Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Trash

People leaving Wagbags and trash on the train is just mind blowing for people that supposedly love nature, It is just another example A-holes that pretend to love nature and are really selfish that tend to hike the Whitney trail. And we end up cleaning after them, in my years of hiking the trail I have brought down many a wagbag and trash from these inconsiderate so called backpackers. Well I would not call them that, I would call them A-Holes. Just my opinion.

I propose that just as hikers are required to have a permit to go up, Hikers need a wag bag to come down,
If stopped and a ranger finds a person with out a wag bag, they would be directed to go find one , pick it up and carry it out. Sounds a little rough but think about it, if you plan on having someone else do your dirty work you are going to pay the price if caught gaming the system. I don't care if , your feet are bloody stumps, or you are ready to drop dead from hiking, turn around and go get your wag bag.

If for some reason you cant, pay a fine, perhaps equal to a permit fee for every day they are needed during the season, so 5 months times 30= 150 times 20= 3k, maybe they will pack them then.

Its just a shame that the wag bags don't have a serial number that is recorded when issued so they would know whos it was, then if you leave one behind , they could mail it to you if you forget it just like I would if I found your wallet, along with the fine.

Any other Ideas on how to get this under control and hold people accountable. Im shooting off the hip here, but if you really want some changes , I would start an effort to get a law passed to penalized those that are in need of special attention for there special needs and behaviors.

So , just what do you think should be the appropriate penalty and method of enforcement for those caught leaving a wag bag or not returning with one.

I did Whitney many times - from the west only and picked up all kinds of trash except the full wag bags sitting on the way side specifically after coming down the 99 switch backs. I do pick my empty bag near Crabtree RS. On the night before summitting, I take one immodium tab and I dont have a need to use the wag bag while coming down the mountain. So most of the culprits must be those over nighters at trail camp or outpost camp. So I would support some kind of serial numbering of the bags to be noted on the permit which need to be accounted for while coming down to the WP. A hefty fine if not compliant.

Other alternative would be astronaut diapers

The Whitney hike on the MT from the Portal to the summit just attracts a lot of people with a different mindset than true wilderness folk. Years ago near the last snowfield before the summit someone took a dump 2 feet off the trail right in the rock/cave formation where normal people would sit to take a quick break. Disgusting. Last time I was up at the summit there was actually some graffiti on the register cover and then on the way down I stopped to take five at Lone Pine Lake and there was a pool float and other garbage left behind. Anywhere else I wander around the Sierras I don't see that kind of carelessness. Its like they're going to a sporting event or something.

Joe

At some point, I wonder whether we are going to have to face the fact that there are simply too many permits issued for the intensity of enforcement presence on the trail. With a total of 100 entrances per day, including 60 for overnights, the number of person-days on this trail in season seems to far exceed any TH I know of. Exceptions of course, would be Yosemite Valley, but there is huge enforcement presence there, development at Nevada Fall and LYV, etc. There is even a Ranger posted at the base of Half Dome, online, to check permits.

With all the wagbags and other crap left on MWMT, I have never heard of a single enforcement incident on this trail. BTW, it is already against the law to leave a wagbag or just about anything else, behind, Yet I have never read here of a single bust for this.

For reasons Some Guy could explain better than I, I think it would be problematical to enforce a use-and-return policy, but I don't know of any reason why each wagbag could not be identified with the permit it was issued with. Or maybe some cultural, popular enforcement mechanism, such as popularizing the practice of showing your wagbag on exiting at the Portal, and pubic shame and humiliation for anyone not able to do so.