Trail Hiking Right-of-Way
In the Wild, We Decide the Way
Triple Falls, Columbia River Gorge, Oregon
I’m sure this subtitle will put me in some hot water, but bear with me. I hope that by the time we are done, you will realize that I am not advocating for some type of “I do what I want” Americanism, but more of a wild west, where the rubber hits the trail pragmaticism.
Many casual hikers don’t know the “official” right-of-way rules. After nearly three decades hiking and backpacking, I am not one of them. The National Park Service and Backpacker magazine agree on the basics: the hiker bearing uphill has right-of-way, while the hiker headed downhill is obligated to yield, presumably because of the nuisance of breaking uphill momentum and limited visibility when gazing uphill. They also agree that everyone yields to horses, while bikers yield to both hikers and ungulates.
The truth is, I just can’t get on board. Like so many areas of my life, I choose to govern myself by my own code of ethics, and I don’t think I’m alone. The truth is most of us yield when common sense and propriety dictates. That’s why I was stunned by the reaction of one hiker this Thanksgiving, while I was hiking up to Triple Falls with my friend Audrey.
Given the holiday, it was a starkly convivial day to be out on the trail. Nearly ever party slowed to greet us, and I began to relish in meeting new hikers I could wish “happy Thanksgiving,” as if we had wandered into some sort of Richard Scary storybook. As we turned to descend, we met with a tall, blond, young man who was marching uphill at a moderate pace. Lacking a good place to step aside, I, in the lead, continued forward, assuming he would make way. Alas, not this hiker. “You know,” he quipped as we passed by, “proper etiquette is for the hiker uphill to yield.”
His words grazed my shoulder like a gust of cold air. Fortunately, Audrey was quicker off the draw than I, and saved me from the snarky comment brewing in my turkey-starved belly. “Thanks!” she fired back. And on we went, never to see this sour “gentleman” again.
I’ll admit that kvetching will undoubtedly become a theme of this newsletter. Truthfully, the more I have chewed upon this encounter, the more it has irked me. Something about this able-bodied person asking Audrey and I to step aside for him as we decided a treacherous, gravely slope, seemed not just unchivalrous, but unjust. I realized, as I descended, that without conscious awareness, I have developed my own code of ethics for hiking right-of-way.
A Gracious and Practical Hiker Right-of-Way:
Yield to runners because they are in a rhythm.
Yield to horses and pack animals because they are squirrely.
Yield to dogs because they are unpredictable.
Yield to bikers because don’t be stupid.*
Yield to people with children.
Yield to elders out of respect.
Yield to anyone who looks less able-bodied so that they don’t have to stop.
Yield to larger parties so that fewer people need step off the trail.
Yield when you have a safe place to step off the trail and the oncoming party does not.
Yield for people navigating icy or treacherous slopes.
Yield when commonsense and chivalry dictate.
And, when another party yields first, respect their magnanimity and walk on by.
*This is controversial. Every guide I’ve found suggest that somehow bikers are expected to yield to hikers. I found this shocking and have rarely seen this done in practice. Would you take your chances if you saw a mountain biker coming?
The truth is that the wild bears little resemblance to civilization and a one-size-fits-all approach cannot be easily applied to any part of “trail etiquette.” We can’t govern trails with traffic signage, lights, or laws. I would argue that trail hiking is an ancestral activity. The United States Park Service rules lacks nuance and seeks to apply governmental regulation where it doesn’t belong. I believe it is people on the trails that are in the best position to govern themselves. Even the idea that “etiquette” should extend to the wild seems off base to me. The term brings to mind the most Victorian, rigid of manners.
Hiking wild land is one of the few chances most of us have to break away from etiquette and exchange economy. We are invited to navigate the chaos that is natural systems, invited to be in reciprocity with the land and each other rather than simply follow, bend, or break the rules the way we do in civilization.
I put forward my “way” as a conversation piece, not as a new law to replace the old. As I was wrapping up this post, I found this blog post from Casey Schreiner who seems to share my ethos of pragmatism, notably with his concession that frequently it is easier for bikers to yield to us bipeds, but that bikers should never take this for granted. Let us open our minds, embracing nuance, fluidity, and humanity.