Blog post made in paid collaboration with @wearnepra
Due to current travel restrictions, more people are becoming ecotourists discovering their home countries and nature areas nearby. Especially in Finland hiking and camping are famous hobbies and this year many people found themselves in a tent or hammock in the woods. This is absolutely awesome and a great way to see local areas from a new perspective. However, some basic manners like non-pollution have been a bit forgotten, so I decided to write a:
Simple 10-step list how to travel responsibly in forests and nature
1. Follow marked trails
There are two reasons for this. Firstly, this is about respecting nature. You would be surprised how few times you need to walk through the same area to make a path. This will harm the nature a lot although it seems so harmless, but think of it this way: what if a thousand people did the same after you?
Secondly, this is about safety. Especially if you’re hiking a difficult road, it’s safer to remain on the path so you don’t suddenly end up at the edge of a cliff.
2. Don’t litter
This should be obvious, but unfortunately it is not. If you had the energy to carry the food wrappings there full of food, you also have the energy to carry them out from there. If you see a lot of trash laying around in nature, you can collect it because as we know it: it may not be your trash but it’s your globe as well. Ps. you can check the trash walk challenge by Népra on Instagram and join it by tagging @wearnepra or #nepragoesplogging. Always pack a spare trash bag with you to gather your own litter and the mess that other less-mindful hikers might have left.
And no, a plastic bottle doesn’t decompose; or it would take around 450 years.
Another perspective to this: you don’t either need to take anything with you, especially if you’re hiking in a national park. I mean do you really need that rock with you as a souvenir? Personally I love to capture and save moments with photography.
3. Respect wildlife and keep safe
When hiking in the forest, it’s important to give enough peace for the animals as well. Don’t scream and shout on your way,as it may scare the animals. Secondly, if you’re hiking with a dog, you need to keep your dog leashed during the birds’ nesting time.
Secondly, it’s very important to keep yourself safe.
Make sure you don’t leave smelly food outside of your tent because you might get some hungry visitors of the animal kingdom.
Secondly, figure out beforehand how to behave if you encounter animals like bear, wild boar or wolf. With bears it’s important to remain calm
If you encounter a bear:
- Remain calm
- Talk or sing to the bear peacefully
- Back off slowly, but don’t turn your back to the bear
- Just walk slowly, don’t do the most common mistakes like running or climbing to tree
- You can leave some cloth or equipment for the bear to smell
- As a last resort, go down to the ground
(Source:riista.fi)
If you encounter a wolf:
- Remain calm and fearless
- Back off from the situation
- Avoid direct contact to the wolf
- If you get attacked, you need to be able to scare the wolf to make it give in.
This situation would be exceptional though, as wolves have not attacked a human since the 17th century in Finland.
(Source:suurpedot.fi)
If you encounter a wild boar:
- Remain calm and back off from the situation
- Don’t provoke the animal with camera flash or anything
- If you hit a wild boar with car, don’t get out from the car as the pig might be angry
- Let the authorities know the exact location where the accident happened
(Source:gov.sg)
4. Know your limits and take care of yourself
- Taking care of yourself and your health is responsible. Don’t try to suddenly hike super long distance if it’s your first time hiking. First of all, you’re making the experience really uncomfortable for yourself and secondly, you really don’t want to call to the emergency number to get help.
- Getting to know your limits: So start slowly and get to know your limits that way. You will learn how much weight you’re comfortable carrying with you and what kind of pace is suitable for you in longer distances.
- Remember to have enough breaks and have enough water and food during the hike
- Enjoy the health benefits and well-being that nature and forest walks bring you
5. Be prepared with water
If you’re out for a longer hike for the first time, you might be surprised how much water is needed, especially if you’re going on sunny weather. Good basic rule of thumb is to drink half a liter of water every hour of moderate activity. You may need to increase it based on the intensity of the hike and temperature.
If you’re planning to take water on the way, acknowledge how much you actually need to carry. Better option is to check the water points beforehand where you can refill and preferably get a water filter with you. You can read more expert advice on proper hydration in rei.com.
6. Choose equipment that keeps you going
Make sure you have good enough equipment. You definitely don’t need to have the fanciest equipment, but you do want to have better shoes than some canvas shoes that slip and make blisters in no time. The old saying goes ”Poor people can’t afford to buy cheap”. This means that it’s better to buy good quality equipment that lasts for long and take good care of it, instead of replacing it way too often. Nepra active wear is definitely quality and comfort for long-term use: they have awesome jogging pants, leggings, shorts, jackets and shirts and tops that are good material for sweating and moving. And they’re made sustainably. You can discover more on wearnepra.com.
One material that isn’t a great choice as a hiker is cotton, because it won’t insulate you anymore when it gets wet from sweating. Due to this, there’s this hiker phrase: ”cotton kills”.
7. Go for an emission-free adventure
You don’t always need to go too far to discover something new and wonderful. You can start your adventure even from your front door on foot or by bike. Reaching the paths by feet may not seem like a big saving on emissions, but sometimes it’s the small things that matter.
If you would like to know more about your personal carbon footprint, you can try for instance these three carbon footprint calculators:
Footprintcalculator.org
Carbonfootprint.com
Calculator by WWF
8. Make the fireplace responsibly
- In Finland you can not make a fireplace wherever you want, but there are designated fireplace areas. Figure this out beforehand of your hike.
- Secondly, always check if there are fire warnings in the area and always respect them. Don’t ever take the wood from living trees. Either carry it from home, use the wood provided in common fireplaces or find pieces on the ground.
- Make sure the fire is put out properly when leaving.
- You can read more about designated fire places and permits of making fire from metsa.fi
9. Keep Covid-19 safety distance
As weird as this may sound, due to Covid-19 many forests got crowded of hikers. Although it’s outdoors, remember to keep your safety distance and take care of hygiene. You’re not in a rush when you’re enjoying nature so you might as well wait a bit to let others pass or wait for your turn to join the fire place. This applies to respecting others in general as well, not only due to Covid distances.
10. Don’t get lost
Figure out beforehand the route you’re willing to do. Note that not all areas in forests have internet or phone network, so you may need to be comfortable to orient with map and compass. If you’re using some offline map on your phone, make sure you have enough battery and/or a powerbank with you.
Let future archeologists wonder how neat & clean wanderers there have been
