Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Human Waste Disposal in the Backcountry (article)

A majority of this article is not relevent to Whitney; however, there is an interesting section on packing out your waste...

http://www.trailspace.com/articles/backcountry-waste-disposal.html

This article is basically a regurgitation of Leave No Trace.

One should realize that LNT is a particular philosophy, that one may, or may not, agree with politically.

I personally object to statements like "Two definite T.P. rules........"

I also object to scientific-ish statements that do not reference any science, to make them SEEM authoritative, when they are not.

I should note that I generally am very supportive of LNT, but I don't support misinformation.

As most know, I do not have the background/experience that the vast majority of those who may read the article, so if the general consensus is that the information provided is inappropriate/misleading, I will gladly yank the thread. (Especialy, since I am not familiar with any of the differing/opposing philosophies on the topic)

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Bee, there is continuous confusion on the issue, and in my mind, is one of the major impediments to many people going backpacking.

I think the article is a good starting point on discussion, assuming that Doug can stand the yearly bringing up of the topic. When I give talks on Whitney, I am astonished about how much angst there is on the subject.....and obviously, by the reported non-compliance, it is just too much for some to deal with.

I personally think discussion and education are the way to go to change attitudes and thinking.

Ken, this is exactly why I posted the article! I notice that whenever the topic of backpacking comes up around my non-packing buddies, there is definitely stress when it comes to this topic of waste disposal in the woods. As far as Whitney goes, unfortunately, many folks have a quickie introduction to the WAG bag concept at the moment they receive it....on the job training for the first timer!