SPANISH FORT, Ala. — Nearly four dozen people braved the heat and came out to Blakeley Historic State Park Saturday to celebrate National Trails Day.

The Alabama Hiking Trail Society chose the beautiful Blakeley State Park for its annual celebration of National Trails Day, which is celebrated on the first Saturday in June.

“We thought it would be a good location for everyone and good for the society,” Joe Cuhaj, vice president of publicity for AHTS said. “We just gotta have it here this year.”

Hikers gathered at the Gatra L. Wehle Nature Center where Cuhaj gave a lesson on the AHTS and JoAnn Flirt, director at Blakeley, gave a history lesson on the park. Cold bottled water was passed out in order for participants to stay hydrated during the hot and humid hike.

“If you get hot just remember that you’re not the one carrying a rifle throughout the park, or digging trenches,” Flirt joked, relating back to the times of the Civil War.

”We just like to get out and hike. It’s one of our favorite things to do,” Emily and Marion Campbell said.

The AHTS is a nonprofit organization and created National Trails Day in order to raise awareness to the beauty of the community’s landscapes, as well as inform the public that there are great benefits of hiking — especially for your health. Not only can hikers taking in the beautiful surroundings, hiking also exercises the heart and strengthens the muscles.

“Hiking is one of the best forms of exercise,” Cuhaj said.

When not spending leisure time hiking, the AHTS is busy at work taking care of trails.

“We build and maintain trails so everyone can enjoy the Alabama trails,” Cuhaj said.

Families, couples, children and adults passed around the sunscreen and bugspay before venturing on to the first trail.

”We just read about it and said let’s try some fun,” Tonja Griffith said about why she came out to celebrate National Trails Day. “It’s better than sitting on the couch.”

The hike for National Trails Day consisted of two parts; the first hike was on a mile and a half trail, and another hike on a two-mile trail. There is a total of 15 miles of trails throughout Blakeley State Park. All of the trails are suitable for everyone, but for those not ready for hiking some uphill trails, you may want to avoid the trail on the south side, according to Cuhaj.

“I’ve hiked here many times and love learning more about it,” Carl Hlavenka said. “I really just wanted to get out for a hike today.”

Skip Essman, Alabama State Advocate of Leave No Trace, spoke about how to preserve the trails and protect our environment. A “bag of good use” was also passed out to hikers. Featured inside this bag are seven principles where you can have your own lesson plans in order to teach others how to take care of our land.

While in nature one should plan ahead and prepare, travel and camp on durable surfaces, dispose of waste properly, leave what you find, minimize campfire impacts, respect wild life and be considerate of other visitors. Following these seven principles brings you step closer to preserving nature’s house.

“It’s not going to be here forever,” Essman said. “Those participating in Leave No Trace are not what some call ‘tree-huggers’ but simply people who just want to take care of our land. The way that they’re cutting down trees is going to impact our oxygen one day.”

The beauty of these natural environments needs our help and dedication to remain beautiful for the long-run.

Leave No Trace is a nonprofit educational program made to educate those who love the great outdoors and teach them about the environmental impacts that can be caused from improperly using it. The outdoor ethics program has now reached out on an international level.

Essman has been practicing his own outdoor ethics since he was a little boy.

“My parents taught me how to respect the outdoors and not tear up trees,” Essman said. Essman has been state advocate for Alabama since 2002. Every two years they re-elect advocates based on how well they are performing their duties and Essman has been asked to continue ever since, according to Essman.

“I had a great time on the hike,” Sue Tate said. “I’m just an old lady but these muscles are still doing what I tell them to. I grew up in Spanish Fort and Blakeley has always been a place to come and wind down, or in this case, wind up.”

Before departing from the hike, Essman reminded everyone to always hike comfortably and remember to only leave behind footprints.