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Backpacker Magazine – June 2008

Packing Out Waste: You Can Take It With You

Hikers learn to leave (absolutely) no trace on high-traffic peaks and trails.

by: Dougald MacDonald

In 2007, rangers removed the last toilets from Mt. Whitney. (Laurence Parent)
Photo by Packing Out Waste
In 2007, rangers removed the last toilets from Mt. Whitney. (Laurence Parent)

Ryan Zondervan wasn't pleased when a ranger handed him a WAG bag along with his group's permit to climb Mt. Whitney last summer, but he also wasn't surprised. He'd heard about the new rules asking hikers to carry out their poop along with their food waste and energy bar wrappers. Zondervan used his WAG Bag at Whitney's Trail Camp, at 12,000 feet, where a privy stood until last season. After reaching the summit, he picked up the bag on his descent and carried it more than six miles to the trailhead, where he dropped it in a trash can–his small contribution to the more than three tons of waste hauled off the mountain in 2007. "The convenience issue is definitely a big thumbs-down, but I understand the need for measures like this," says Zondervan, a Seattle resident.

Packing out personal waste is not a new concept. Climbers on Mt. Rainier started using "blue bags" in the early 1980s, and mandatory carry-everything-out programs later spread to popular peaks like Shasta and Denali, as well as to environmentally sensitive Utah canyons like Buckskin Gulch and the Virgin River Narrows. But the addition of Mt. Whitney to that list signals a new willingness by land managers to use this tactic on trails where backcountry toilets are impractical to build, and the routes are too trafficked or rocky to absorb the impact of numerous cat holes. Starting this summer, the thousands of Grand Teton National Park visitors who cross Jenny Lake to reach popular Cascade Canyon will have free access to bags. And Hawaii Volcanoes National Park soon will hand out waste bags with hiking permits for Mauna Loa.


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READERS COMMENTS

People will buy into anything...its sad. It's poop people, I think mother nature can handle it. Lets not give companies another product to put out there and make us feel like we need to buy it and charge us some obscene amount of money for it. I agree with clwilla up there, were all animals too!
Posted: Sep 01, 2008 JWH

I truly understand the idea of "Leave no trace" and respect it, but the idea of putting natures most bio-degradables in plastic? I think id defeats the purpose. Maybe on a mountain where it may freeze, I might understand, but in the back country hinking it makes very little sense.
Posted: Aug 28, 2008 Joe

High alpine environment does process poo, just very slowly. The thought of walking through, camping among, and taking pictures of these half decomposed poo-piles, wich will show up!, is not something I look forward to. Some areas are so popular, that nature can't keep up with the "load" If we want to walk in "unspoiled" areas, we need to think about there and when waste is disgarded.
Posted: Aug 24, 2008 Martin

Your all missing the point. Why do you go to these amazing places? To enjoy the beauty and challenge of nature. Not to see, smell, and step in human feces. Whether you bury it or not it takes a long time for mother nature to "handle" the matter. We humans do not eat a bears diet. We eat sh**, no pun intended. The shear number of people who visit these places is overwhelming. Pack out your sh**, don't spoil it for everyone including yourselves!
Posted: Aug 23, 2008 Anonymous

Yea.... crap of bag.com offers custom gortex bags! It is the latest thing!
Posted: Aug 22, 2008 idaho packer

If you think that Mother Nature can't handle a dump buried in a cathole then you truly misunderstand her stength. This planet has burned itself for millions of years, frozen itself over, and survives in the wildest of extremes. She can handle human waste just fine.
Posted: Aug 22, 2008 Tim P

As a life long outdoorsman, I have to say that I agree with the first poster about the absurdity of this idea. I love being outside more than most but the "enviromental advocates" are getting to be a little out of control.
Posted: Aug 13, 2008 Josh

Sounds like LNT has a fringe that is turning into a fundamentalist cult so that they can fell like they're more environmentally conscious than others. "Everyone can pack out a can and food bags, but only "true nature lovers will pack out their crap." If it's environmentally dangerous, pack it out. However, bears sh*t in the woods everyday; I can too. After all, I am an animal too whose body has evolved via sh*tting in the woods, not some alien being who has bright green glowing dung.

Also, am I really expected to pack out potentially multiple pounds of crap (and pee) from a week long trip. Good luck with that.
Posted: Jul 18, 2008 clwilla

Go to www.poopbags.com for a resource on bags. They're meant for dogs, but I've used for both!
Posted: Jul 14, 2008 Mike

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