Human Waste Disposal in the Bush and Leave No Trace Education

In a recent post I broached the subject of human waste disposal in the wilderness, as well as in not-so-wilderness locations. I noted how I had found used Wag Bags left in the desert in a couple of different locations last summer. I also noted how I have been finding human waste, along with toilet paper, just left on the ground surface in too many locations in the past couple of summers. I asked the questions: why are people using (and leaving) Wag Bags in locations where a “cat hole” was all that was necessary for waste disposal, and why am I finding more toilet paper and waste on the ground, and a lot of this along the Escalante River no less?

I received a reply to that post from Reina Gallion of Cleanwaste, the company that makes the Wag Bag. She left me- and anyone who cares to comment on the subject-  with a question- what can we do to educate people in the use of Wag Bags, and more broadly, in Leave No Trace principles?

I know that rangers, employees, and volunteers at National Parks, monuments, campgrounds, state parks, and so on are usually tremendously overworked and do the best they can do to accomplish their daily tasks, part of which is checking in with visitors to make sure they understand the “rules” of visiting. I also know that there are many, many visitors to our parks, monuments, and wilderness areas and that there are occasionally those who slip by, for various reasons, without knowing how to properly “conduct” themselves in these locations. By this I mean how and where to go to the bathroom, and also other LNT principles such as packing out trash, not building fires outside of established rings, not chopping down trees, and (my personal favorite) keeping noise and the use of lights to a minimum. So what can we do to educate others about treading lightly, about the fragility of our wild lands, and about the ever-shrinking wilderness? These are big questions.

There are two parts to my discussion- first, some points about the use of Wag Bags in the wilderness and packing out human waste, and second, Leave No Trace principles in general. As I have written elsewhere, I have never hiked anywhere that requires packing out human waste. Of course this does not include river running. Reina brings up a few good points regarding the use of Wag Bags and packing out waste that should be kept in mind:

• Wag Bags are a solid, functional way to cleanly and safely pack out waste (durability being a concern in a comment by Doug.)
• Some wilderness areas (Reina notes Mt. Whitney in California) hand out Wag Bags and require their use. In this case there is no place to dig a cat hole even if you wanted to.
• As Reina also points out, there are places where wilderness campsites are “established”, but are not maintained. Some of the best slot canyons in the world can be found along the Escalante River. They see a lot of use. Some of the staging area campsites for the more popular slots are surrounded by catholes, many with toilet paper sticking out of them or stuck on nearby sagebrush. This I say from personal experience. (The Escalante may be a place that sees a recommendation, if not a requirement, for packing out human waste at some point. I believe Grand Gulch is another place where it has been discussed.)
• Reina also notes the possibility of the spread of disease in the case of the above-mentioned campsites for example, groundwater contamination, and also the possibility of disturbing the habits of wildlife by creating fields of catholes. Packing out human waste would render all of these issues moot.

Some of my comments to Reina on the subject of education, expounded upon here, were as follows (these go beyond just the use of Wag Bags):

• Some National Parks, National Monuments, and wilderness areas require hikers and backpackers to attend orientations. This usually means watching a short video before being issued a backcountry permit. Grand Gulch in southeast Utah is one such location with this requirement (for backpackers only, not day hikers). I feel they did an unusually good job with their video. It covers digging a “cat hole” for solid human waste, packing out used toilet paper as well as all trash, and also discusses the fragility of rock art and ruins. It does this in a matter of about 10 minutes and manages to keep your attention throughout. I think that this is an indispensable method of educating backpackers and I would like to see it as a requirement at other monuments and parks, the Escalante being one place that I think really needs it. (Disclaimer: while adding “requirements”, and thus more governance, to our already controlled lives goes flatly against my own personal libertarian (small L) “political” (in quotes) views, the wilderness and especially the southwest desert, is one of the most important things in my life and I want it to be there, and be as pristine and unspoiled as possible for all of us to enjoy.)
• Most visitor’s centers now have a television or computer, or both, which plays videos about the area- history, wildlife, and so on. Adding short videos about protecting the wilderness, either on demand, or in a continuous loop- or perhaps as part of the general videos- is another way to convey the same information.
• Focusing on younger hikers, junior ranger programs do a good job of engaging children, of teaching them about the location they are visiting. Many of these programs- the ones that my son Nico and I have done together- do include Leave No Trace principles in their requirements for gaining the junior ranger badge. At Canyon de Chelly, for example, one of the requirements was that Nico show up for his “test” and “swearing in” with a bag of trash he picked up in the park or campground. Most parks and monuments, at least in southeast Utah where it is a necessary topic, discuss the importance of not touching rock art, and of staying off of and out of ruins to help preserve them. Adding more Leave No Trace principles into the workbooks could only help. Also, “campfire talks” with a ranger (these are still done aren’t they?) is another avenue for educating young people. Parents are often part of both of these- the junior ranger badge and campfire talks- and are also being exposed to the principles.
• In my opinion, nothing is more effective than face to face communication. The ranger or volunteer at Grand Gulch that hands you a Ziplock bag and says “this is for packing out your used toilet paper” is making a very clear statement that sticks. As I noted above, rangers and volunteers are often overworked or not available, and obviously they are not going to be at every self-pay station you might find. Face to face contact is not always possible.

I fully realise that making changes  to National Park Service or BLM policies, re-creating brochures, and creating new interactive media and videos is not something that happens over night. But I think teaching Leave No Trace ethics is something that must be continued, and expanded, if we are to continue to enjoy the wilderness areas as we like them to be. If you have any comments or suggestions of your own, please post them here. I will see that Reina gets them.  

For more on our adventures in the Utah desert, visit the Desert Explorer website. For specific information on kids in the wilderness see our Wilderness Kids pages. For more information on Leave No Trace principles, visit the LNT website.

Thoughts About My Chacos, and Help From Leki

I have been wearing Chaco sandals for about 7 years now, in fact I have been wearing the same pair of Z/2 sandals. Granted, I have had them re-strapped 2 times now, and had them resoled last summer. I am a big fan of the shoes- in my opinion there are none better. But I have some bad news about the shoes for fellow Chaco fans and supporters of small, local business. It appears that Chaco has sold and the shoes are no longer made in Paonia, Colorado. Any guesses on where they are made now?

Part of me wants to complain about it, find another locally made shoe to wear, move on. But I don’t think it is going to happen- even though they are now made in China, and even though I see a difference in the quality of materials, there are no other shoes made like Chacos, not even close in my opinion. And I guess I should congratulate those who started the business- this is the goal of starting a small business after all- to build it, and then sell it for millions. I just hope the sandals do not follow the route of Teva- which used to be the “only” river sandal about 15 (20?) years ago. Their manufacture left the US, they were redesigned, and redesigned more, reinvented their image, and came out with fluffy slippers, and dress “boots” for the yoga-mom cult, and that was their end in my book. Unfortunately I have already received a couple of Chaco poster “catalogs” in the mail, complete with smiling yoga-moms perched on rocks, fluffy slippers and dress “boots”, and dog collars even. (For the record: I have nothing against smiling yoga-moms.)

I also want to mention that I did have a problem recently with my resole job from last summer. I sent my sandals in for a re-strap earlier this summer. The day after we got on the river on our recent San Juan trip the soles of both of my sandals began delaminating (glue interacting with cleaning fluids used during re-strapping?).  By the end of the trip both soles were nearly off, I was out of duct tape, and my feet and sandals were sticky with duct tape glue. As soon as we got back I gave Chaco a call, sent the shoes back at their expense, and had them back with new soles, free of charge, within about a week. So their customer service  and repair have not changed, although it has also left Paonia.

Leki Super Makalu Trekking Poles
Another piece of gear I have sworn by over the years are my set of trekking poles made by Leki. I have been using the same pair for about 11 years now and have finally had a small issue with one of them. A small crack developed in the lower pole section right where it tightens down into the middle section. I called Leki to see about buying a new piece, and within minutes they had my information in their computer and the problem had been taken care of. I had a new lower pole section about a week later free of any charges. The Super Makalu poles apparently have a lifetime guarantee. It took me about 2 minutes to swap the part out, and the poles were as sturdy as the day I bought them. There is something to be said for buying the best gear on the market.

For those who are skeptical about trekking poles, and have not tested a pair, I recommend giving them a try. From the first few minutes of my first hike with them, I swore I would never hike without them again. For me they have become indispensable to me. Most important to me based on some of the “trails” I hike and the endless river crossings on some of my adventures, they aid in maintaining balance.  Trekking poles help with weight distribution as you hike. At the end of the day you’ve had a bit of an arm workout, but your legs and knees and back feel better and you’ve walked a little further. They also double as tent poles if you use any of the Golite shelters or are setting up a poncho shelter. One note about my poles- I have rarely used the webbing loops attached to the trekking pole handles. I cut the straps off and lightened my load by another few grams! And the straps were no longer in my way.

You can see the poles at the Desert Explorer website, and read about them and other gear recommendations for desert hiking.