All-Terrain-Vehicles (ATV) are great in mud. You can go through swamps and over logs all day and not break into a sweat. They will pull you up hills almost too steep to hike.

That's fine if you use your ATV on the farm or on remote logging roads but some ATV users insist on carving new trails through the bush to alpine and then wandering across meadows high above timberline.

The first ATV on a mountain has a great view and new ground to explore. Each time another ATV follows the same trail, the ruts get deeper until eventually each ATV is dragging its belly through a sea of mud in the soft subalpine and alpine meadows.

ATVs are their own worst enemy in our part of the world. The power and weight of an ATV compacts soft soil and kills native plants. Soon water collects in the tracks and plants will not regrow. The tracks can remain for decades, an eyesore for every visitor. ATVs that follow a trail often choose a different path to keep from getting stuck and soon the entire area is a maze of tracks.

The higher you go the worse it gets. ATV tracks at 2000' elevation may grow back over several years. The same tracks in a subalpine meadow at 3500' elevation may take decades to regrow. Tracks in alpine mosses and lichens at 5500' elevation can take a century to fully recover. The higher the elevation, the slower the rate of plant growth and the longer the recovery from ATV damage.

This is a relatively new problem. Over the last 10 years, the power and traction of ATVs has increased steadily and new ATV technology makes it easier to climb steep slopes and wallow through deep mud.