “it hadn’t been... it had been snow covering a grassland meadow and now it’s not. Now it’s another excuse to close & restrict, all so some asshat could do donuts.” I killed the thread. No one else replied.

And the bagged but left behind thing... I wonder what the poundage would be of the bagged & left behind dog shit I‘ve carried out of hiking trails would be? It’s disgusting, stupid & really nuts me up!

 

[tjZ06]

I will occasionally make corrective comments on FB when I see ignorance posted. One thread about fed LE looking for someone for spinning donuts in the snow. One dude commented about it looking like a mud patch & I replied that “it hadn’t been... it had been snow covering a grassland meadow and now it’s not. Now it’s another excuse to close & restrict, all so some asshat could do donuts.” I killed the thread. No one else replied.

And the bagged but left behind thing... I wonder what the poundage would be of the bagged & left behind dog shit I‘ve carried out of hiking trails would be? It’s disgusting, stupid & really nuts me up!

Yeah... dog owners sometimes suck... and I'm a dog owner. We ALWAYS bag our dog stuff up, and pack it out (or put it in our own trash, whatever). Even if it's one of those "well it's outdoors and not exactly on the trail so it's just some biodegradable waste, right?" situations.

-TJ

 

[Bama_Kiwi]

And the bagged but left behind thing... I wonder what the poundage would be of the bagged & left behind dog shit I‘ve carried out of hiking trails would be? It’s disgusting, stupid & really nuts me up!

Preach! I seriously do not understand this - why go through the trouble of bagging it up in the first place if you're just going to leave it?!

 

[Munga Brown]

Preach! I seriously do not understand this - why go through the trouble of bagging it up in the first place if you're just going to leave it?!

And they leave it either sitting right along side the trail, or at the trailhead sign... like it's some kind of shrine to dog shit... WTF??? Oh, dude... I go off!! Who'd a thunk you would run into some whacko (me) experiencing trail rage out in the forest??

 

[Kent R]

Set the example!

If you're going to stop reading this here, this is a good place to stop -- if you are setting the example on our trails, in our lifestyle, you are doing the BEST that you can do. Is there more? Sure. Read on.

Accept the fact that we will always have the ill-informed or the uneducated on our trails. They may not be bad peeps, but they need learnin'. EDUCATION.

Not all trails are created equal. Some almost encourage resource damage by their design, or user conflict because of a lack of signs or whatever. Maybe you can offer ideas on better trails. ENGINEERING.

Without volunteer work, Trail Guardians, and us showing up to be stewards of our public lands, they WILL not be there like they are today. ENLISTING.

And sometimes we need to encourage more law enforcement on our trails because we need the rules followed. ENFORCEMENT.

So what can one person do to save trails and our overland lifestyle? Pick a few things in EACH of these categories and JUST DO IT. Set the example. Carry a trash bag and use it. Carry a spill kit and use it when needed; show it off to others as advertising of our stewardship. Thank cops you see on or near our trails. Help the state or federal, even private land managers design better trails for us. SHOW UP. Work. Be there when called.

One person can make a difference!



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Del, Thank you for supporting Overland Bounds Trail Guardian program.

 

[MeHere!]

I cannot recall the overlanding group whose video I watched, but at the end of the video they made mention of planting a tree for each mile driven, I like that idea and may have to adopt it

 

[Trail_pilot]

I cannot recall the overlanding group whose video I watched, but at the end of the video they made mention of planting a tree for each mile driven, I like that idea and may have to adopt it

I believe that was mountain State overland. They do something like that

 

[MOAK]

Great topic and thanks Del for the thread. Not too many years ago I’d call people out rudely and abruptly for not following, what I thought, were commonly known back country ethics, ( think Leave No Trace ). I actually chased a Jeep down once and threw their trash back at them and into their vehicle as the passenger window rolled down. ( and then the arguing began ). Me? I was young, stupid and cocky and presumed the worst in people. Since those days I’ve come to realize that gentle persuasion and gently helping to educate goes a lot further than confrontation. Last summer a fellow in my tour group was complaining of nowhere to dispose of his trash. My first thought was, what a douche, then I realized it was an honest question, he simply didn’t know. “ here, put it in my trasharoo” says I with a smile. That’s all it took, and I’m sure he has an on board “carry out” trash container on his vehicle now. Education and gentle persuasion go a long way