Caring for the Outdoors

by Martin Bril

In the past few weeks, I’ve made a radical change and I am standing by it.

I decided to stop posting pictures of my trips on Instagram.

I know it is quite a serious decision but it is one that I feel good about.

As you know, this year has been fairly chaotic in all aspects of life, not excluding the outdoors.

In fact, I have never seen so many people venturing in the backcountry than before the Covid situation we are experiencing.

*For more information about hiking during Covid-19, please read these facts and plan accordingly.*

You could say that this is a great change, as people should go outside and explore as much as possible. I believe it is a great medicine for the spirit.

But unfortunately, here in Alaska, this abrupt change created foot traffic that trails were never meant to accommodate.

The parking lots alone don’t have the capacity to deal with the number of vehicles that find their way to the trailheads every weekend.

Local secrets are now being published online for everybody to come experience what used to be a quiet hike in the mountains, only known by locals and dedicated adventurers.

Such intense usage becomes problematic in many ways: littering, trail erosion, improper distancing, trespassing, damage to bordering private properties.

 Overflowing parking lot near Hatcher Pass, AK.

There used to be an access, mostly known by local climbers, that gets you into a valley with numerous sought after peaks that I got the privilege to use a few times myself.

That access was on a private road and local residents didn’t really mind of the couple strangers passing through once in a while.

It was in fact such a precious path, as the alternative route adds many miles to an already long approach. We were all very grateful for it.

But a few weeks ago, a sign was found at the main gate, prohibiting any crossing.