Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Never Again!!!!

As some of you who read my posts, each year on my Mt Whitney Trip I take time to pick up trash and wag bags that have been left behind. I am sad to say that after several years of doing this, this year was my last time. I am disgusted that I was able to bring down 15 USED wag bags from trail camp. Each year I enjoy my time on the mountain but, this year it was horrible. I had a large trash bag full of others people “stuff” and the smell and stench of it was terrible.

Honestly most who attempt Mt Whitney look at this message board for advice and inspiration. How can you be so irresponsible not to pack out your wag bags? There was a camp of three men (you know who you are) who I had to chase down and remind them to take their wag bags off the mountain.

Other than that the trip was great, the weather was awesome and my Moose burger at the Portal was a great reward.

JustHike, I am sure everyone appreciates your extreme volunteering attitude. Your haul saved the rangers having to do the job.

Dr. Ken Murray (Ken on this board) found, during his interviews of hikers when he was doing the altitude sickness study several years back, that only about 20% of Whitney hikers visit the message board.

Most of them are completely unaware that the board exists!

The idea has probably come up before, but has Doug considered hanging a sign outside the store with the website address? I can think of pros and cons. For that matter, there may already be a sign that I was too tired to notice. :-)

It's too bad the state can't afford to have someone full time at the trailhead. Then they could simply charge a hefty deposit fee when the bags are provided and then return the deposit when the bags are properly disposed of.

Justhike

I just wanted to say thank you for caring for our mountain. I am always saddened by others neglect. I wish there was a way to enforce respect and responsibility but I don't have the answer.

Perhaps as a suggestion there should be a rule that your name must be written on your wag bag when you pick it up at the permit station and of course in ink that cannot be removed. People are less likely to do things when it can be traced back to them.

There is a similar system on Mt. McKinley. The park service writes your permit number on your fuel cans (climbers normally carry a few gallons of white gas on an expedition) and on your trash bags. When you come off the mountain you need to show them your fuel cans and they weigh your trash.

These are great ideas and I would like to see them implemented. I, too, am accustomed to picking up litter that I find and packing it out, but Whitney was simply overwhelming --- I had to give up by Trail Camp. I sure wasn't gonna brave the astonishing number of WAG bags left behind right along the trail!

And I was also astonished at the number of males who would take one little step to the side of the trail right there where Trail Camp meets the Switchbacks and pee. How utterly gross.

I know there's ignorant people who don't do the outdoors much and can't be expected to CLOSE THE LID in an outhouse so the smell and the flies stay to a minimum, but I really expected more out of hikers on Whitney.

My guess is that these WAG Bags are being left behind because they were used on the way up and then forgotten when the hiker was on the descent.

I stated a long time ago that I wasn't ever going to hump multiple pounds of poop up to the summit with me. Fortunately, the two times that I have hidden a WAG Bag on the ascent, I've remembered to retrieve it on the way down.

I complained when I saw that the "dumpsters" at Trail Camp were taken out. I still think that the FS should provide a way to get rid of the load on the mountain. It works on other mountains, why not Whitney. If budget is a concern, determine the cost of the helicopter trips and add a charge to all permits.

Perfect solution Richard. That makes the most sense of all that I've heard about this.

Now that a week has passed, I am ready to continue my endless pursuit of picking up wag bags and fixing the problem. My original post was made while I was still upset. I do like the idea of writing the registration number on wag bag. How about this idea……Those people who neglect the rules will not be issued permits and if they want to be off the bad list they have to perform some type of community service on the trail.

I think that is a fantastic idea!! Both the reg # on the wag bag (needs to be individual though not just the permit registrant - i don't think it's fair to hold 'joe' liable when it's 'bob' that left his wag bag under a rock somewhere). I think it would be great to have the community service/fine/repercussion for those who can't produce their wag bags when leaving the area...

Most MT hikers are on a 1 day or overnight permit right? Is it just me, or is it that hard for persons with a normal digestive tract to "hold it" for a day or 2 and use the trailhead facilities at the beginning and end of your hike. Labeling the wag bags is a good idea.

They could charge a "return deposit" on the bags at the visitor's center when picking up permits that a ranger could issue a refund (or coupon for) at the portal for used bags. It shouldn't even matter if the bag belonged to the initial recipient as this would encourage others to pick up these bags. Maybe $5 or $10 bucks each bag?

cubeman - It's just you. Peoples' GI tracts are as varied as their reactions to altitude.

Don't most people just buy their wag bags from REI anyway for $3. I do, since one bag for a 3 night trip would never do anyway. But if I had to pay a $5 or $10 deposit, I definitely wouldn't bother with the one they hand out. I always pack out anyway, usually grumbling at how heavy that stuff is, but considering how much I enjoy it out there, it's well worth it.

My point was (I wasn't clear on this) to make it mandatory to pay the deposit on the bag when you pick up your permits. You do get it back (or a coupon) from the ranger (or volunteer) upon disposal. If people are too lazy or don't want to hang around to get the deposit it goes a fund to help clean up.

John P.

I agree with you 100% that this is a problem, and I did think it through enough to consider mandatory purchase/deposit of wag bags. I applaud the thought that's gone into this, but it seems that they can still use wag bags they got from REI or wherever, and bring back an empty USFS bag. What are they going to do? Keep the deposit because it hasn't been used? I like the idea of some sort of disposal at key locations like Trail Camp, but again there's the problem packing that out via helicopter or however they used to do it in the past.

Being new to the area, I was wondering why they don't allow burial at the lower elevations like Yosemite?

Just my 2 cents.

You are correct on this. Three of us went up this week and we all had to use the wag bags. None of us had planned on that.

Great idea in concept, but... now besides having to pick up my permit in person a day early, I have to either hustle to the office to drop off my wag bag, or hang around until they open the next morning. Maybe a good idea - after I retire in a couple years and have time to waste doing that.

I have only noticed one used WAG bag during the course of three Whitney hikes and it was gone when I passed that place on the descent. No doubt you, a Ranger, or other generous soul picked it up. Maybe it was picked up by the person who left it there on the way up as they descended.

I would only pick up those things during a hike if it added in some way to my enjoyment/satisfaction. I have picked up dropped food wrappers.

One could even argue that your collection of WAG bags is masking the problem so the Forest Service doesn't know how bad it is.

We need a wag bag chemistry that immediately hardens into petrified stone, and thus easily discarded and becomes landscaping.