NoTraceTrails: We're Hiking 2,650 Miles along the Pacific Crest Trail to Combat Litter and Microplastic pollution - AMA from the Trail!

Are you collecting any plant samples (swabs or maybe even taking whole leaves) for later analysis of particulate pollution? I think something like 30% of microplastic pollution comes from car tires, right? Seems like that could probably travel pretty far on the wind and impact wildlife even away from roads.

Love this question! There is atmospheric deposition of microplastics. We aren’t currently collecting plant samples but totally agree that there likely are microplastics depositing on plants. Win even coauthored a piece about leaf microplastics (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apr.2023.101651). We are collecting background samples of microplastics off of the trail in untouched soils to compare that from microplastics on the trail itself. We don’t know for sure yet what source most of the microplastics are coming from but it is totally possible that microplastics are blowing from roads onto the trail.

Very cool! I knew some folks in grad school who studied diesel PM on roadside plant leaves but it never occurred to me until just now that microplastics could have similar effects. It's no surprise that the experts would've realized the possibility much earlier!

Love that for studying PM, its kind of like a natural passive sampling device

Do you have any plans to do surveys on any other trails in the US like the CDT or AT?

We don’t currently have any plans to do surveys on other major trails but we are extending the opportunity to work with others who are hiking those trails to join us in our data collection effort. You can join our @notracetrailsteam using the rubbish trash survey app! Instructions here: https://www.notracetrails.com/join-the-trash-team

What’s the weirdest piece of litter you found?

We found a whole Toll House brownie - looked tasty

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We found 7 mylar balloons in 4 days hiking through San Jacinto, definitely see a lot of those out there

I salute you for the effort but I've become so cynical that I have small expectations your work will have much impact on society as a whole. I hope I'm wrong though.

I think it's a taught at home and led by example type of thing. I have read that cigarette butts contain micro plastics. is this true? If your group could advance that knowledge and eliminate just that alone it will be a worthwhile endeavor.

We’re planning on using our data for education, where we ultimately hope to remind people that small actions can be changed. For example, we’ve spoken with people who have the habit of ripping off the corners of granola bar packages with their teeth and spitting them out. Reminding people that bar corners are prevalent in the environment will remind them to fix this behavior. As for the cigarette butts, we’ve seen quite a few out on trail and yes, they contain microplastics! With data, we’re hoping to reinforce “Leave No Trace” principles with all trail goers.

Happy Earth Day!

200 miles in, what trends have you seen so far in the data (i.e., any specific types of trash more prevalent)?

Thanks for the great question! We are finding about 8 pieces of trash per km on average. Most of the high-concentration areas are near roadways. A lot of what we are finding on the trail is soft plastic film (think food wrappers) and sanitary waste, but we are also finding a lot of rubber and metal.

https://imgur.com/a/FYkfmwf

Have you received funding for this research? If so form where and how much?

Edit: and if not how are you funding this project?

Yes! Funding a project like this takes a ton of partners. Together we’ve received ~$15k in grant funding from the Richard Lounsbery Foundation, McPike Zima, and the American Alpine Club. We’re also supported by the Rubbish trash app, Oklahoma State University GE3 laboratory, Materevolve, Gossamer Gear, and Marmot. See our trash team page for a better look at our partners and funders: https://www.notracetrails.com/trashteam We’re not quite to our funding target for the microplastics sampling - but hope to get there soon!

What kind of data do you have so far? And how are you liking the trail?

What kind of data do you have so far? And how are you liking the trail?

Loving the trail!

For data -we are finding about 8 pieces of trash per km on average. We are finding a lot of trash near roadways. Most of the trash is soft plastic film and sanitary waste but we are also finding a lot of rubber and metal.

check out our figures here: https://imgur.com/a/FYkfmwf

What's your favorite food to eat while hiking?

What's your favorite food to eat while hiking?

Mine is instant mashed potatoes!

I always have an emergency snickers in my pack :)

Are you picking the garbage up?

We're picking up everything that we can! Usually don't pick up things that are biohazardous or extremely large.

I presume you're all carrying rubbish with you for miles and dropping it off at suitable sites en route? Sounds exhausting, plus wearing full backpacks.

What are your feelings about your findings of the quantities of rubbish not near roadsides (where it's unfortunately expected)?

Right now we have a drybag that we strap to the outside of our pack and then we have lightweight salad tongs for picking up trash. Most of the trash we pick up is pretty small, and as we begin carrying more trash our pack weight is usually dropping as we eat the food we are carrying

Aside from our survey locations that have been covered in snow we have always found trash during our 1 kilometer surveys (8 pieces on average)

How many unrecyclable gas tanks do you think you'll thorw in the trash?

Definitely a source of waste for us on trail

Getting one of these to transfer fuel from tanks folks don't completely use: https://sectionhiker.com/g-works-gas-saver-canister-fuel-transfer-adapter-review/

Interesting legislation in California moving to ban single-use propane cylinders too: https://www.wastedive.com/news/california-2022-legislation-bottle-bill-battery-incinerator-plastic/631023/

Who do you hope utilizes your research once it's done? The public policy arena seems like the obvious choice but do you expect to make more technical/material recommendations?

We are collecting data on brands on trash and we hope that can be used to inform extended producer responsibility, i.e. which producers need to step up their game to help us solve this problem of trash in the wilderness. We are working with 5 Gyres on the Plastic Free Parks Campaign (https://www.5gyres.org/national-parks-trashblitz#:~:text=Plastic%2DFree%20Parks%20is%20an,solutions%20that%20protect%20our%20parks.). Education is one of our main goals! Having data can better inform what messages we’re putting out there.

What a cool project! I’m curious about your gear. Thru hikers tend to have some bad habits like reusing smart water bottles, using a million plastic bags and even putting almost-boiling water into plastic bags for meals. How did your work studying microplastics affect your gear choices (if at all)?

Love this questions! Long story short we are imperfect but microplastics and environmental impact are always on our minds: We’re are working with Marmot, an outdoor brand committed to reducing their microfiber impact and Materevolve, a textile consulting firm focused on exploring alternative fabrics to synthetics, to work towards a cleaner outdoor industry. Choosing gear that will last for longer than our thru-hike was also important to us and being able to repair our gear to extend its life was also a huge “must” for us. Unfortunately, we have taken to some of the thru-hiker norms (i.e. smart water bottles) for the sake of cutting pack weight, but we’re always open to ideas on how to update our choices. We are also trying to reuse the bags our food comes in so we don’t have to use more plastic bags.

also drew inspiration thruhikers who have attempted zero-waste hikes: https://cascademountaintech.com/blogs/news/waste-not-want-not-how-i-hiked-the-pacific-crest-trail-zero-waste

Thank you so much for your response, and for doing more than your part to keep our trails clean! I wish you happy feet and low snow levels on your journey!

Thanks :) happy trails!

Do you ever see people littering? Catch them red-handed?

I think most littering in the backcountry is accidental. We have definitely watched things blow out of someone's hand or left something behind. But we've also run into a lot of people trying to clean up as they go!

What do you do with the litter you pick up to pack out? Do you offload it in the first wastebin you come across, or are you coordinating with others who will take the litter from you?

Also, I'm always fascinated with the logistics of these long hikes -- how many nights are you in a hotel or other lodging along the way compared to staying out on the trail? Similarly, do you have people resupplying you with food/water along the way, or do you stop at stores along the way to buy more supplies?

We have a dry bag that we attach to our packs that we put trash into as we go and then carry salad tongs for picking stuff up. If there’s a secure place to put trash we’ll offload it, otherwise we’ll wait to the next town we’re resupplying in.

We also love logistics and each stretch so far has been pretty different! Every 4-7 days we get off trail to resupply in a nearby town. We’ve basically been treating each of these stretches as their own trip, planning for the next town to town stretch in the previous town. Mostly we are resupplying in groceries stores but because some of our team is based in SoCal they will bring out supplies we bought in bulk before starting the trail.

Currently staying in a hotel about once a week

Have you caught anyone littering?

from my comment to @Tjaden4815 I think most littering in the backcountry is accidental. We have definitely watched things blow out of someone's hand or left something behind. But we've also run into a lot of people trying to clean up as they go!

Why not call it the "TracelessTrails" instead? Seems like a missed opportunity.

HAHA, next time we will hit you up to choose our name. Good one.

Best view so far?

Seeing San Jacinto poking up its snowy head from the distance. Really gave us a scale of what we were up against and looked beautiful. Then the ridgeline on San Jacinto was amazing, tons of beautiful rock features and the highest point on trail at that point.

Way faster if you just did it with a $1k drone no?

Pretty difficult to analyze that data - but hoping to move in that direction by partnering with: https://www.trashai.org/

What materials are your hiking clothes made from? If they are made of plastic, you're shedding micro particles every time you take a step.

What materials are your hiking clothes made from? If they are made of plastic, you're shedding micro particles every time you take a step.

Great point! Most technical and backpacking gear is made out of plastic, even our shoes are shedding microplastics while we walk. We’re working and sharing data with Marmot, an outdoor brand committed to reducing their microfiber impact and Materevolve, a textile consulting firm focused on exploring alternative fabrics to synthetics, to work towards a cleaner outdoor industry. In the meantime, we’re collecting data to understand more about what impact these microplastics have on backcountry environments.