What to do and not do with your trash on the AT

[The Cleaner]

I haven't seen much about how to carry&properly dispose of your trash while hiking,so I thought I'd start a thread.I do know what not to do with it but it seems some hikers are still in the dark on this subject.Do not bag it&leave it on the bear cables.If you cram it all into a plastic jar,carry it to a trash can,do not throw it under the bunk at the shelter.If you throw it into a firepit,be sure there is a fire going then,do not expect other hikers to burn your trash.If you bury it,it will be unearthed by animals.In the last few years the USFS has built more trailhead parking lots and most have trash cans.With all the trail magic&road crossings seems like a hiker wouldn't have to carry much more than 3-4 day's trash anyway.Usually on my last day out I'll ask other hikers if they have any trash and volunteer to take it with me.:sun I'd rather do that than have to pick it up later...

[Spokes]

I always pack mine out to the nearest receptacle. Found carrying a 5 gallon slide top ziplock (yes they make them) works as the best trash bag inside the pack since it allows the trash to pack flatter.

Cheers!

[Hikes in Rain]

I carry a couple of zip locks (five gallon?? Really??) that I put all of my trash and everything else I can gather, and either empty them or toss them whole (depending on the "messiness" of the contents) when I hit a road crossing with a trash barrel.

[jesse]

I try to pack my food in ways that reduce trash in the first place. Put everything in ziplocks, no cans. Paper is ok to burn if its a really hot fire, and it gets fully consumed. Leave cans, and plastics out of fire ring. 1 gal. ziplock work fine.

[DLANOIE]

I always have a plastic bag from a supermarket to put my trash in. tie the handles together and throw it out at the nearest dumpster or garbage barell. i can easily fit 5-6 days worth of trash in one bag. and I also try to pack IN as little trash as possible too.

[DLANOIE]

I absolutely HATE when I see tinfoil in a fire ring! And those thick plastic disposable plates...who carries these things?!?!?!?!?!

[The Cleaner]

I absolutely HATE when I see tinfoil in a fire ring! And those thick plastic disposable plates...who carries these things?!?!?!?!?! You would be suprised at what I find when cleaning fire-pits...:eek:

[fiddlehead]

"no matter how hard you try, tin foil will not burn" RainmanVT

Pack it in, Pack it out.
It's the only way.

[Sniddle]

Whatever you do, don't tie your bag to a AT sign post. I saw that numerous times when I began my SoBo attempt(and failure) last year. You just make other hikers pack out your trash for you.

[sbhikes]

I hate litter bugs.

I packed my trash out in Nepal. Yep, I took it home on the plane. They don't have any disposal there and I just couldn't bear the thought of just dropping my trash like everybody else.

[Slo-go'en]

You mean your not suppost to leave the garbage in the fire pit or dump it down the privy hole? Man, you learn something new every day...

Just kinding!!

I belive the USFS is removing trash barrels from trail head parking lots, not adding them. I guess the rational is trash barrels attract critters and of course, there is the problem and expense of collecting and disposing of the trash, which they don't want to do. In fact, a lot of state parks and roads side picnic areas have removed thier trash barrels in the hope people will take thier trash back home with them. Wonder how well that's working out?

Plan on having to carry your trash all the way into town, so try and generate as little of it as possible.

[rjjones]

Never made sense to me.You pack it in full but cant pack it out empty??

[fiddlehead]

It should be interesting to see how the no trash cans at state parks and trailheads works out.
One of the problems living here in Thailand, and from what i too saw in Nepal, is that there is no place to leave your trash, except to throw it alongside the road like everybody else.
One big reason: There are no trash cans.
People couldn't dispose of it properly even if they wanted to.
I often come home with my pockets full of trash to my Thai wife's dismay.
But, i refuse to be a litterbug.
I don't think everyone thinks like me though.
They will litter or leave bags for the critters to get into.

[Bronk]

Wake up early and put your trash in someone else's pack...by the time they figure out what happened you'll be a couple miles up the trail.

[Doc Mike]

Or the next step put it in their pack and then hide just out of site for that prized picture of them finding it when they start breakast.

Just Kidding but may try it on one of my freinds, then after the picture let them in on the joke.

Doc Mike

[Torch09]

I try to burn as much as possible. What happens when you pack it out and toss it in a dumpster? Its just gonna be hauled away by a gas guzzling truck and thrown on a pile somewhere.

[10-K]

On our very first AT hike my son and I thought it was great that there was a trash bag at No Business Knob shelter and we happily deposited all of our trash in it and left it at the shelter thinking that was how it was done. :)

Since then I've probably carried out a half-ton of garbage from there as penance.

[mweinstone]

being a trasher is a badge of exstreem honor to me. i like my job and i do it well. walking out of the woods has its great feelings. we put our game face on when we pop out onto a road and we hope folks see us and are jelouse of our hike. we raise our hands and sticks over our heads as we cross over superhighways and cheer on the beeping cars. we are a proud bunch cause we own the coolest trail on earth. and we get feircly defensive if folks litter. and we all make a point of being good trashers. save the few. but nothing instills in others an understanding of the value of our trail like popping out onto a roadhead with a bag of trash swinging on our pack. the larger, the prouder.
there are times when it is okay to leave trash in the woods. for instance, if you clean a site of more than can be carryed. then your responsibility is to secure the trash for carry out by others. it is okay to gather trash with no means of removeing it . as long as it is secured and it is reasonabl to belive another person will handle the rest. usually when a bag is found and filled and left, i ask oncomming hikers for their help carrying it to the roadhead as i pass them. theirs alot of folks who can be counted on for this job. finding one is easy. in the case of haveing trashed an area of a smaller amount of trash that could be carried but your going the wrong way and a road is very close in the oppisite direction, trash can be left that has been gathered , with a note exsplaining that the trash was picked up at that site and asking for help carrying it to the road and a reseptical. hitching with a bag of trash only requires you politly ask if it would be okay to have in the car. never use a bag from your pack to pick others trash. if it is to be left bagged on site you must find a bag or container so ass not to add a thing to it. when defoiling a fire pit it is good to find a bottle or a cup to stuff with the bits. to restore and improve any fire pit do this:
remove and sift for trash
burn charcole down by rakeing the coals from the ash till the pile is fine ash
scatter ash far and wide in woods
rebuild rock ring if needed
place flat rocks in bottom of pit to allow dry fire burning surface and prevent smoldering
repaitriate area with duff from forrest floor
burn stumpwood and broken log benches and green saplings left about
leave dry woodpile and bark sheltered kindling
scrape wax drippings from shelter and leave for firestarter in pit.
toilet paper should never be picked up but burnt and buryed where found
bottles may be broken and carryed or burned and melted into slag for carry
if you eat sardeens, burn a small trash fire inside cans before packing emptys
do not broadcast toothpaste, spit it in a heel hole
do not dump greese and pasta water
leave absolutly nothing in the woods.

[garlic08]

I try to pack my food in ways that reduce trash in the first place. Put everything in ziplocks, no cans....

Ditto this. On one memorable 160-mile hike all my trash fit into the empty peanut butter jar. Trash can be negligible if you pack with trash in mind (which is often the case:rolleyes:).

[Lone Wolf]

i leave mine at shelters

[Roland]

i leave mine at shelters

I envision you sitting at your keyboard, laughing like Mutley (http://www.hark.com/clips/zhzqbyrxzk-mutley-laughing), as you type that $h!t.

[Lone Wolf]

i leave mine at shelters

especially in the fire pits

[The Cleaner]

being a trasher is a badge of exstreem honor to me. i like my job and i do it well. walking out of the woods has its great feelings. we put our game face on when we pop out onto a road and we hope folks see us and are jelouse of our hike. we raise our hands and sticks over our heads as we cross over superhighways and cheer on the beeping cars. we are a proud bunch cause we own the coolest trail on earth. and we get feircly defensive if folks litter. and we all make a point of being good trashers. save the few. but nothing instills in others an understanding of the value of our trail like popping out onto a roadhead with a bag of trash swinging on our pack. the larger, the prouder.
there are times when it is okay to leave trash in the woods. for instance, if you clean a site of more than can be carryed. then your responsibility is to secure the trash for carry out by others. it is okay to gather trash with no means of removeing it . as long as it is secured and it is reasonabl to belive another person will handle the rest. usually when a bag is found and filled and left, i ask oncomming hikers for their help carrying it to the roadhead as i pass them. theirs alot of folks who can be counted on for this job. finding one is easy. in the case of haveing trashed an area of a smaller amount of trash that could be carried but your going the wrong way and a road is very close in the oppisite direction, trash can be left that has been gathered , with a note exsplaining that the trash was picked up at that site and asking for help carrying it to the road and a reseptical. hitching with a bag of trash only requires you politly ask if it would be okay to have in the car. never use a bag from your pack to pick others trash. if it is to be left bagged on site you must find a bag or container so ass not to add a thing to it. when defoiling a fire pit it is good to find a bottle or a cup to stuff with the bits. to restore and improve any fire pit do this:
remove and sift for trash
burn charcole down by rakeing the coals from the ash till the pile is fine ash
scatter ash far and wide in woods
rebuild rock ring if needed
place flat rocks in bottom of pit to allow dry fire burning surface and prevent smoldering
repaitriate area with duff from forrest floor
burn stumpwood and broken log benches and green saplings left about
leave dry woodpile and bark sheltered kindling
scrape wax drippings from shelter and leave for firestarter in pit.
toilet paper should never be picked up but burnt and buryed where found
bottles may be broken and carryed or burned and melted into slag for carry
if you eat sardeens, burn a small trash fire inside cans before packing emptys
do not broadcast toothpaste, spit it in a heel hole
do not dump greese and pasta water
leave absolutly nothing in the woods. About how I feel but didn't want to type all that...Thanks..:sun

[fehchet]

except for melting plastic bottles

[The Cleaner]

except for melting plastic bottles When hikers stop leaving them ,there won't be any to burn:eek: When I get to a shelter I burn about anything that isn't nailed down&pack out what is left over from the ashes...You would be suprised at all the clothing&other stuff hikers leave thinking someone will need it...Would you wear it?

[Furlough]

For a trash bag I use the largest ziplock bag I can find. I put ALL my trash in that and carry it until I can empty it in a trash receptacle.

[4eyedbuzzard]

I'm gonna start burying mine in the little hole I dig for my fire (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=68568&highlight=stove). Reduces impact. If I poop in there as well I'll get a triple play. :rolleyes:

[Pedaling Fool]

I think most here just pack it out, it's kind of like preaching to the choir when talking about this issue here. I'd be willing to bet most trash (not all) is left by people that don't even participate in a online forum about hiking.

BTW, there's no reason to pack out food. If I ever did have any left over I'd just bury it and let the organisms take care of it. And, if by chance an animal finds it, no harm. It's like trail magic to them, trail magic like we humans don't even understand. There's no issue of habituation, unless everyone burys the trash in the same place, like around a shelter.

[sheepdog]

I think most here just pack it out, it's kind of like preaching to the choir when talking about this issue here. I'd be willing to bet most trash (not all) is left by people that don't even participate in a online forum about hiking.

BTW, there's no reason to pack out food. If I ever did have any left over I'd just bury it and let the organisms take care of it. And, if by chance an animal finds it, no harm. It's like trail magic to them, trail magic like we humans don't even understand. There's no issue of habituation, unless everyone burys the trash in the same place, like around a shelter.
Now you're gonna get it by the LNT police.

[Pedaling Fool]

Now you're gonna get it by the LNT police.
I'm use to it; always getting lambasted for running on the beach:D http://www.backcountryattitude.com/lnt_beach_walking.html

[10-K]

I'm use to it; always getting lambasted for running on the beach:D http://www.backcountryattitude.com/lnt_beach_walking.html

Everybody knows running on the beach causes GW.

[sheepdog]

I run with scissors

[4eyedbuzzard]

I'm use to it; always getting lambasted for running on the beach:D http://www.backcountryattitude.com/lnt_beach_walking.html

I guess them LNT folks wouldn't like this (http://pixdaus.com/single.php?id=25529)either

[sheepdog]

I'm use to it; always getting lambasted for running on the beach:D http://www.backcountryattitude.com/lnt_beach_walking.html
good grief :rolleyes:

[fehchet]

When hikers stop leaving them ,there won't be any to burn:eek: When I get to a shelter I burn about anything that isn't nailed down&pack out what is left over from the ashes...You would be suprised at all the clothing&other stuff hikers leave thinking someone will need it...Would you wear it?

Why would you burn plastic bottles? Burned plastic fumes are toxic to the environment, not to mention: anyone standing near.

[weary]

i leave mine at shelters

That means a volunteer caretaker has to carry your trash out.

[sheepdog]

That means a volunteer caretaker has to carry your trash out.


it's lonewolf weary,


he's not cerial ;)

[Miner]

I normally carry a 1gallon ziplock and put my trash in it. I roll out all the air before putting stuff in and sealing it. Even on a 10day hike, I found everything will fit. When I come to a trash can, I dump the contents. considering how little trash weighs, especially compared to when it was full of food, I don't see why some people find carrying it a burden.

For you guys who try to burn your trash, make sure it actually burns completely before leaving. Just because you threw it in a large fire doesn't mean it will fully burn. I find too much incompletely burned stuff in firepits. And if its plastic, don't burn it around others as most of it releases toxins into the air.

[hikerboy57]

Pack it out- all of it-in addition to existing trash you can carry out.Or they'll start charging fees.

[Pedaling Fool]

it's lonewolf weary,


he's not cerial ;)
This looks like a good fishing spot:D

[LoneRidgeRunner]

Wake up early and put your trash in someone else's pack...by the time they figure out what happened you'll be a couple miles up the trail.

Surely you're joking?.....:rolleyes:

[Pedaling Fool]

Someone's got a nibble;)

[LoneRidgeRunner]

I pack mine in a gallon zip lock inside a small stuff sack , hang it until I leave the site. Then hang it outside my pack and carry it until I get to a place to dispose of it properly in a trash can. Surely, if nothing else you will be able to find a fast food dumpster during your town stops to resupply if not at a road crossing trash can.

[Slo-go'en]

I pack mine in a gallon zip lock inside a small stuff sack , hang it until I leave the site.

Humm, I would worry about forgeting about it and leave it hanging there. I use a quart bag (I've never need anything bigger) and leave it in with my food bag. Just have to remember to empty the trash bag when I get a chance.

[sheepdog]

Surely you're joking?.....:rolleyes:


I pack mine in a gallon zip lock inside a small stuff sack , hang it until I leave the site. Then hang it outside my pack and carry it until I get to a place to dispose of it properly in a trash can. Surely, if nothing else you will be able to find a fast food dumpster during your town stops to resupply if not at a road crossing trash can.
that's twice



don't call me shirley :D

[sbhikes]

By trash do you all also mean toilet paper and feminine hygiene items?

[hikerboy57]

By trash do you all also mean toilet paper and feminine hygiene items?
yes. Try not to get the runs

[The Cleaner]

I pack mine in a gallon zip lock inside a small stuff sack , hang it until I leave the site. Then hang it outside my pack and carry it until I get to a place to dispose of it properly in a trash can. Surely, if nothing else you will be able to find a fast food dumpster during your town stops to resupply if not at a road crossing trash can. You say you carry an extra stuff sack.:eek:..the gram counters would never try this method...

[mweinstone]

burning plastic near anyone is an attack on their person.you burn plastic near me and i tell you not to. i dont ask.burying food is fine if its in your back yard.in the most remote wilderness if food stuffs become to heavy and some must be gotten rid of, we scatter only fine ground powdered foods to the wind only at the right elevation only if certian wild animals like marmots have been seen. burying food is not leave no trace and carrying 3lbs of macs and cheese in witch the salt spilled into and cant be eaten, is a powerfull lesson travelers in the further places can do well to learn from. people who are concerned with burning plastic at every available fire are folks that carry no trash and hide cans and bags of trash in hollows in logs all along the trail. ive tracked many and found many a trash stash.i can tell you who has trash in their pack and who dosnt like a drug sniffing dog. femminin napkins need to be packed out .they may be burned in a very hot establshed fire only when bear is a concern. when a hiker leaves a shelter and will have access to a trash receptical at a nearby roadhead, it is good espri de corps to offer to take everyones trash that is headed the opposite way.

lwolfs trash sells on ebay. thats why he leaves it. no harm.

[LoneRidgeRunner]

You say you carry an extra stuff sack.:eek:..the gram counters would never try this method...

But I'm not a gram counter...

[LoneRidgeRunner]

Quote:
Originally Posted by LoneRidgeRunner View Post
I pack mine in a gallon zip lock inside a small stuff sack , hang it until I leave the site.


Humm, I would worry about forgeting about it and leave it hanging there. I use a quart bag (I've never need anything bigger) and leave it in with my food bag. Just have to remember to empty the trash bag when I get a chance.

How would I forget it? It's hooked onto the same small carabiner as my food bag. I know, I know.... the gram weenies are cringing ...lol...bet that small Wal-mart crab weighs every bit of half a gram...lol.. I'm surprised I CAN carry that half a gram....lol..

[LoneRidgeRunner]

Quote:
Originally Posted by sbhikes http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/wb_style/buttons/viewpost.gif (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?p=1104443#post1104443)
By trash do you all also mean toilet paper and feminine hygiene items?
Being a male I don't use feminine hygiene items and I draw the line and packing up my used TP and carrying it out. I will dig a hole, crap in it and bury it along with my used TP and I carry out all my other trash but I ain't packing out my crappy paper....I use biodegradable TP.

[Pedaling Fool]

By trash do you all also mean toilet paper and feminine hygiene items?
I wasn't including TP. As for feminine hygiene I won't touch that.... don't know nothing about it and don't want to know:cool:


There are people out there that will tell you that packing out TP is a responsible LNT task and any thing else is environmentally irresponsible.

I say poohie. These people need to create a compost pile in their yard and observe, easy to do, just dig a cathole and bury you food waste and add a little water. keep adding kitchen waste (including napkins) and watch it turn into black gold.

I just love it, watching all the little critters devour waste. Of all the waste paper is very quick to disappear, but q-tips take a while. Probably what takes the longest are egg shells, and corn cobs, but so what, it's not hurting anything.

There's many youtube videos on composting, but many make the process seem much more complicated than it has to be. Just dig a hole and bury. The critters do the rest. Here's a funny video on composting http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZpCyMUFeAk&feature=related

[The Cleaner]

I thought this thread was about dead...people really do like trash talk:eek:...

[mmais68569]

PLASTIC BAG IT & CARRY IT ALL OUT. I ALSO PICK UP AFTER OTHER SLOBS THAT DO NOT CARE OR KNOW BETTER.

Mike (Mr.Mean)

[Miner]

Well as someone who hikes in places where it is often required to pack out your TP, it has become a habit with me now. I know some of you from back east have a hard time understanding that not every environment will decompose TP quickly. My only issue with you guys leaving it in the cathole where its allowed is when I come across an overused area with little white flags all over the place. Nothing is more disgusting.

Feminine Hygiene products don't breakdown like TP and should be thrown in the trash no matter where you hike (there is a reason most pit toilets have signs saying not to throw those things into the hole).

Now, unless your poop is toxic waste (which case I question your trail diet) putting your TP in a ziploc isn't anymore nasty then puting it in a cathole as you aren't going to touch it again. Mine goes into a small ziplock bag and its sealed and then I put it in another ziplock that also holds my clean TP which is then sealed and placed in the rear mesh pocket of my pack. Its then dumped in the nearest trashcan or toilet I find.

[Graywolf]

Im reminded of my stay at Stover Creek in 2009. Just arrived, alone, but it looked as if someone had a party the night before. It was terrible..For what I couldnt burn, I did carry the rest out, but it was terrible of what I saw..

Well, I least I didnt need firewood that night..

[LoneRidgeRunner]

Well as someone who hikes in places where it is often required to pack out your TP, it has become a habit with me now. I know some of you from back east have a hard time understanding that not every environment will decompose TP quickly. My only issue with you guys leaving it in the cathole where its allowed is when I come across an overused area with little white flags all over the place. Nothing is more disgusting.

Feminine Hygiene products don't breakdown like TP and should be thrown in the trash no matter where you hike (there is a reason most pit toilets have signs saying not to throw those things into the hole).

Now, unless your poop is toxic waste (which case I question your trail diet) putting your TP in a ziploc isn't anymore nasty then puting it in a cathole as you aren't going to touch it again. Mine goes into a small ziplock bag and its sealed and then I put it in another ziplock that also holds my clean TP which is then sealed and placed in the rear mesh pocket of my pack. Its then dumped in the nearest trashcan or toilet I find.

There won't be little white flags if it's "BURIED" in the cat hole... yes it is disgusting when you walk up on used TP but I've never walked up on it when it was buried. Well, I may have, but it was buried so not visible. When and if I'm told I have to carry my crap out of the woods I'll go elsewhere to hike...I'll carry out any food I don't eat, but not after it's digested...

[Pedaling Fool]

Well as someone who hikes in places where it is often required to pack out your TP, it has become a habit with me now. I know some of you from back east have a hard time understanding that not every environment will decompose TP quickly. My only issue with you guys leaving it in the cathole where its allowed is when I come across an overused area with little white flags all over the place. Nothing is more disgusting.

Feminine Hygiene products don't breakdown like TP and should be thrown in the trash no matter where you hike (there is a reason most pit toilets have signs saying not to throw those things into the hole).

Now, unless your poop is toxic waste (which case I question your trail diet) putting your TP in a ziploc isn't anymore nasty then puting it in a cathole as you aren't going to touch it again. Mine goes into a small ziplock bag and its sealed and then I put it in another ziplock that also holds my clean TP which is then sealed and placed in the rear mesh pocket of my pack. Its then dumped in the nearest trashcan or toilet I find.
This thread is specifically about the AT. That's nice that packing out TP is habit for you....I guess:rolleyes:, but the point is it's totally not necessary. The biggest factor in the speed of decompostion is moisture and that's not a problem when you bury it since the area is moist compost under leaves. Try leaving some tp in your toilet for a while, you'll see it does not take long for it to start falling apart just sitting there. True not as moist (usually) in the ground, but trust me, there's tons of thing eating it the moment it's buried. Your crap will take longer to decompose, therefore waste of time to pack out TP.

[mweinstone]

lrr + 1............

[Pedaling Fool]

There won't be little white flags if it's "BURIED" in the cat hole... yes it is disgusting when you walk up on used TP but I've never walked up on it when it was buried. Well, I may have, but it was buried so not visible. When and if I'm told I have to carry my crap out of the woods I'll go elsewhere to hike...I'll carry out any food I don't eat, but not after it's digested...
I agree, but I'll also add: Just because someone leaves TP on the ground for all of us to see doesn't mean I should pack mine out to compensate for the unburied TP. If people start crapping without digging a cathole, should I then pack out my crap to compensate for them --- it's the same logic.

[mweinstone]

just for the record, even newbees know this,.....:

dig a hole into the topsoil but not as deep as the mineral soil.
do your buissness
put a match to the toilet paper in the hole
stir the contents with dirt. exstreemly important for oders and decomposition is the stir
cover with excavated dirt and tamp
drag large branch, place rock or otherwise discourage use of that site.

now you have done good and may wash your hands and approch the bacon trough.
i will allow you to absorb my bacon waftings
if you then seem safe, i may bestow bacon apon thee.
kneel and be beknighted into the merry men of the round bacon table
you have lived
drink at will.lol.

[swjohnsey]

Just poop in an out of the way spot. Skip the TP. Natural fauna will take care of it within a week. You won't find many animals in the wild that dig a hole or stir their poop. You also won't find much animal poop.

[Miner]

This thread is specifically about the AT. That's nice that packing out TP is habit for you....I guess:rolleyes:, but the point is it's totally not necessary. And I was answering what I do on the AT and everywhere else even if its not required.:rolleyes: Nowhere did I say that people had to do it if it was legal to bury. I was just saying what I do and how I do it. And I guess some of you have never seen what can happen when animals dig it up or how it was uncovered by when it was burried shallow due to rocks and roots. I'm glad for you. Unfortunately, I have.

[Pedaling Fool]

What's the largest waste dumps on the AT, hint it's not the shelters.

Answer: The privies.

Privies, including many of the "mouldering" privies are toxic waste dumps. Because all air is locked out which turns it into an extremely polluted site.


Yet, people worry about TP:rolleyes:

[mweinstone]

they got theropy for that. how bad was it?ive slept in poop minefeilds and woke angry. so? your point? folks are different. some poop anywhere and leave wads of paper. i love them as i do anyone. i burn their paper. its gross. but i dont cry or anything. no biggie.

[Pedaling Fool]

And I was answering what I do on the AT and everywhere else even if its not required.:rolleyes: Nowhere did I say that people had to do it if it was legal to bury. I was just saying what I do and how I do it. And I guess some of you have never seen what can happen when animals dig it up or how it was uncovered by when it was burried shallow due to rocks and roots. I'm glad for you. Unfortunately, I have.
I say do what you want. But animals are not attracted to TP when they dig up catholes, they're attracted to the crap -- TP is a non-issue in this regard. So your TPless cathole is just as likely to be dug up as my cathole and it's no more or no less gross.

[swjohnsey]

they got theropy for that. how bad was it?ive slept in poop minefeilds and woke angry. so? your point? folks are different. some poop anywhere and leave wads of paper. i love them as i do anyone. i burn their paper. its gross. but i dont cry or anything. no biggie.

Wipe on a piece of washrag. Carry it in a pint Ziploc and wash it when you get to water.

[mweinstone]

What's the largest waste dumps on the AT, hint it's not the shelters.

Answer: The privies.

Privies, including many of the "mouldering" privies are toxic waste dumps. Because all air is locked out which turns it into an extremely polluted site.


Yet, people worry about TP:rolleyes:

the privys of the AT are advanced, maintained and wonderful in lots of cases. alot of work was done to limit impact. they help. alot. and how they are used determines there health. they all work. thats alot. they work well. thats a whole lot. people could use them wiser. alot wiser. putting food in, not putting chipps in. soap, plastics. these all either kill the worms we use, or they put out the fire of the compost. privys aint dirty. their missused.

[LoneRidgeRunner]

just for the record, even newbees know this,.....:

dig a hole into the topsoil but not as deep as the mineral soil.
do your buissness
put a match to the toilet paper in the hole
stir the contents with dirt. exstreemly important for oders and decomposition is the stir
cover with excavated dirt and tamp
drag large branch, place rock or otherwise discourage use of that site.

now you have done good and may wash your hands and approch the bacon trough.
i will allow you to absorb my bacon waftings
if you then seem safe, i may bestow bacon apon thee.
kneel and be beknighted into the merry men of the round bacon table
you have lived
drink at will.lol.

"put a match to the toilet paper in the hole" quote...

This isn't a bad idea IF, I repeat IF conditions are safe to do that ..meaning not too dry and or (especially) windy AND dry conditions... I burn my TP when conditions are safe to do so even though I have had several people disagree with that practice..I once met a guy on the AT in GSMNP who knew a girl who started a forest fire burning her TP It was dry and windy and a piece blew away from her and it started.
I'm not saying don't burn the TP..just that everyone needs to consider the conditions and be very careful when doing it....I try to pee on it after-wards when all that will burn has been burnt before burying it...

[Pedaling Fool]

the privys of the AT are advanced, maintained and wonderful in lots of cases. alot of work was done to limit impact. they help. alot. and how they are used determines there health. they all work. thats alot. they work well. thats a whole lot. people could use them wiser. alot wiser. putting food in, not putting chipps in. soap, plastics. these all either kill the worms we use, or they put out the fire of the compost. privys aint dirty. their missused.
Alright matt, I'm just too tired now, but suffice it to say that moldering privies need maintenance and the only ones that I say that received good attention were the ones in the Whites. Without maintenance mouldering privies are not much different than pit-style privies.

Not bashing any clubs, this is a tough issue, but it just escapes me how some can think that taking a crap in the woods is such a complicated matter when we got these privies, which for all intensive purposes is the same thing, "it's taking a crap in the woods", but there's a big difference, it's all consolidate in one very small area and that pile locks out air with is a necessary ingredient for quick and clean (relatively speaking) decomposition.

Just another 800lb gorilla that no one either sees or wants to talk about.


Good Night All

:sun

[mweinstone]

its a given that burning is out in wind. and a larger given that being safe with fire in the woods is a given. and an even larger still given that fire is to be handeled saftly anywhere is a given.

[Bronk]

By trash do you all also mean toilet paper and feminine hygiene items?

Yes, those items can be put in someone else's pack too.

[Iceaxe]

Sorta related topic:
There used to be a Porta-John crapper on top of Mt Whitney in the Sierra. It was the highest such plastic commode in the Lower 48 being at 14,494 feet.
The "Man" came and hauled it away by helicopter one day.
They left "Wag Bags" availiable to all on the approach trails to Whitney.
There ain't no soil to bury anything in on Whitney.. just solid granite.
A Wag Bag is a sorta Poop bag that absorbs the liquid.. well you get the idea.
So what happened to all the used Wag Bags after triumphant "mountaineers" did their buisness and decended the mountain?
There was a pile of them deposited on the porch of the Ranger Station.
At least they brought them down off the mountain but.. that poor ranger must of had quite a shock!:eek:

I could "run on" for hours on the subject of Poo. (Plumber Ya know)
True story:
A fellow plumber I worked with discovered he had to take a dump shortly after severing the main sewer line for replacement.
The only thing he could find was a plastic grocery bag. So he puts the grocey bag in a 5 gallon bucket and "fills" the bag.
He figures he can throw the bag away when he gets home so he bundles it up and puts in the bed of his truck.
A week goes by and his girlfriend is helping him clean his truck and she gets a hold of that bag.. She squeezes the bag and asks: "Whats inside Dave? It's squishy!"
Well my Plumber friend replies in his Bostonian accent..: "It's Poop."
That was the last time she ever helped him clean his truck.

[Odd Man Out]

Now that we have established the fact that everyone on this board carries their trash out but apparently there are a lot of people, presumably not on this board, leaving their trash on the trail, how many people pick up other people's garbage and carries it out as a good deed? I do this regularly, especially when day hiking and I am not carrying a heavy load and know that there is is a garbage can back at the parking lot.

[mweinstone]

toilet paper has dooky on it.

[Hikes in Rain]

Now that we have established the fact that everyone on this board carries their trash out but apparently there are a lot of people, presumably not on this board, leaving their trash on the trail, how many people pick up other people's garbage and carries it out as a good deed? I do this regularly, especially when day hiking and I am not carrying a heavy load and know that there is is a garbage can back at the parking lot.

All the time.

[jbenson]

good grief :rolleyes:
Think of all the invertebrates you killed!

[Newb]

It should be interesting to see how the no trash cans at state parks and trailheads works out.
One of the problems living here in Thailand, and from what i too saw in Nepal, is that there is no place to leave your trash, except to throw it alongside the road like everybody else.
One big reason: There are no trash cans.
People couldn't dispose of it properly even if they wanted to.
I often come home with my pockets full of trash to my Thai wife's dismay.
But, i refuse to be a litterbug.
I don't think everyone thinks like me though.
They will litter or leave bags for the critters to get into.

I have a friend who worked with the Peace Corps in China back in the early '90s. She said the thing that stupefied her was how people littered there freely and openly. They just threw their garbage out the train windows or car windows without a thought. Of course, the privvies on the trains emptied right on to the tracks....

[Bronk]

I have a friend who worked with the Peace Corps in China back in the early '90s. She said the thing that stupefied her was how people littered there freely and openly. They just threw their garbage out the train windows or car windows without a thought. Of course, the privvies on the trains emptied right on to the tracks....

They also use human feces for fertilizer in their gardens.

[mweinstone]

pollution is a non issue. polluters are the issue.

[Pedaling Fool]

pollution is a non issue. polluters are the issue.
We're all polluters; it's impossible to live without being a polluter.

[garlic08]

I have a friend who worked with the Peace Corps in China back in the early '90s. She said the thing that stupefied her was how people littered there freely and openly. They just threw their garbage out the train windows or car windows without a thought. Of course, the privvies on the trains emptied right on to the tracks....

I was there around that time and took some long train rides. On the first one, I stowed my trash in a garbage bag unlike everyone else who just threw it out the window. Then on the second day a conductor came around, picked up my trash bag, and threw it out the window!

The only thing worse than the privies that emptied onto the tracks were the modern Western-style toilets in first class that never got cleaned.

[mweinstone]

if you set me naked in the wilderness and come back in 20 years, i will not have made any pollution. i will have lived in a den and ate raw foods and never used fire.the only things i would have left would be poop pee snot drool eye dodos nails earwax hair slothings and belly button fuzz from plant or animal sources.

[swjohnsey]

The privies on U.S. trains dumped (poor choice of words) right on the tracks as late as the 60s. Conductor would go through and lock restroom doors prior to coming to station. Privies on cabooses dumped on track into the 70s.

[harryfred]

Now that we have established the fact that everyone on this board carries their trash out but apparently there are a lot of people, presumably not on this board, leaving their trash on the trail, how many people pick up other people's garbage and carries it out as a good deed? I do this regularly, especially when day hiking and I am not carrying a heavy load and know that there is is a garbage can back at the parking lot.
Day hiking I do I have a set of mechanics fingers and a old store bag tied to my hip belt. When section hiking I pick up some but not all bending over with a pack on sucks and if I stop for all I won't get anywhere. In camp I will clean up around the shelter and do a burn and bury,even the plastic. I did not leave it I figure all is fair to clean it up. The first time I came home with a pack that weighed more than when I left taught me a lesson.

[mweinstone]

harryfred, my posts may seem to read as if i would be against what you do but im for it. even burreyd plastic is better than surface plastic. and a clean place staays clean alot longer than a dirty one. good work.

[harryfred]

harryfred, my posts may seem to read as if i would be against what you do but im for it. even burreyd plastic is better than surface plastic. and a clean place staays clean alot longer than a dirty one. good work.
Hey Matty we both do the best we can with what we got. UR right if we brought it in we tote it out. if it aint ours we clean up the best we can we don't whine, we don't whimper, we just keep walkin.

[takethisbread]

Burn It??? (whatever is less likely to get some self righteous assmunch to give you a speech about how its donks like me that cause Global Climate Change, or "can a Snickers wrapper be that destructive to the world around me?)

[harryfred]

Burn It??? (whatever is less likely to get some self righteous assmunch to give you a speech about how its donks like me that cause Global Climate Change, or "can a Snickers wrapper be that destructive to the world around me?)
Not sure where you are comin' from brother but agree some trash is just as good or better turned to ash as in a land fill.

[Sickmont]

All i can say is incinerator or not burning it is a hunnert times better than letting it pile up in a landfill........

[Graywolf]

All i can say is incinerator or not burning it is a hunnert times better than letting it pile up in a landfill........

Dont mean to be off topic, but I just have to ask this.

What is a hunnert??:D