Canoeing-Camping in Big Bend: Leave No Trace


Visitors of Big Bend National Park are asked to adhere to the Principles of Leave No Trace Outdoor Ethics. There are Seven Principles that Leave No Trace is built upon.
1.    Plan Ahead & Prepare
2.    Travel & Camp on Durable Surfaces
3.    Dispose of Waste Properly
4.    Leave What You Find
5.    Minimize Campfire Impacts
6.    Respect Wildlife
7.    Be Considerate of Other Visitors
I’ve already mentioned adherences to Leave No Trace (LNT) in previous posts, regarding cooking, fires, and trash. Ground campfires are prohibited in Big Bend for LNT purposes and to minimize the possibility of human-started wildfires.
            The policy of Pack It In, Pack It Out, is significant to Leave No Trace. Everything you bring into the park must be brought with you out of the park. This includes food waste, toiletries/toilet paper, and general trash.
            No you might be wondering, what do you do about human waste? Well, typically on a backpacking trip you dig a cathole, do your duty, cover it up and pack out your toilet paper. However, on our canoeing tripe, we used what we call “The Groover.” The Groover is a hillbilly toilet of sorts. Essentially, it’s a non-flushing porta-potty box on top of which we set a toilet seat. We would transport it on one of our canoes and once we reached our campsite we would place it far away from our tents. We’d stick two bright colored oars in the path before The Groover as an ‘occupied’ v. ‘vacant’ symbol. Parallel oars = vacant. Crossed oars = occupado!
For pee purposes, your best bet is to relieve yourself in the river. Not a joke. This isn’t your friendly neighborhood pool, this is nature. Otherwise, If it’s too dark to go in the river or you don’t want to get wet, you’re in the clear if you find a comfortable spot to do your duty away from camp and natural water sources.
The Leave What You Find policy is also highly significant. Visitors are prohibited from taking any mementos from the park including plants, rocks, animals, or insects. There are two or three shops in the park that offer stickers and trinkets that visitors can buy and take-home with them.

This quote accurately sums up Leave No Trace Outdoor Ethics Principles -----
“Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints, kill nothing but time.”

We must all do our part to keep these sacred lands clean and beautiful for future generations of humans, flora and fauna.


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