Backpacker Magazine – October 2010

How's Your Camping Etiquette?

Take our etiquette quiz to find out if you're genteel or a heel.

by: The Backpacker Editors & Contributors

Tags:
• Skills
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1. A big, muddy puddle swamps the trail. Your move?

Walk off-trail, around the mud, to keep your feet dry     Slosh on through. That's what Gore-tex is for.

2. Trail hygiene is tough. When the gorp gets passed around, you should...

Dig in–the risk of spreading germs this way is wildly exaggerated     Pour it into your palm, because who knows whether Joe 'Nose Blow' Schmoe dosed with Purell?     Set a good example by not sharing your gorp at all. This definitely prevents contamination.

3. It's time to clean dishes. What's the minimum you should do?

Lick your plates, and let partners (and Fido) lick theirs     Wipe 'em clean with paper towels and air-dry. The exposure will kill germs by morning.     Rinse dishes in boiling water to sterilize, and air-dry     Boil water, add soap, wash dishes, then rinse them in a pot of purified water, and air-dry

4. You doused the campfire with a big pot of water. Now what? At established sites, you should...

Leave the fire ring as is     Scatter all of the ash remains and disassemble the fire ring     Scatter the big ash pieces so the mess doesn't overwhelm the fire ring (but leave the ring so the next campers don't create a new one)

5. Skinny-dipping in a remote backcountry lake is...

Awesome     Illegal in 43 states     Cool if you're fairly clean and other campers aren't nearby     Uncool unless your name is Megan Fox or Robert Pattinson

6. When you need to whiz, you do it how far from the trail?

6 inches     100 yards     Out of sight and 200 feet from any water source, except in specific situations

7. Pick the surfaces you should NOT walk on, either for safety or LNT reasons:

Microbiotic soil     38-degree talus slopes     Lichen-covered rocks     Graupel     The midpoint of a cornice     Baby moose or elk tracks     Quicksand

8. It's fire time and you break out the single malt. You should...

Slug it, pass it around, repeat     Taunt people who don't partake     Hoard it–you carried it, after all     Trade shots for Snickers

9. While tied into a rope team on Mt. Rainier, you really have to go–#2. You...

Hold it, at great risk to your undies     Unrope and traverse 100 yards     Set to while your partners look away     You're not wearing a diaper?

10. It's OK to trundle rocks if...

You look and yell to make sure no one is in the line of fire     Your friend rolls one first     It's never OK to trundle

11. It's fine to throw apple cores, orange peels, and seeds into the forest.

True     False

12. When nature calls, what should you do with your TP afterward?

Bury it six inches deep or burn it     Pack it out     Put it in your partner's top pocket     What TP? I use leaves.

13. Pack out solid waste...

Always     On rivers     In fragile desert areas

14. When two parties meet on a narrow, cliffside trail, who yields? Choose all that apply:

People moving uphill     People moving downhill     Smaller party     Larger party     The party with the worst BO

15. On a weekend AT trek, you share a camp with two hungry-looking thru-hikers. You should...

Keep a close eye on your food bag     Make a big dinner and offer them some     Give them your remaining food when you hike out

16. Because horses are big and harder to control, they must yield to hikers and bikers on the trail.

True     False

17. The best way to use a cell phone:

Bluetooth in ear     Secretly and away from others     Never. This is the wilderness, dude!

18. You see a fly-fisherman casting at a secluded lake. You...

Grab your rod and join him!     Take a dip, then skip rocks     Keep your distance

19. A brand new water purifier is just lying on the trail. Your move?

Hike on. Who needs extra ballast?     Grab it in hopes of finding its owner     Pick it up and leave your iodine tablets behind. Hello upgrade!

20. In a campground, you should keep noise down until what time in the A.M.?

8 a.m.     9 a.m.     All day. People go camping for the peace and quiet.     Never. Loud noise (especially heavy metal) keeps bears away.

21. You're hiking on lands protected from hunting, and you encounter a group of camo-clad hunters. What do you do?

Lecture time, baby!     Say nothing, do nothing. They have guns.     Politely ask to see their licenses. Nature can't protect itself.     Ask to borrow some blaze orange

22. Bathing with soap in a river or lake is...

OK     Not OK. Collect water and bathe 200 feet away

23. You're brushing your teeth. Where to spit?

Away from camp     In the nearest stream     On the fire

24. Dinner is done and only wash water remains. What to do with it?

Bottoms up! You're an LNT master!     Pour it down the privy hole     Strain and pack out big bits; disperse liquid 200 feet from water

25. It's dark, rainy, and the lean-to is full. A soggy hiker approaches. You should...

Pretend you're sleeping     Move over. There's no such thing as a full shelter in rain.     Send him away with your regrets. First come, first served.     Tell him you think you saw another, less-crowded shelter about a mile up the trail

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