Researchers are studying how to minimize human impact on public lands

Most people used to think the Crestone Needle, a jagged peak in Colorado’s Sangre de Cristo range, was unclimbable. Until, that is, Albert Ellingwood and Eleanor Davis reached its summit in 1916. Looking down, they saw a basin whose pristine nature was marred only by their own camp. The Needle was the last of Colorado’s 14ers — peaks higher than 14,000 feet — to be climbed on record. Today, Ellingwood and Davis would have company up there. In the South Colony Basin, the wilderness area below the Needle, thousands of hikers each year take in the alpine lakes and the jutting rockfaces above. More than 250,000 people try to summit one of the 50-plus Coloradan 14ers annually. Related The Science of Search and Rescue With those crowds come heavy foot traffic, fire rings, litter, and human waste. Leaving no trace can be a lofty goal in the face of such encroachments. While wilderness experiences may seem, well, wild, they are often carefully curated by park and forest service rangers, re ... Read full article.