Bushwacking is a more advanced form of hiking. It may conjure up images of machete wielding explorers or hikers holding paper maps while utilizing compasses to navigate (Maps and compasses are always a good idea!). But it really just means going off trail and into the woods. This can often build stronger confidence your ability as hiker, increase your exposure to new experiences with wildlife and fauna, and lead you to grand vistas. But should we be doing it?
Formal Trails:
Formal or managed trails are already a disturbance in the environment. To construct a trail, vegetation is often stripped to create a path. This may have been done by thousands of feet that have trampled the ground, by animals that have continuously traversed the area, or by machinery and tools from land stewards which leaves the surface bare and rocky.
On maintained trails, the land can be covered in natural or unnatural material such as a layer of rock, mulch, or pavement which makes it almost impossible for plant life to exist. A good example of a paved trail is from my Tibbetts Brook Hike post.
The effects from hiking and trail-construction can cause erosion, deter plant life, and disturb habitats, while helping hikers have a clear path through the woods which prevents hikers from further damaging the ecosystem and helping to create havens for plant life and animals off the trail. Then comes bushwacking.
Bushwacking:
With bushwacking, often, there is no clear route, and the hiker creates their own path. In the process, they are stamping on fresh ground which disturbs plant growth. They are bending and breaking branches on small trees, shrubs, and other plants. Sensitive landscapes, especially in mountain regions where much of bushwhacking takes place, are altered by this activity.
Plant Damage by Bushwacking:
Bushwacking can cause vegetation composition to be changed. This can allow invasive species to flourish or reduce diversity and possibly endanger sensitive plants. In fact, in a 2001 study by Littlemore and Barker, it was found that the mountain regions were most damaged by the effects of trampling in comparison to other zones such as the subtropics that are more resistant (Martin and Butler 2017). Within the sensitive regions, it was found that shrubs and various grasses were one of the types of plant most affected by trampling (Martin and Butler 2017). Plants are not the only thing affected by bushwacking activities.
Bushwacking effects on the Ground:
The ground can be impacted by off-trail or bushwacking activities. As with vegetation, the hiker damages the soil by impacting the ground. If the path is followed by enough hikers, a compaction effect can occur. When trails are planned, many factors are taken into account such as run-off, erosion, and possibility of rockslides. But with bushwacking, the paths are formed ad hoc. If compaction occurs this can result in dangerous run-offs, erosion, and other damages. But there are also impacts to the wildlife.
Wildlife and Bushwacking:
Bushwacking could become a disturbance to wildlife. Animals migrating or foraging are forced to look elsewhere when they encounter a hiker. Additionally, fragmentation, or the breaking up of a habitat, can occur. In formal trail creation, this may happen, but again at a planned level and where corridors may be constructed to assist animals in connecting them to fragmented habitats. With bushwacking, if fragmentation occurs, unless a steward comes up with a solution, animals must find a new path around human activity. We explored the impacts of bushwalking on the environment to ask if it should not be performed, but we must also ask if it could be too dangerous as well?
Hiker Safety:
Hiking is an activity with inherent risks such as dehydration, injuries, and dangerous wildlife encounters. With bushwacking, these risks can be further exacerbated by the terrain, navigation difficulty, and increased chances of coming across poisonous or dangerous animals.
As with hiking, the hiker must assume responsibility for their preparedness and knowledge of their own skill level. With bushwacking this is even more important as it is much easier to get turned around, get stuck, or fall. Bushwacking should only be done by experienced hikers or those who have a vetted guide to lead them.
So, should we engage in Bushwhacking Hike Activities?
I have to say, bushwacking does give you as a hiker the opportunity to see some incredible views you would not be able to see, overcome challenges you otherwise couldn’t meet, and explore areas you couldn’t explore by staying on the trail.
I think what we need to ask is how carefully can we perform this activity; how can we adhere to Leave No Trace doctrines? Can we find a sustainable way to explore the vistas only explorable by bushwacking? I think the answer lies with the individual, the region, and the impact on nature.
As hiking increases in popularity in areas that were once left to the highly experienced, there may come a time when management of those wild places will need to be considered so that impact is reduced. Until such time, we will have to ask before we go out on that hike, should we bushwack or not?
Work Cited:
Martin, R and Butler DR. 2017. A Framework for Understanding Off-trail Trampling Impacts in Mountain Environments. The George Wright Society Forum 34: 354-367. DOI: https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/26452978