A**J
发帖数: 275 | 1 Hello Travel Lovers,
May I share the following article with you? I thought it would be beneficial
for the 4 young Chinese folks on the Uncle Tom's Trail and others that are
not aware of how important it is to stay on trail when visiting parks. I was
so sad to see the 4 young folks walking all over the places at Uncle Tom's
Trail in Yellowstone while the trail was clearly marked around......If there
is a rule, there are some reasons for the rule!
Reason 1: There may be places where the trail has eroded at the edges or
where there is a dangerous spot to be aware of. Paying attention to the
trail also helps you see roots, rocks or branches along the path that may
twist an ankle or cause a fall. This also helps keep you aware of slick
spots caused by mud or wet leaves.
Reason 2: It protects the environment. When you step off trails, you damage
the ecosystem. Often there are rare plants, moss, lichen, bugs or whatever
that are in balance with each other. Your boot or sneaker-clad foot can do
enough damage in one second that takes years to undo.
Reason 3: Depending upon where you're hiking, birds can be nesting near the
trail. Your intrusion can mess up the procreation process. Even worse, you
could step on a nest and take out the bird family.
Reason 4: Staying on a trail helps prevent you from getting lost. You still
might get lost, but at least if you're on a trail, there's a path for people
to follow to find you. If you go bushwhacking in the woods, lots of luck
with that.
Reason 5: It can save your life! During his talk Quackenbush also said that
hiking at night without a naturalist at Hocking Hills State Park is not
allowed. This is for good reason. The park has cliffs and drop-offs galore.
If you don't know where they are, you can fall. In the best case scenario,
you twist an ankle. In the worst case, you die. That's what happened this
past weekend at one section of the park. A 20-year old woman scrambled up
off the trail, only to fall. She later died at the hospital.
Bonus Reason: Reason 5 reminded me of this reason. If you die while hiking,
your family and friends could be forever haunted by your fall. When my
husband was in his 20s, one of his friends fell off a cliff in Glacier
National Park in Montana. My husband was working with him at one of the
lodges the time. Years later, my husband still talks about that day as if it
just happened.
Seriously, folks. Stay on that trail. It's a trail and it's marked for good
reason.
Source: http://www.gadling.com/2009/05/07/five-reasons-to-stay-on-hiking-trails-one-can-save-your-life/ |
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