For many outdoor enthusiasts, a little rain has never been a deterrent. But while an entire industry of ponchos and waterproof shoes exists to maximize your comfort, there is more to consider when getting outdoors during rainy season than minimizing chafing from wet clothing.
IT’S NOT JUST YOUR COMFORT THAT MATTERS
If you’ve ever had to walk 6 miles to a trailhead with the burning pain of a blister cursing your name with every step, you know being comfortable in the outdoors has its perks. So while choosing the proper rainy-weather outdoor gear can make all the difference in both comfort and safety, those shouldn’t be the only choices you are making when hiking, biking or walking outdoors during the muddy season.
Part of being a responsible outdoors-person is not just doing what you can to avoid needing rescued by a helicopter and a troupe of well-trained SAR heroes (hint* you need more than one 16oz bottle of water to hike in the summer in AZ). Equally as important, is considering the impact that your fun adventures have on the natural environment, in this case, during mud season. Mud season usually occurs in the transitional season between winter and spring when the mix of melting snow and rain makes for a wet landscape. In desert landscapes, the summer monsoon season is another muddy time for trails.
The USDA Forest Service outlines the impact of recreating in muddy areas. As trails become saturated with water and large mud puddles form, trails can become completely obscured by muddy water. Under these conditions the soil is vulnerable to erosion and compaction which reduces the soils ability to grow vegetation and even further impacts its ability to absorb water. This can lead to more water pooling and further erosion that exposes rocks and roots.
So now that you understand why muddy trails are so vulnerable to the impact of mountain bike wheels and trail running shoes you will never recreate when it is muddy again. Ever.
Just kidding! While it is a good idea to limit your use of muddy trails and avoid it whenever possible, there are quite a few things you can do to help reduce your impact when you do. One thing you can do is choose your trails wisely…
The immediate impact on soil and vegetation depends on current use levels
Completely avoiding muddy trails may not be possible or or even necessary but with a little preplanning you can minimize your impact on the natural environment. The impact that human use has on soil and vegetation has been found to depend largely on the amount of regular traffic. When humans begin to walk, run, bike or drive on a perviously untouched area, the impact on untouched soil is huge, but what about areas that are trafficked regularly?
Scientists have found that the impact to the natural environment rises in conjunction with how much use that soil and vegetation experiences, up to a certain point. Eventually, with high enough levels of use, the impact that any one human has on the soil and vegetation with each interaction, is minimal. This impact is what is defined by scientists as curvilinear. As you can see with the model below, when an area undergoes infrequent use, the impact on the regenerating or undisturbed soil and vegetation from occasional human use is high. In areas that are frequently used, like popular trails, the impact of any one bike or run is much lower as the soil and vegetation has already been altered due to the high levels of human impact it undergoes.
Even if you aren’t a fan of science, this type of modeling can help you make more informed and eco-conscious decisions about where and how to recreate in nature.
IF YOU CAN’T STAY HOME, HERE IS WHAT YOU CAN DO
We know that muddy and damp soil can be very easily disturbed. You can probably summon up a memory in your head of rutted out tire tracks on a dry service road after a rain. Rutted out trails aren’t exactly paying homage to the Leave No Trace doctrine. So when you find yourself out on a muddy day, turning around and heading back home is the best option but with a little forethought you can minimize your impact on nature while still enjoying all it has to offer.
Pick your trail wisely: by now you should know that biking through a rarely used trail while it is saturated in mud is not the most responsible choice you can make. Instead, choose trails that are regularly used and well-defined so that you are not eroding and compacting soil and vegetation that are not used to being regularly trampled.
Selecting trails on the south side of a mountain and at lower elevation is also wise as they are more likely to dry faster. Similarly, if possible take your stroll on a paved or otherwise compacted surface until the ground dries.
Be prepared to plow through: no one likes to get their socks wet when they are outdoors enjoying nature but as a steward of our natural landscapes you should be prepared with a change of socks back at the trailhead if you are going to hike, run or bike during mud season. While walking through the wettest part of the trail has an impact on the soil, it is much less impactful than trying to go around. By trying to avoid puddles and muddy trails most people will step onto the edges of the trail or worse, into the vegetation next to the trail. This behavior widens the trail further and harms the soil and vegetation lining the trail. If our goal as responsible outdoors people is to minimize our impact on the environment, walking straight through the mud and water is the best course of action.
Since you will now be walking through the mud puddles and not on the edges of the trail, choosing the proper rainy-weather outdoor gear is sounding like a much more important task! Avoiding the trails when they are extremely muddy is the best thing you can do, but with a little knowledge and forethought you can get outside throughout the year while still showing love and care to the environment that gives us so much joy!
Evolving Adventurer 