Outside Kind pushes for peace in the great outdoors

When trail rage hits harder than the cold mountain wind, Outside Kind steps in to remind people that kindness is the best gear for any outdoor adventure.

Outside Kind is an alliance of organizations based in Bozeman that aims to address outdoor conflicts through proper outdoor etiquette education, according to Laura Huggins, the manager of Outside Kind. The campaign was originally influenced by the Winter Wildland Alliance’s — a nonprofit that educates about and protects snowscapes — “Ski Kind” model and officially came together in 2021. Outside Kind is a campaign comprised of several programs with the shared goal of encouraging people to be kind, cool and aware. These groups include Gallatin Valley Land Trust, Bridger Ski Foundation and the U.S. Forest Service.

Huggins described how rising conflict in Bozeman inspired the campaign. “For me personally, I saw people yelling at each other in the parking lot for the Sourdough Trailhead, which is a really popular trail,” Huggins said. “People were screaming at each other over their dogs and we had a bunch of kids there for lessons, witnessing this really heated exchange. For me, it was like, this isn’t what our community is about.”

From this exchange, Outside Kind was created. Through methods of surveying the local community to highlight pressing issues, Outside Kind gradually stemmed into seven subsections: “Hike Kind,” “Wag Kind,” “Fish Kind,” “Ride Kind,” “Run Kind,” “Trot Kind” and “Ski Kind,” as outlined on its website.

“We were really aggressive in the beginning with the Ski Kind messaging. We have so many kids and adults skiing here. In town alone, we have 50 miles of trails for free for people to use,” Huggins said. “We were just seeing a lot of conflicts on those trails.” 

As a result, Outside Kind began to push messages through various marketing tactics like signage under its “Ski Kind” campaign. This included encouraging people to pay attention to their speeds and surroundings, slowing down around corners and announcing themselves when passing others on the mountain, Huggins explained. 

In addition to human issues, Outside Kind has tackled problems relating to dogs under its “Wag Kind” operation. According to Huggins, the Sourdough Trail, which is near the city’s watershed, experiences a particularly concerning issue regarding the amount of waste left on the trail, “When we weighed [the dog poop], it was the same weight as a huge fire truck engine,” Huggins said. “Some people just don’t realize that when there’s that much poop going into the watershed, that’s problematic.” 

Although Outside Kind provides education about outdoor etiquette for the Bozeman community — using avenues ranging from posting signs to speaking directly to individuals and groups — Huggins shed light on issues more relevant to MSU students: pallet fires.

According to Huggins, Outside Kind has collaborated with Friends of Hyalite — a local volunteer organization — to keep Hyalite clean, especially of debris left behind from pallets. 

“What we’re finding is a lot of college kids want to have a good time on the weekend and have pallet fires in the parking lot, leaving nails and staples in these areas. College kids, they’re just out to have fun, but they’re truly not thinking about the ramifications of the nails being left behind,” she said.

Another challenge that Outside Kind has recently begun to tackle falls under its “Ride Kind” campaign. “There aren’t a ton of mountain bike trails in this community, which everyone’s working on — and we want to expand the trail system — but because of this, there’s a lot of mountain biking and hiking traffic,” Huggins said. 

Similar to “Ski Kind,” “Ride Kind” was created to educate those on mountain bikes about proper trail etiquette. 

“I think that the trails are for everyone, all ages, all abilities and everybody’s out there for different reasons,” Huggins said. 

She explained that one of the MSU-specific goals of Outside Kind is to encourage all students to take the time to understand what it means to be a part of the Bozeman community and appreciate the values that attract people to the area. “People are genuinely kind; they take time to say hello and they take time to be aware of other people on the trails,” she said. “Being aware of others and the fact that everybody is out enjoying our trails and public spaces for different reasons goes a long way.”

To learn more about Outside Kind or find ways to get involved, visit https://www.outsidekind.org/.