Treading Lightly
Mapping the road to sustainable tourism.
Two hikers step carefully over a floating bog on Lizard Lake near Bow, Wash. // Photo by Hanna Rhody
June 6, 2023
Story and Photos by Hanna Rhody
At 4:09 a.m., the top of Artist Point in Deming, Washington is quiet, save for a fluttering of wings or the scuffle of small paws over the melting snow.
At about 5:30 a.m., the sun begins to creep over the shoulders of the North Cascades, accompanied by a twinkling of headlights along the winding highway below. By 6 a.m., there are already cars in the parking lot and eager hikers are lacing up their boots. Just a few hours after the appearance of the sun, the top of one of the most famous lookout spots in North Cascades National Park is crawling with visitors.
This kind of morning routine is not unique to Artist Point. For many years, Washington has been a top destination for adventure seekers. Almost 40 million people pay a visit to one of Washington’s parks every year, according to the Washington Trails Association.
More people than ever are setting out to explore the state’s natural wonders, thanks to a combination of increased information online and a common hunger for community after the COVID-19 pandemic. But increased foot traffic wears trails out faster and with more people comes more waste.
Two pools reflect the blue sky above at the top of Artist Point in Deming, Wash. // Photo by Hanna Rhody
Places that were once secluded are becoming overcrowded or require permits. The implementation of fees and waitlists have narrowed the amount of people who can afford to access natural spaces, according to a 2019 study.
“There is a lot of gray area within sustainable travel and what that means, and I think we’re still kind of defining that as an industry,” said Michelle Thana, director of marketing at State of Washington Tourism (SWT).
SWT is a nonprofit that works to encourage visitation in a manner that promotes responsible travel. Their goal is to tackle the growing problem of over tourism and give back to local communities.
Tourism can help boost an economy, but it can also hurt it. A 2018 study by Nature Climate Change revealed that tourism accounts for as much as 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
Washington has some of the most easily accessible glacial mountaineering areas in the contiguous United States, according to Darcy Mullen, the Pacific Northwest Program Director at the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS). People often hire guides to take them to areas that require more technical skill. However, Janie Egan, an excursion leader at Western Washington University’s Outdoor Center, said that not everyone in the industry is known for demonstrating environmental awareness in the outdoors.
Julz Holder fell in love with Washington’s glaciers while participating in a mountaineering course with NOLS during her first year of college. Hanging suspended by ascension ropes in the cool, eerie silence of a glacial crevasse, she was stunned by the terrifying yet beautiful presence of the mountain that she could feel all around her.
Holder has worked in the guiding industry for nine years, leading trips in North Carolina, Alaska and Washington. She recently began running her own company, Grounding Truth, using holistic guiding techniques to build meaningful connections within the outdoor recreation community.
“There's a lot that can be changed in the guiding industry,” said Holder. “It operates on schedules, and there's such a thing as summit rates. When you have ten guided groups going up and down [the mountain] almost every day, it feels extractive and it feels like abuse.”
Holder teaches her clients the importance of Leave No Trace in backcountry settings. Leave No Trace is a set of guiding principles established in the mid-1980’s by the U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service and Bureau of Land Management that promote environmental stewardship.
Holder treats her relationships with the mountains as she would a relationship with a friend or a grandmother. She often carries shells from the mouth of the Nooksack River and leaves them as an offering to whatever part of the mountains she is visiting.
A shift is happening within the guiding community in Bellingham, according to Holder. There is a new spirit of collaboration rather than competition amongst companies, as the reality of how rapidly the glaciers are changing has begun to set in.
Not only does increased tourism affect natural areas and their ecosystems, it can also decrease the quality of life for locals.
One of SWT’s partner organizations, Trails Recreation Education Advocacy and Development(TREAD) is a nonprofit based out of Wenatchee, Washington. Mat Lyons, TREAD’s executive director, said it is important to treat the areas you visit as if they were your own home.
Asking locals for recommendations of things to do is one of the best ways to learn about an area you are visiting, Lyons said.
“When I travel, I'll go to the local bike shop and say ‘Where do you guys ride? Where do you guys eat? Where do you recommend I stay? Who gives back to the community that I can support with my dollars while I’m here?’” said Lyons. “That’s how everybody should travel.”
Lyons and the rest of the team at TREAD are in the process of modifying their very own app, a resource for anyone interested in outdoor recreation.
The app indicates what management a piece of land is under and gives live updates on trail conditions. Since one of TREAD’s main goals is to give back to communities based near recreational hotspots, another function of the app allows users to navigate to the nearest local food and shopping spots.
There remains a great amount of uncertainty within the tourism industry regarding how parks can continue to welcome tourists without jeopardizing surrounding communities and ecosystems.
Lyons believes that instead of hearing about a place and deciding ‘I’m going there next,’ it’s important to take the time to research the area and its inhabitants beforehand.
“Love it like we do,” he said. “Wherever ‘it’ is.”
Clouds hang over the slope of a nearby ridge at the top of Artist Point in Deming, Wash. // Photo by Hanna Rhody
Hanna Rhody is a third-year environmental journalism student who enjoys using storytelling as a tool to explore the relationships between humans and the natural world.