Comment on How do man made hiking trails keep the grass from overgrowing?
litchralee@sh.itjust.works 1 day ago
Obligatory reference to desire paths: !desire_paths@sh.itjust.works
Comment on How do man made hiking trails keep the grass from overgrowing?
litchralee@sh.itjust.works 1 day ago
Obligatory reference to desire paths: !desire_paths@sh.itjust.works
foggy@lemmy.world 1 day ago
laughs in New England accent
Absolutely not.
“Rock before root and root before dirt - and never touch the mud if you can help it.”
Literally hiking 101 out here. What we teach the children.
Is also why ~5 miles in ADK, the greens, or the whites, is like ~10 miles anywhere else.
vzq@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Can you please elaborate? What is that children’s rhyme meant to teach? What are green and white ADKs?
Google was not very helpful.
just_ducky_in_NH@lemmy.world 1 day ago
ADK is short for ADirondacK mountain range. The others are the Green Mountain range and White Mountain range. All start in New England.
foggy@lemmy.world 1 day ago
ADK = Adirondacks.
Green (Mountains), White (Mountains).
It teaches kids to preserve trails by not walking on them, if at all possible. While walking on trails in New York and New England, you should aim for a rock first. If there is no rock to step on, aim for a root. If there is no root, then dirt is ok to step on. But avoid mud at all costs.
This highlights the ruggedness of the terrain out there. Where many hikes elsewhere provide such an ample amount of dirt with so little rock and root to aim for first, it is not a well known trail maintenance practice outside of the region. However, in the region, it is essential. When ignored, large patches of mud that will last all season long start to form. When this happens, trail maintainers either:
Close the trail until it’s restored
Reroute the trail permanently
Lay down wooden planks to minimize further damage (least sustainable option).
This maintenance is tax dollars, and they don’t have a lot of them, so education is the most effective use of that dollar. And that’s why we teach the kids:
Rock before root and root before dirt, and never step in mud if you can avoid it! 🤠
litchralee@sh.itjust.works 16 hours ago
I should clarify that my original comment – foot traffic keeps paths in decent shape – was in answer to the OP’s titular question, about why vegetation doesn’t grow atop the intended walking/hiking trail. But you’re right that traffic will cause other impacts, even if plantlife isn’t getting in the way.
I’m in 100% agreement that for trail upkeep, people have to be mindful how they step. The advisories here in California focus on not eroding the edges of the trail, such as by walking around muddy areas, which would only make the restoration work harder and damage more of the adjacent environment. We have a lot of “stay on trail” signs. We advise people to either be prepared to go right through the mud – only worsens an existing hole – or don’t walk that trail at all.