TAKE ONLY PICTURES

TAKE ONLY PICTURES, LEAVE ONLY MEMORIES

Years ago when I was Scoutmaster of Troop 412 in Largo, Florida the Scouts had a motto. Not the one “Be Prepared”. Of course we could all live a better life if we were prepared. I'm talking about a program the National office rolled out. It was called

No Trace Camping.

In a nut shell it said If you Pack it in, Pack it out. Or leave no trace you were ever there to begin with. This is a bigger concern when boondocking than when camping in a private campground or any established campground. But then you have to ask why are workampers in high demand to clean campsites. 

When pulling into a campsite the first step should be to walk the site you have chosen before pulling or backing in. Pick up any trash you find beforehand. It will make your clean up at the end of your stay that much faster. Besides, who wants to set up camp at a trashy site and live with it. 

Our scouts were taught to prepare a proper fire ring whenever we went camping. We always ringed our fire site with rocks so everybody knew right where the fire ring was. We also had a bucket of sand a bucket of water and a shovel next to the fire ring in case the fire got out of hand. 

The only firewood to use should be found on the ground, brought with you or purchased from the campground if available. You should never place anything into a fire that won't burn completely. Hence the saying pack it in, pack it out. Always clean your fire ring before leaving.

I think the point I'm really wanting to make is, We all have this great big country to explore and see. Wouldn’t it be a lot nicer and enjoyable if we could enjoy sitting next to a little stream up in the mountains without a lot of trash around us. How about hiking a trail in the Smokey Mountains without seeing cigarette butts or candy wrappers everywhere you look

I think we can all take a few lessons from the boy scouts. We should all try to leave our campsites as clean or cleaner than we found them. Remember somebody else will be pulling into this site pretty soon.

So try to remember, Take only Pictures, leave only Memories.

Safe Travels and I'll See You Down the Road.