Mud Season Ethics

[sardog1]

The Road Openings Thread started with a query about the status of roads paved and unpaved. Along the way, I offered a suggestion to "tread softly" and/or abstain from unpaved roads and trails that are currently very soft because of underlying frost and overlying water.

EDIT: In response, ytmountains suggested a new thread to discuss the matter, which I think is a good idea. (My apologies to him and to Jay H for misidentifying the source earlier). You can read his response on the original thread; I hope that he will reprise his position or expand on it here.

So, the question du jour is:

What is your own position with regard to driving on unpaved forest roads and hiking on trails while they are particularly soft during mud season?

Please vote in the poll and give us your reasons. (Vermonters will be allowed to vote only during the period from "mid-April to Memorial Day." )

 

[Doc McPeak]

I voted C, but I lower my speeds and usually try to avoid all soft roads. I am more in between A and C, meaning I radically reduce my hiking on soft trails, will try to find southern facing and well drained trails, but will on rare occasions find myself hiking thru the quagmire up a high peak. But that seems to happen every other or every third year. I try to use this time to explore the lower gems that are everywhere in the Adirondacks. I may do more canoeing this mud season.

 

[Shewolf]

Mud, mud and more mud

I was dismayed at the obvious erosion on many of trails this past summer. I try to curb my enthusiasm during the "mud season" while the trails are defrosting and drying out during the Spring. However, during the season, if I encounter mud, then mud I will walk through.

 

[Mark]

With my car, I have no choice. My sedan isn't meant for it, so never goes off road.

As for hiking, I try to hike through the mud and stay off the fragile sides of the trails. I use my hiking poles to probe around for solid footing first. This works pretty well in the Whites.

The Adirondacks are often a different story. Some years, it seems like there are 4 distinct seasons in the 'daks: just entering mud season, mud season, just finishing mud season, and winter. There are hiker-sucking quagmires up there that will swallow a whole boy scout troop. When probing with my hiking pole for stepping stones, I prod gently in case the spot I choose turns out to be the top of some novice hiker's head.

 

[brianW]

Driving normally on unpaved road? You mean there is a thing as paved road?
You would get a laugh at what my driveway looks like right now. If you get in a rut you will need a crane to remove your car.

 

[Stan]

Mud Season Ethics?

Politics have no ethics and I wonder if this thread belongs on this forum ... whoops, this IS actually about hiking.

I hike and drive down the middle, usually, and treat my boots after every hike.

 

[bill bowden]

mud season

New Hampshire has little enough dirt to waste as mud. NH trails are usually rock. the forest service Roads are usually gated until Memorial Day; there's more of chance of damaging unpaved town roads....but the local traffic is far heavier than the hiker traffic.

 

[Mohamed Ellozy]

I have not voted, since I cannot find an appropriate category.

I intensely dislike hiking in Mud Season because it is not fun, and since I have a home in Mass I tend to hike in the Blue Hills at this time of the year. When I do hike in NH I try to find south facing trails at lower elevations, and indeed have written a page on Mud Season Hikes in New Hampshire. And yes, I go through the mud and clean my boots when they eventually dry out.

The roads part is, for me, a non-issue; all the dirt roads that I might drive on are gated until they dry out.

 

[mommabear]

I tend to stay off the trails when they're muddy (I answered 'b'). I know myself enough to know that no matter what my good intentions are, I tend to 'step off' the path when I think my boots will get drenched in 6 inches of mud - and I rationalize that it's not as bad as most others because I don't weigh a lot. It's true, I don't cause as much damage as someone twice my weight, but knowing how highly trafficked a lot of the trails are, I choose not to contribute to the trail erosion at all and either pick trails that tend to be very dry or not hike at all.

 

[sli74]

I usually tend to hike less during mud and bug season though when I do hike I stay as much as possible in the middle of the trail unless there is no other choice but to bypass the neck deep mud
I usually choose instead to spend mud season time visiting my non-hiking friends who complain that I never make time for them

This year I will be spending some of this time hiking in the South and West during mud and bug season.

However, I voted C because when I do hike that is what I tend to do

sli74

 

[eddie]

Those above who have responded that they "hike in the middle" must be all of the "good" people. Those who have not responded this way must be the "bad" people. Who is grinding up the mud anyway? Answer: we all do - it's bad in the middle or on the edge. This thread is ludicrous. Sometimes we can be a bunch of "pat ourselves on the back, self-proclaimed do-gooders". Anybody on the trails in mud season tears them up.

We all should avoid them until conditions get relatively dry.

 

[Mark Schaefer]

I think this discussion and poll has merit at the start of every mud season. There are new hikers to these boards, and those not familiar with mud season. I also had some trouble finding the most appropriate choice that fits my behavior - settled for B as I admit to having done D on occasion. I avoid most soft foot trails and generally look for trails which are old roads that still have their culverts, gravel bases, and drainage systems in place. They may be wet, even muddy in places, but in general walking on these trails does minimal damage. As they are wider than most trails, there is a better chance that some portion of the trail will be dry.

There are many good old road choices in the Catskills e.g. Slide from the west, Spruceton Road to Hunter, Overlook from either Meads or Platte Clove. There are exceptions, e.g. the lower portion of the old Kanape Road to Ashokan High Point which is usually very wet during mud season. There are also many dry carriage roads in the Shawangunks at the Mohonk Preserve, Minnewaska Park, and Sam's Point Preserve. Exceptions in the Gunks are the western end of the High Point Carriageway and adjacent areas of the Smiley Road which have been flooded by beaver activity (but that is true all year).

Mud season is also a good time to get the road bike back on the road. Asphalt can dry off very quickly.

 

[Dr. Dasypodidae]

Funny, I was just compiling my NH4s hikes spanning the past 40 years to see how close I am to the 48x12's, and discovered that the only NH4 that I have summited in April is da Wash, and those were ski trips to the SE snowfields. So, I filled in "A" in the contest, making me a "super good guy." But, seriously, for the past five years I have been co-maintaining the Glen Cliff Trail under the auspices of the Dartmouth Outing Club and when we go up in late May for spring cleaning of the water bars, I have noticed much trail deterioration by hikers during mud season. On one of these late May trips a few years ago, the trail was still quite muddy in places, with even some snow and ice towards the junction with the Carriage Road. My trail maintenance partner and I were trying to tread lightly by wearing soft-soled boots and running shoes. However, on this occasion, we encountered a solo hiker wearing heavy-duty plastic mountaineering boots, who proudly proclaimed that his boots were much better than our footwear for such trail conditions. When we mentioned the damage that he was doing to the trail, he thought that we were joking. Fortunately, as an alternative, I really like skiing Tucks during mud season, and have no qualms about hiking the Tuck Trail, given the massive abuse that it already suffers from the USFS snowcats.

 

[Silverback]

Question.

If one walks through the middle of the mud on existing trails, how is that tearing up the trails? Not much mud gets carried out on the boots so I would guess most of it stays on the trail, so how is this causing erosion?. If ruts are a concern, then how is it worse than the rock and root so common in the Adirondacks? Even so, the next rain would likely "settle" the mud, thus "repaving" the road. One could argue that deep foot prints actually help prevent erosion, because they form mini "holding ponds", which preclude the runoff from carrying away all the soil. One could also argue that walking on the trails when dry is the real problem, because it never allows for the re-establishment of the plant life which would ultimately restore the trail to its natural state.

Of course, as someone said on this thread, many would walk to the side, which does damage the flora which exacerbates the erosion issue. When I do hike during mud season, I wear my old boots in order to ameliorate that temptation.

But has anyone actually studied the long term damage, if any, if someone actually does walk through the middle?

I am not saying anyone is good or bad, whatever they decide to do, I just don't know if what we believe to be true, really is.

Maybe I'm just plain dumb.

 

[Periwinkle]

IMHO, the middle of the trail is the logical choice for more than the ethical reason. It's packed. The sides of the trail are softer and more likely to suck your boots off. In the worst persistent mud holes, some kind soul has likely placed a rock or two that probing will locate.

 

[Shewolf]

"if one walks throught he middle of the mud on existing trails, how is that tearing up the trails? Not much mud gets carried out on the boots so I would guess most of it stays on the trail, so how is this causing erosion?

Anytime you displace mud/dirt from an area, it is bound to cause some type of erosion. And while one person doesn't "displace" much mud, you multiply that by 100 people, you are displacing 100x more mud.

If you've driven over enough unpaved roads, then you know that rains never "repaves" them. They only seem to make them worse. I've got friends with a dirt driveway and every summer, they have to do "pothole" duty to refill the areas where their stone/dirt have cause these huge tire damaging holes.

I don't believe that hiking during the mud season doesn't make you a "bad" person nor does not hiking during it make you a "good" person. However, we all know the state of many trails and can see the damage that erosion is doing to them. I've read many posts about the "trailess" peaks are becoming more like trailed peaks and how many of the trails on the trailed peaks are becoming wider and wider.

I'm with Sli74, mud season allows me to spend time with my non-hiking friends and family that think I'm nuts for wanting to "hike mountains".

 

[poison ivy]

If you've driven over enough unpaved roads, then you know that rains never "repaves" them. They only seem to make them worse. I've got friends with a dirt driveway and every summer, they have to do "pothole" duty to refill the areas where their stone/dirt have cause these huge tire damaging holes.

Amen to that. I live on a dirt road and am always glad to see mud season end. No matter how carefully you drive around them, dozens of potholes appear. Filling them in is a constant weekend chore during the spring.

As for hiking in mud season, I'll admit I do it. I do keep to the middle of the trail because I don't mind getting mud on my boots. I try to stay out of the more fragile areas and have rescheduled a backpacking trip to Vermont because they ask people to stay off the trails until May. But I'm still planning to do a couple of hikes in NH during that time. I'm not sure whether my stance makes me a "good" hiker or a "bad" one.

- Ivy

 

[Silverback]

Shewolf

Displacing the mud to where? It's still mud and it's still on the trail. You're not displacing any mud "from" the area at all.

"repaving" was a bad choice of words. But roads are different than mountain trails.

One, roads tend to be crowned (I realize not "all", but most roads don't have a 3,000 foot "fetch" for runoff, either) and the runoff goes middle to side, a few feet. Two, the track that cars follow is generally is more "focused" (for lack of a better word), meaning cars will travel in the same rut (and the rut is a continuous one, rather than step by step), time after time. Three, the runoff on a mountain trail is more intense and continuous up and down, rather than side to side. Fourth, cars/trucks weigh more than 3,000 - 4,000 pounds. Most humans, even with fully loaded packs weigh far less than a tenth of that. Five, humans don't tend to walk in the same footprint as the one previous because that footprint fills with water. The displacement is "back and forth".

Think about it, how long is a fresh deer track discernable? A day, maybe two? How long do you think your footprint would be discernable if you hiked down a muddy trail today? With no rain, maybe a few days, with rain, I'm betting you wouldn't find it tomorrow.

My point was, once a trail has been "established", the damage has been done. With no vegetation to control the runoff and hold the soil, erosion is inevitable whether humans walk in the mud or not. Compared to the hundreds of thousands of tons of snow and the millions of gallons of water rushing down those trails year long, a few thousand human feet walking through the middle of the mud and displacing it, at most, a few inches here and back again, will not materially affect the trail. In fact, it may speed up the drying out process, much like a gardener does when he/she turns the soil over early.

I still say it is ok to walk thorugh mud as long as you don't "expand" the trail.

Besides, if we never want to walk through mud, how would we ever get a chance to hike half the high peaks

 

[Shewolf]

Ivy,

God bless you folks with the dirt roads in the Spring!

I don't think hiking through mud or during mud season makes you a bad or good hiker. I know the majority really do care and hike for the love of being outdoors.

And Silverback,

I agree with you that anytime vegetation is removed from an area, of course erosion will occur. Water will flow down the path of least resistence. Look at any logging road.

I do disagree that by folks not avoiding some trails during mud season, it wouldn't effect the erosion process. You know that mud season isn't just the little puddles of mud you see during the summer. It's closer to boot sucking mud. Think of the mud you take with you when you misstep in the bog, a book sucking mud... A minute amount, if were only you ever hiking that area, yes, but it's not just one person hiking, it's many more times that. Therefore, much more mud "displaced" not just the side to side displacement you were referring to.

In fact, it may speed up the drying out process, much like a gardner does with he/she turns the soil over early"

When a farmer, not a gardener, tills his fields early in the Spring and it rains, he loses a little bit of his topsoil every year from the runoff. Yes, the ground will dry out a little faster, but it has a cost.

I'm not saying that it's not ok to walk through the mud. I for one, will hike through it. Heck, mud can be fun.

What I am advocting is avoiding certain trails that are prone to erosion during the mud season.

 

[Willie]

Just a couple of comments...

First, I'm not a statistician, but this poll appears to be biased in that responders may feel obligated to "vote" for the ecologically correct answer. As for me, I "voted" for walking around the mud. Perhaps not the correct thing to do - it creates trail spread - but it's an honest answer.

Second, I am a school-trained geologist, so I will comment about erosion. Walking on trails compacts the soil thereby changing the physical properties of the soil (e.g. infiltration capacity). As a result, since water cannot infiltrate the soil, the water creates a puddle on the surface or, if the trail is on a slop, a small stream. Thus, you have erosion.

If you truly don't want to tear-up the trails during mud season, stay off the trails. As for me, if I have an opportunity to hike, I’m hiking.