Land Acknowledgment: Payahuunadu has been, and continues to be, the homeland of the Paiute (Nuumu), Shoshone (Newe), and Timbisha peoples. This land acknowledgment honors the original inhabitants of the Eastern Sierra and the tribes who remain here today.
Welcome to the Eastern Sierra—home to some of the most mind-blowing landscapes in the American West. It’s towering peaks, high-alpine lakes, and miles of radical wilderness, draw us, but now more than ever, we need to step up and do our part.
Many of our friends and family across the NPS and USPS have recently lost their jobs. Our highly passionate and overworked Forest Service is about to experience their most challenging season yet. It’s on us to lean in, and make a small attempt to help support those who are left.
Whether we’re hiking, camping, climbing, fishing, or just pulling over to snap a photo, we are impacting this land. And if we want to keep the Eastern Sierra wild, it starts with following the Leave No Trace principles.
Let’s break it down—just what you need to know to keep this place as epic as it is now.
1. Plan Ahead & Prepare – Don’t Be That Guy
📍 What this really means: Know what you’re getting into before you go.
If you roll up unprepared, the mountains don’t care. Every year, search and rescue teams pull people out of bad situations that could have been avoided with just a little research.
✅ Check the weather. Snow in June? Happens. Wind that will rip your tent apart? Also happens.
✅ Know your trail. Download a map before you lose service (which you will).
✅ Bring the right gear. Cotton kills, hydration matters, and yes, you actually need a headlamp.
🚨 Why it matters: Unprepared people make dumb choices. Dumb choices lead to shortcuts, abandoned gear, and torn-up trails and often worse. Be smart. Don’t die.
2. Travel & Camp on Durable Surfaces – The Brush Isn’t Your Playground
📍 What this really means: Stay on the trail.
You see that perfect, untouched meadow? Yeah, don’t trample it. The desert shrubs in the Alabama Hills? Not for parking your Sprinter van. Alpine tundra? Took 100 years to grow—don’t kill it in 10 seconds.
✅ Hike on existing trails. If you’re making a “new” path, you’re just destroying the old one.
✅ Camp on durable ground. Rock, sand, or already established campsites—not on fragile vegetation.
✅ In the backcountry, camp at least 200 feet from water. Because no one wants to filter water that tastes like your dehydrated pad thai.
🚨 Why it matters: Off-trail shortcuts and rogue campsites wreck ecosystems. It might not look like much now, but 100 people making that choice? That’s how trails get destroyed.
3. Dispose of Waste Properly – Your Trash, Your Problem
📍 What this really means: Pack it in, pack it out—and that includes your toilet paper and sometimes your poop. Yep, your poop.
Listen, no one should have to see, smell, or deal with the stuff you left behind. If you brought it with you, take it back out. Don’t leave it on the side of the trail, because that means if a ranger sees it, they have to pick it up. Don’t hide it. You get tired and you will forget.
✅ Carry out all trash. Granola bar wrapper? Apple core? Pack it out.
✅ Bury human waste properly. 6-8 inches deep, at least 200 feet from water, trails, or campsites.
✅ Use wag bags when required. If you’re in the Mt. Whitney zone, pack out your poop. Yes, seriously.
🚨 Why it matters: A single orange peel takes six months to decompose. That toilet paper you thought you “hid”? Still there next year.
4. Leave What You Find – Take a Photo, Not a Souvenir
📍 What this really means: Rocks, flowers, and artifacts stay where they are.
That cool obsidian flake? It might be an ancient tool. That wildflower? Its job is to seed more wildflowers, not die in your car.
✅ Don’t pick wildflowers. Let them exist for other people (and pollinators).
✅ Don’t take rocks or artifacts. If everyone took “just one,” there’d be nothing left.
✅ Avoid carving into trees or rocks. No one needs to know that you and Jessica were here in 2024.
🚨 Why it matters: Nature is not a souvenir shop. The moment we start picking it apart, it stops being wild.
5. Minimize Campfire Impact – Don’t Be the Reason the Sierra Burns Down
📍 What this really means: Fire restrictions exist for a reason. Follow them.
Wildfire is the single biggest threat to the Sierra and its infastructure. One careless campfire can erase entire forests.
✅ Check fire restrictions. If it says no fires, that means no fires.
✅ Use existing fire rings. No one needs 500 new “fire pits” littering the backcountry.
✅ Put it out. Drown it, stir it, drown it again. If it’s too hot to touch, it’s not out. Drown it again.
🚨 Why it matters: Wildfires here don’t just burn trees—they destroy entire ecosystems, homes, and towns and our local economy.
6. Respect Wildlife – You’re in Their House
📍 What this really means: Friend shaped. Nope. Wild animals are not your friends, influencers, or trash collectors.
✅ Don’t feed wildlife. That chipmunk doesn’t need your trail mix—it needs to survive the winter.
✅ Store food properly. Use bear canisters where required, because bears that get human food = dead bears.
✅ Give animals space. If you’re close enough for a selfie, you’re way too close.
🚨 Why it matters: Feeding animals = dead animals. When wildlife gets used to humans, they get aggressive, relocated, or killed.
7. Be Considerate of Others – aka Don’t Be a Kook
📍 What this really means: The trail isn’t just for you.
✅ Yield to uphill hikers. They’re suffering, let them keep their momentum.
✅ Keep noise levels down. No one came here to hear your playlist. Literally no one.
✅ Share the space. Whether you’re hiking, climbing, or camping, don’t be the person ruining the vibe.
🚨 Why it matters: The Eastern Sierra is for everyone.
Final Thoughts: The Eastern Sierra Doesn’t Need More Tourists. It Needs More Stewards.
If you love this place, act like it. The Eastern Sierra isn’t just another stop on your road trip—it’s a wild, rugged, fragile landscape that deserves your respect.
Please follow Leave No Trace, do your part. If we don’t take care of this place, no one else will.
What else can we do? Glad you asked. Read this.
A message from AWE: In the ’80s, tossing trash out of car windows was commonplace—until the “Don’t Be a Litterbug” campaign came along and changed behavior on a massive scale. At AWE, we believe the same power of messaging can transform how people care for the places we love to travel and explore. Most people are good, and travel is inevitable—every hike, swimming hole, and climbing spot is just a few clicks away. As content creators, we believe we have a responsibility to weave Leave No Trace principles into everything we share, inspiring travelers to recreate responsibly and minimize their impact on the incredible places so many of us cherish. Your actions matter: where you walk, how you park, how you treat locals, and even how loud you play your music. It all makes a difference. Search “Leave No Trace” to learn more about responsible recreation and how you can help protect the wild spaces we love and share.
AWE Disclaimer: Recreation activities may involve inherent risks, including but not limited to changing weather conditions, challenging terrain, wildlife encounters, and other unforeseen hazards. Visitors should check with local land management agencies or authorities for up-to-date information on trail conditions, access, permits, and regulations before planning their trip. Always prioritize safety by being prepared, carrying adequate supplies, and following Leave No Trace principles to protect the environment. Respect local rules, private property, and other visitors. This post is for informational purposes only, and participation in any activity is at your own risk.
