Minimum Impact Camping

Guidelines for Ocean Kayakers
The west coast of Canada is an area rich in biodiversity. Its coastal ecosystems offer ocean kayakers almost limitless opportunities for discovery. As participants in a popular and growing activity we must take steps to minimize our impact on the natural world. A few guidelines may help us explore these areas in an environmentally sensitive manner.

Written and produced by Ecomarine Ocean Kayak Centre, Vancouver BC
Stiff, Howard. "Keeping Wilderness Wild." Wavelength Paddling Magazine. Gabriola Island, BC, 1991.

PRE-TRIP PLANNING

  • keep your group size small, to minimize impact on an area
  • consider alternate transportation such as buses, car pooling, or walking onto ferries

WHILE KAYAK TOURING

  • select launching/landing sites carefully to avoid trampling intertidal life
  • traveling quietly will allow you to become part of the natural world
  • avoid bird and mammal breeding habitats
  • use binoculars and telephoto lenses to observe and photograph wildlife
  • resist the temptation to feed animals, no matter how bold or curious they may be - handouts may alter feeding habits
  • tread carefully while exploring the intertidal zone - return all rocks, shells and creatures to their original location

CAMPSITES

  • avoid critical wildlife habitats, obvious animal trails, and fragile terrain
  • do not cut trees or branches
  • avoid digging drainage trenches around tents - choose well drained or high ground instead
  • obtain permission to camp on Indian Reserves (denoted IR on most charts), and private land
  • do not camp at cultural sites of First Nations

PRISTINE SITES

  • choose a non-vegetated area for your camp, such as sand or rock beaches
  • situate your camp 50 meters from fresh water sources including lakes, rivers and creeks (many animals require frequent access to these areas)
  • leave no sign of your visit

ESTABLISHED SITES

  • when possible, it's better to camp at established sites where your stay will cause no additional damage
  • these sites may have visible tenting areas, an established fire pit, and occasionally and outhouse, but should be free of camp structures (makeshift lean-tos, tables, etc.) and garbage
  • watch where you walk - use established trails to avoid trampling vegetation
  • leave sites in a more pristine state than the way you found them

FIRES

  • portable stoves should always be carried for preparing meals
  • fires should only be lit in suitable areas where there is sufficient fuel (it is not necessary to have a fire every night)
  • restrict fires to cooking size - bonfires are too consumptive
  • always use established fire pits where they exist
  • where no established fire pit exists choose a site on sand or gravel (not mineral soil or rock) well below the monthly high tide line and away from vegetation, drift logs and rocks - do not construct a ring of rocks around your fire as it will permanently scar the rocks
  • burn only driftwood no larger than the diameter of your fist - avoid picking an area clean
  • allow the fire to burn down to ash, cold to the touch (no half burnt pieces remaining) and crush any charcoal
  • remove all traces of ash and charcoal by scattering in the ocean or packing it with you to your next site - do not bury remains

HARVESTING

  • many areas can no longer sustain plant and animal harvesting - whether or not to harvest, and the amount to be taken should be critically assessed in each area - consult the B.C. tidal Waters Sport Fishing Guide for provincial regulations
  • return all shells and entrails to the area from which they were harvested

Human WASTE DISPOSAL

  • use outhouses wherever they are provided
  • feces and urine degrade more quickly in salt water than in topsoil - select a secluded site in the intertidal zone - on a sand beach dig a shallow cat-hole, and cover it after use
  • try washing with salt water as an alternative to toilet paper, otherwise all toilet paper should be burned, or packed out
  • sanitary pads/tampons must be packed out or burned in a fire

Waste Water DISPOSAL

  • waste water from cooking should be drained into the ocean
  • soaps and detergents are pollutants and should not be introduced to freshwater sources, including estuaries
  • wash your dishes at the ocean's edge, using soapless saltwater, and sand or gravel as a scouring pad
  • wash yourself and your clothing in the ocean, using (only if necessary) small amounts of biodegradable soap
  • minor hand and face washing without soap can be done in a stream or lake
  • brush your teeth at the ocean's edge

Food Waste DISPOSAL

  • pack out everything you pack in by sorting cans, glass, plastic and compost for recycling at home
  • reduce the amount of potential garbage; plan meal quantities carefully, package food in reusable containers and use leftovers for snacks or lunches
  • food wastes must be packed out or completely burned where appropriate

References

Hampton, Bruce and Cole, David. Soft Paths. Harrisburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 1986.
Meyer, Kathleen. How to Shit in the Woods. Berkeley, CA: Ten Speed Press, 1989.

Rentals include:

  • paddle & spare paddle
  • pump
  • spray skirt
  • approved PFD with whistle
  • buoyant heaving line

Also available:

  • flares $20. flat fee

Before you go

Before you put to sea for a day's paddle, go through this checklist of essentials.
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