In Your Face
Etiquette for the trail

By Ann Bond
Special to the Herald

"Horses leave manure all over the trail, and their hooves churn wet trails into a muddy mess," complain the hikers and mountain bikers.

"Those crazy mountain bikers ride like bats out of hell – they scare horses and run people off the trail," complain the horseback riders and hikers.

"Hikers don't keep their dogs under control – their pets chase wildlife and spook horses. Plus, no one appreciates a dog jumping up on you," complain the mountain bikers and horseback riders.

Welcome to the joy of managing National Forest and BLM lands for multiple use. Most public lands that surround Durango are open to most kinds of recreation, with a few restrictions. On some trails, motorized vehicles, like ATVs and motorcycles, are not allowed. Mountain bicycles (and motor vehicles) are not allowed in designated wilderness areas, like the Weminuche. But, as a "primitive use," horses can be used to visit any area on any trail they can safely negotiate. Of course, that doesn’t mean that horseback riders have carte blanche.

"It’s hard to ‘leave no trace’ with a horse," said Kathe Hayes, a member of the Four Corners Backcountry Horsemen. "What we work on is teaching folks to minimize their impacts when riding or packing."

The Backcountry Horsemen work to alleviate some of the horsey dilemmas out there. The group has a trail-adoption program, which sends volunteers into the backcountry to do maintenance on heavily used trails. This year, they concentrated on the Elbert Creek, Dutch Creek, and Colorado trails. Their volunteers receive training in safety, tool use, and trail-building skills from workshops put on by San Juan Public Lands and San Juan Mountains Association.

The group also co-hosts a low-impact, stock use clinic each year at Vallecito. The public is invited, and topics range from trail eti-quette to lightweight packing. Some of the equine tips they pass on include urging riders to keep horses away from popular viewpoints, so unwanted "deposits" don’t mar the experience for others. They also ask riders to try to limit traffic on muddy trails. And, because having a few horses and riders pass you on the trail is a lot more palatable than having a posse amble by, the group encourages equestrians to ride in small groups.