Summit County’s shift from winter to summer mecca is well underway, with dried-out trails beckoning people to the backcountry. 

As residents and visitors plan their overnight trips, officials and wildlife volunteers are urging them to consider key ways to protect the natural landscape for years to come. 

“You’re looking at the most-visited ranger district and most-visited national forest,” said David Boyd, a spokesperson for the White River National Forest, which saw the most visitation of any national forest in the country last year. 

And the heart of that activity is the Dillon Ranger District in Summit County. 

“With the increase in visitation that we’ve see over the past handful of years, it’s even more important for people to understand how to be good stewards of the land and how to share it with other humans and wildlife in the area,” said Doozie Martin, executive director for the nonprofit Friends of the Dillon Ranger District.

More than 100 trailheads and trail portals provide access to over 300 miles of trails in the county. While all trailheads give hikers the option of signing in before a hike, only one area requires it. 

The Eagle’s Nest Wilderness, one of the most popular spots for hiking and dispersed overnight camping, requires visitors to self-register and ensure they have a permit on them while backcountry hiking. These permits are available at the area’s trailheads. 

Boyd said this helps the ranger district understand how many people are in the area (something that’s especially important during a search and rescue mission) and collect year-over-year foot traffic data. 

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Once inside backcountry boundaries, hikers should take note of where they set up for the night. 

“Generally, camping is prohibited within 100 feet of a lake, stream or trail,” Boyd said, adding, “We discourage campfires when you’re backpacking.”

While wildfires remain a risk, Boyd said building a campfire can also leave more impact on the natural environment than, for example, using a small gas stove. Reducing one’s camping footprint helps protect the backcountry, which is why Boyd also recommends finding sites that appear to have already been used. 

If fires are created, those should also be 100 feet or more from a lake and ignited at elevations below 11,000 feet, Boyd said. 

Backpackers should be aware of any fire restrictions in the county. Under a Stage 1 restriction, any campfires would be banned since it is outside of a developed campsite. Currently, the county has no fire restrictions and remains at a low danger level, though that could change with more hot and dry weather. 

“Not having fire restrictions in place doesn’t mean there’s no fire danger,” Boyd added. “It just means that the conditions aren’t so severe that you can’t have a campfire.” 

These are all considerations that factor into a backcountry ethos known as Leave No Trace, which Boyd said should be a guiding principle for backcountry recreation. 

Beyond reducing sprawl, overnight campers should pack out their waste, even poop. While it may seem harmless to dig a cathole in the ground, with so many backpackers exploring the same areas, the buried waste adds up. 

Clean waste bags, known as wag bags, ensure that human waste does not overwhelm the outdoors. The bags are typically doubled to reduce odor and ensure protection. Hikers are advised to keep these on the outside of their bags.

The same goes for dogs which, while allowed within national forest land, must always be kept on a leash. Martin said unleashed dogs can pose a risk to wildlife and vice-versa. 

“We hear reports of dogs getting ‘porcupined,'” Martin said. He added removing porcupine quills can be a “painful and expensive process” to have removed.

Interactions with moose can lead to a chase with dogs, posing a direct risk to people, Martin added. 

“Everybody who owns a dog loves to see them running around the forest freely,” Martin said. “But the onus is on the owner to understand the rules and why they are in place.”

When it comes to wildlife, hikers should always give animals the right of way. 

Martin said enjoying the backcountry during the summer always comes back to Leave No Trace.

“It’s really all in those three words. How can you leave the land as pristine as possible, like you were never there?” Martin said. “It’s everybody’s responsibility to be respectful of all living things in these backcountry areas.”