So im planning on going to Labyrinth Canyon in a few weeks, and realized i didnt have the required toilet. the place that is doing our shuttle service can rent them but it ends up being about 120$ i can buy one for cheaper then that what do you experts use:?
Going for about 5 days with 2-3 people.
Blue Bags - Wag Bags - Etc.
– Last Updated: May-31-12 2:09 PM EST –
Hikers who leave no trace know "blue bags";
"poop tubes of pvc", other waste containment practices.
Very useful:
http://www.whennaturecalls.com/products/restop2.html
Some Big Dogs use:
http://www.amazon.com/Wag-Bags-Doggie-Clean-up-count/dp/B0015B1L1U
Google
"Kayaker’s poop tube"
groover
you will find several articles about how to make them and their use in places such as the Grand Canyon:
http://kayakcamping.amongstit.com/2010/03/25/the-groover-aka-personal-human-waste-management-system/
In DC they spread it around Congress
then they dump it in the Potomac.
50 cal…
…ammo can. I went on a twelve day trip in Yukon/Alaska and that’s what we had. As probably many here know, it’s called a groover due to what it does to one’s posterior.
…not saying that I’d necessarily recommend that:)
I’ve never understood the reason
to carry out human waste when you go into a wild place like the Yukon, Alaska or the NWT where there are perhaps 50 people traveling a year through huncreds of miles of country without designated camp sites. But, that’s just me. In other more busy areas yes, but a wild river in the Arctic?
Trust me…
…I was surprised too. That trip was on the Tatshenshini river. Actually it is a good general policy. On the Tat there are few spots to pull off the river and camp. Even the modest number of humans that travel the Tat and Alsek River would end creating a bit of a mess.
I remember reading about expeditions to K2. At one point they all end up camping in a frozen field of turds… well I hope that they’re frozen.
Here’s link to a Tat pic:
http://g1.img-dpreview.com/BE888D0DF43740DE9E22DA66708A70C4.jpg
I bought plastic welding tube holders
that seal watertight with a gasket. Crap on large coffee filters, roll up and stuff into the tube. I don’t know if BLM has “officially” approved this alternative to the PVC tube. No ranger approached me for inspection before I ran Dolores’ Slickrock Canyon. I took two tubes where one would have been enough for three days and two nights.
BLM also requires that all food waste from cooking and dishwashing be taken out. I bought a large strainer to meet inspection, although I ate only granola and jerky. Strained food from dishwashing can also go in a waste tube. Because they limited fires on the Dolores to duralogs in firepans, incinerating food waste was not an option.
Poop Tubing is the way
http://www.davidlnelson.md/ElCapitan/DefinitionPoopTube.htm
I don’t like this one. You need a wrench to get the lid on and off.
http://fastq.com/~jrschroeder/poop.html
is the best design.
When I am overnighting,I just carry an empty plastic peanut butter jar and some large coffee filters and toss the jar afterwards.
For longer trips, i carry my poop-tube and clean it out at an RV disposal site or compost toilet.
Yea, I guess it depends on the terrain -
I have traveled only in the barren lands and trust me - there is absolutely zero point in carrying out human waste. 50,000 - 100,000 caribou inhabit the land and maybe 50 people a year travel through on a typical river up there. Camp anywhere and everywhere. It is a non-issue. Heel of the boot works well and that is a lot more than the caribou do.
We rented for $40
for nine days on the Green. As the toilet disappeared after our shuttle back to town and someone else emptied it and handled the er deposit, it was well worth it.
$120 is out of line . Our trip was eight months ago. We rented from Tex’s Riverways.
Human excrement does not disappear in land that gets a couple of inches of precipitation a year. It hardens and remains. Also while there is much empty land, use is concentrated on sand bars. Imagine turd heaven if portable toilets were not used.
Sand and gravel bars are
completely scoured out every spring. Not a problem at all in the barrenland areas I have traveled. Rarely even see a foot print - caribou, wolf and bear prints yes, boots no.
Compare apples to apples
The OPs question was not about the Barrenlands.
Its the desert. BLM and NPS require groovers for a reason.
To go off above the shoreline and poo in the emptiness is not a good idea. Actually the desert corridor with its cryptobiotic soils is quite fragile.
People drink the water from the river. I would not want to drink e coli laden water. Let me come poop in your river! Moreover not all years have adequate snowmelt to scour all the sandbar. Either way the argument about why not poo on the ground is faulty.
Pee is different as it is sterile. Its actually accepted practice to pee in the river in desert areas.
We are off track.
– Last Updated: Jun-03-12 3:53 PM EST –
Topic for another thread someday. Your right, compare apples to apples. The assumption that it is harmful to the environment and unsafe if you don't pack out your human waste from every conceivable place on earth that you might travel in a kayak or canoe is faulty. Some places yes, others no.
Yes and I am still curious as
to that toilet of Gold the OP found! LOL…
Passing someone I met on the Green while as they contemplated their navel…I said while floating by…nice to see you again. We had met while hiking the day before.