Bringing Leave No Trace Out of the Wilderness

With all the talk these days about 'reducing our carbon footprint' - I can't help but think about the drastic reduction Billy Goat and I will be making when we leave behind our lives right now (chock full 'o central air conditioning, nicely packaged goods, and occassional steak dinners) for one of backpacking where leave no trace (LNT) principles dictate that we pack out all of our trash (including some I'd rather not speak of) & essentially respect the wildnerness by leaving it as we found it.

I couldn't help but think of these principles this morning as I noticed the state of our condo trash area this Monday morning on my way to work. The evidence of our own and our neighbors' conspicuous weekend consumption and waste is on display every Monday morning before the trash collectors come.

It's also been sobering to downsize our lives in preparation for showing our condo to prospective buyers. In the process of putting about 2/3 of our stuff in a good-sized storage locker, we've had to face the harsh reality of how much we own, buy and consume...and we leave in a 688 sq. ft. condo -- hardly a palace by US standards.

I'm hoping that 3 months of carrying our "houses" on our backs, we can retain more of the LNT principles once we reenter our urban lives.