Confession: I’m no extreme backpacker, no daring mountaineer. Some of the most fun I’ve had outdoors has been within hours, if not minutes, of a trailhead.

That’s right, I love to car camp.

What Not To Do

A Dutch oven and more than one change of clothes aren’t the only advantages to pitching camp out of a car. I never need to pack (I leave my gear in my trunk year-round), can pick up lunch on the way (the freshest looking ham-and-American with extra mustard packets at a gas station on the way out of town) and always have a nice place to dry my gear overnight, even if it’s pouring.

This experience — combined with the fact that I’m from a state with fewer than six people per square mile (it’s more like negative three people per square mile in parts of eastern Montana) — led me to believe that Leave No Trace ideals were reserved for other people. You know the ones — they cut their tooth brushes in half, rip pages out of novels after they read them, sleep under tarps tied to trees so they don’t damage intricate root systems with unsightly tents, and most certainly stopped reading this column as soon as I said that I love to car camp.

But then I moved to upstate New York, a place where natural areas are shared by deer hunters and vegetarians, by cross-country skiers and snow-mobilers, by fly-fishermen and a large group of rock throwing high school lacrosse players that will go unnamed though they scared all the fish away from my line at Treman Park the other day. With so many interests at play on our public lands, it’s hard to agree on anything. This is where Leave No Trace comes in. It is the simplest way for everyone to help sustain the beauty of natural areas for generations to come. The National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) provides the foundation of outdoor Leave No Trace ethics in seven simple principles:

1. Plan ahead and prepare. Know where you’re going, and what to expect. This might actually require you to read a guidebook and talk to locals. Rolling out a sleeping bag on the side of the road and then waking up to find you’ve slept on the front yard of the National Guard Amory is never pleasant. (I would know.)

2. Camp and travel on durable surfaces. Use established trails and camp 200 feet from roads, trailheads, private property, water features and scenic vistas.

3. Dispose of waste properly. If you packed it in, pack it out. Leave your campsite clean by reducing litter and disposing of all garbage. Use biodegradable soap, strain your dishwater, and do your washing 200 feet from streams or lakes.

4. Leave what you find. Plants, rocks and cultural artifacts should be there for the next person to enjoy.

5. Minimize campfire impacts. Know the rules of when you can have a fire, keep your fire small, and leave it dead out. For examples of what not to do: look up Yellowstone Fire of ’88.

6. Respect the wildlife around you. No, you cannot feed the bears. No, you should not ride the deer. Avoid the fate of Grizzly Man Timothy Treadwell and leave wildlife alone. Bear-bag food overnight at least 10 feet off the ground, or place it in a wildlife proof canister available at most outfitters.

7. Be considerate of others. Respect other visitors’ space and experiences, even if the “God Fearing NRA Members for Palin in 2012” sticker on some guy’s jacked-up F-350 clashes with the “Organic Feminists for World Peace” decal on your Prius. You never know, you might need him to pull your car out of the mud one day.

Public lands are for everybody. Though everyone uses them with different objectives in mind, everyone deserves an outdoor experience that is free of needless traces of a human presence.