I came upon this article while searching around for some hiking stuff to read about, and it involves one of my bucket list destinations: Hawaii. It, unfortunately, details the state's struggles to keep up with the number of visitors the island is seeing.
And this brings up something that's been on my mind quite a bit lately: How does the number of people visiting certain parks and trails affect it?
While working at WBIR in Knoxville this summer, I've had the chance to witness a fair bit of reporting on the Great Smoky Mountains. For example, one popular hike called "Chimney Tops" is in serious danger of being shut down because of the threat imposed due to erosion and general wear-and-tear. It's a very steep hike, and one slipped foot essentially leads to certain death or entrapment.
Which brings me to my next thought - how much is too much? I have a lot of trouble answering that question because, as an avid hiker, I want to be able to enjoy these natural resources, and I want everyone else to be able to as well. But at the same time, I want our natural resources to be preserved and protected.
So where does that leave us? Unfortunately, there's no real answer. The article touches on one possible answer a bit (one that Hawaii currently isn't available to do) in government funding. Personally (and this is just my personal opinion), I'd love to see the government allocate more funding to hiking trails and landmarks. However, with that being said, I'm not exactly sure where the money in this scenario would plausibly come from. If it were possible though, I'd love to see it.
Regardless, this is a good thing to keep in mind for any traveler, wanderer or adventurer. Make sure you don't unnecessarily add to the growing erosion of any trail by going too far off path or littering or anything of that nature. Leave no trace.
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