Being Responsible During Your Backpacking Hike

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When we go backpacking, hiking or camping, there is one aspect that very rarely crosses anyone's mind: Finding artifacts during the backpacking hike. Trail backpacking can take us into some very remote areas, most of which started out as trails people used centuries ago for commerce or hunting. Some trails can lead to burial grounds or to the site where villages once stood.

In North America, there are plenty of routes that go through that were once Native American territory. In the Southwest, you find petroglyphs on cliff walls. In other areas, you might find arrowheads, bones, or pottery. Backpacking Europe in the summer is also an amazing experience. Nothing is more exciting than finding a piece of history that hasn't been touched for hundreds or even thousands of years.

Before you pick up that interesting arrowhead or piece of bone as a souvenir from your backpacking hike, take a moment to think about what you're doing. Your find could be a very important part of a much larger archeological discovery. Your trail backpacking could have led you to an ancient burial ground. Or, the piece might be nothing at all. Unless you're an archeologist, you have no way of knowing.

The best advice is to take a picture and leave the object where it is. By definition, the National Parks Service says that any object over fifty years old is considered an artifact. Removing that object from where you found it or from the park itself could cost you in many ways. The Native American Graves and Repatriation Act (NAGRA) has strict rules and regulations in place to protect Native American artifacts. People backpacking, hiking or riding along recreational trails are a threat to preserving artifacts and gravesites of ancient cultures. While most people have good intentions, there are people out there who poach these sites for profit. If caught as a poacher, you could be faced with fines ranging from as little as $250 to a thousand dollars or more.

So, what should you do when you are out trail backpacking and come across an artifact? First of all, don't touch it! Leave the artifact where it is and do your best not to disturb the surrounding area. The placement of an artifact often carries clues to what it is and how it was used. Archaeologists are painfully aware of this when they come across a find of their own. Hundreds of photos and drawings will be taken of the site before any kind of digging is started.

The next thing to do is put up a discreet marker some distance away from the find. You don't want to put a huge sign pointing towards the artifact that might draw less scrupulous people who may be looking for the same thing. After you have taken note of the location, contact a park Ranger or someone in the local authorities and let them know what you found. They will contact the proper specialists to conduct the research and investigation of the area.

In short, enjoy your backpacking hike and the scenery trail backpacking has to offer and keep in mind that while you are backpacking, hiking or camping, you are only a visitor and others lived on that land long before you came along.

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