Leave No Trace Waste Disposal
Leave No Trace
Waste Disposal
Human Food:
- When we leave any food or food particles behind, animals begin to associate humans as a food source. Annoying, but not a huge problem if we are only talking about cute squirrels, but a much bigger problem when talking about predatory animals such as large cats and bears.
- Reduce weight and trash—remove food such as trail bars from original wrappers and pack in a seal tight bag. Not only do you reduce weight, but the bag also collects all the little flakes of food that will rub off. Think of the crumbs as a great flavoring treat for a future bowl of oatmeal. This will also help reduce the amount of trash you will have to carry out.
- After a cooked meal, there are a couple of options for cleaning and disposing of food particles. (in the backcountry)
- only cook what you can eat
- after the meal, place water in pot, scrub the stuck on food while heating and then drink the food particles. This is good for hydration, think of it as dinner soup.
- use the above method, but instead of drinking, strain the food particles with a bandana and place all particles in a sealable bag and prepare to carry it out with you. The water can be dumped 200 yards from camp and water sources.
- if you plan to be in the same location for a long period of time, dig a sump hole (like a cat hole) for the purpose of disposing gray water.
- Dishes can be washed using small amounts of biodegradable soap or experiment using sand, ash from a fire, or a scrubbing pad. Dump gray water 200 feet from camp and water sources or in a sump hole.
- When breaking camp, check for loose food and equipment, clothing, etc… Properly dispose of each.
- If you are at a camp ground (front country), use the appropriate disposal site and trashcans.
- Disposing of live kills will need to be handled differently depending on the animal.
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- Fish: There are a couple of proper ways to dispose of fish entrails and bones.
i. leave locally caught remains out of sight of trails and campsites (if you packed in the fish—you must pack out the remains)
ii. only dump remains in the body of water the fish originated from, but since remains may wash up and become unsightly to other hikers only do this in bear country.
iii. in high use areas, pack out all remains and dispose properly at home
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- Other game: The disposal of mammal, reptile and bird remains.
i. leave locally caught remains out of sight of trails, campsites and 200 feet from water sources (if you packed it in—you much pack out the remains)
ii. in high use areas, pack out all remains and dispose of properly at home
Pets:
Dogs are wonderful companions, but owners must take responsibility for food, waste and keep control of their non-human companions at all times.
1. Pack in and Pack out food. Never dump left over dog food to save weight because animals will associate your pet as well as you as a food source.
2. When Fido takes a dump, pack it out or dig a 6-8 inch cat hole to bury the waste.
3. Never dig a cat hole in Heritage Sites. You must always pack out pet waste in these locations.
4. In the front country use provided pooper sacks or bring your own and dispose of properly. If your pup has a case of diarrhea, please use the smear technique and try to get it off the trail. This will help prevent another hiker from slipping on it like a banana peel as well as help the decomposition process.
5. When breaking camp, check for chunks of dog food and waste. Properly dispose of each.
Horse back riding on proper trails is a treat, but owners must take responsibility.
1. Pack in and Pack out feed.
2. When breaking camp or after a rest on the trail, carry manure away from camp or the trail and scatter by kicking apart manure piles.
3. Check for and pack out bits of leather, pieces of rope, and any other litter.
Human Waste:
This is never a subject that we enjoy thinking or even talking about, but it is one of the most essential LNT topics.
1. Cleanliness is next to Godliness or so the saying goes. It is important to maintain a certain amount of sanitation when on the trail, and can be easily and environmentally accomplished by following a few suggestions.
a. Avoid washing with soaps in water systems.
b. If you must use soap, stay 200 feet from water sources, campsites and trails.
c. Use biodegradable soap.
d. Experiment with exfoliation instead of soap. You mainly want to rid yourself of the dead skin cells. Perhaps a skin brush or a loofah?
e. If you drink hot tea, use the bag as a facial cleanser.
f. Don’t worry about shaving; nobody really cares about that kind of thing on the trail.
g. Always wash your hands after using the bathroom. This is true in the backcountry as it is in your own home.
2. Urination normally will not cause concern in the back country, but there are proper and improper ways of relieving that got to go feeling without impacting the environment.
a. Stay 200 feet from water sources and trails.
b. Avoid urinating on trees and delicate vegetation. Salt deprived animals love to seek out and lick or nibble on your waste. This could lead to damage to tree trunks or destroy delicate ecosystems of plants and bugs.
c. Ladies, consider using a pee rag that can be reused and tied to the back of your pack to be dried in the sun. Don’t worry about what others might think, real men will appreciate your cleanliness and good outdoor ethics.
d. When in the front country, hold it until you can locate the nearest port-a-potty or bathroom.
3. Bowel Movements are a fact of life and can be handled in a couple of different ways.
a. Stay 200 feet from water sources and trails.
b. If you must use toilet paper, you must pack it out. Bring a sealable bag to carry it out with you. Never burn because little embers of paper can float in the air and cause a larger fire.
c. In lieu of toilet paper, experiment with natural wipes such as smooth rocks, moss, leaves, snow and anything else that feels comfortable. Learn to identify poisonous or plants that cause allergic reactions such as poison ivy and avoid using those plants.
d. Dig a cat hole about 6-8 inches deep and bury only the poop as well as any natural material you use. Remember, if you must use toilet paper you must pack it out.
e. Choose to dig your cat hole in an area with dark soil since the richer the soil the quicker the decomposition. Avoid delicate ecosystems or areas of high erosion.
f. If you are in an area where digging is not an option such as a desert or the artic, use the smear method. Simply put, do your business on a large rock or non-eco sensitive area and then use a small rock to smear your movement into a thin layer. This method will help with the drying and decomposition process.
g. Never leave chunks of bowel movements out in the open for other hikers to see. Not only it is unsanitary, but it is also just simply gross.
h. When in the front country, hold it until you can locate the nearest port-a-potty or bathroom.
4. Ladies: That time of the month may come during a hike and it is imperative to be good scouts and be prepared. It is also important to male leaders to understand how to gently provide advice if necessary.
a. Even if you are not close to your cycle, carry a couple of tampons or pads just in case. Nothing is more embarrassing or inconvenient than to start and have nothing to help prevent a mess. Some women may never need to worry about this scenario since strenuous exercise may cause the body to delay the start of a cycle; however, for other women the exercise may have the opposite effect. So be prepared for anything. Besides pads and tampons can be used in an emergency first aid situation.
b. Never bury used sanitary napkins or tampons. Animals will be attracted to the smell and dig it up. Very gross for passing hikers.
c. Absolutely never dump sanitary napkins or tampons onto the ground, the animals will definitely get into it. Super gross!
d. Place used pads and tampons in a sealable bag with crushed aspirins to help cover the smell. Then place that bag into a darker bag for aesthetic purposes.
e. When in bear country, hang the bag with the used pads and tampons in a tree to help avoid unwanted visitors from snooping through your tent or pack. This can be hung with the food bag or in a separate tree if hanging it with the food just grosses you out.
Basic Questions:
1. Why 200 feet from trails, campsites and water sources?
Seeking an area 200 feet from these locations will help reduce water contamination and the spread of disease by run off. It will also help lessen the possibility of another hiker from discovering your cat hole.
2. How far is 200 feet?
It is about 70 adult steps or 100 child steps.
3. Dogs are animals, why bother picking up dog feces?
As a hiker, the sight of a pile of dog feces means other people have passed through and that simply takes away from the serenity of the environment. It is also rude. When you take responsibility to own a pet, you must also take responsibility to care for anything that comes out of your pet. Plus, pets are fed human created food and so they also excrete human created vitamins and materials which are not natural to the environment.
4. Why strain out the bits of food from the wash water?
Even a little bit of food will attract animals including bears, large cats and nuisance critters who may seek out the rest of your food stash or even you. These bits of food are not natural to the environment and can cause a negative impact.
5. In a nutshell, what are the 4 principles of disposing of waste properly?
a. Pack it in, pack it out. Inspect your site before you leave and pick up all trash
and food particles.
b. Deposit solid human waste in cat holes, 6-8 inches deep, and cover completely.
c. Pack out toilet paper and hygiene products.
d. Carry and scatter all gray water 200 feet from water sources, campsites and
trails.
Works Cited
Backcountry classroom lessons, tools, and activities for teaching outdoor leaders. Guilford, Conn: Falcon, 2005.
Bill Bryson; William Roberts. A Walk in the Woods [Audiobook] [Unabridged]. Rec. 1 Nov. 2001. Chivers Audio Books; Unabridged edition, 2002.
“Dispose of Waste Properly (Pack It In, Pack It Out).” Boy Scouts of America National Council. 29 Mar. 2009 <http://www.scouting.org/boyscouts/teachingleavenotrace/033_dispose.aspx>.
Fieldbook. Irving, Tex: Boy Scouts of America, 2004.
“Get Outdoors – Backpack: In Camp: Washing Dishes.” 29 Mar. 2009 <http://www.getoutdoors.com/go/golearn/69>.
“Leave No Trace Board Game.” National Park Service – Experience Your America. 31 Mar. 2009
<http://www.nps.gov/gaar/forkids/upload/leave%20no%20trace%20worksheet.pdf>.
“Leave No Trace.” Dartmouth College. 30 Mar. 2009 <http://www.dartmouth.edu/~doc/leavenotrace/>.
“Leave No Trace Quiz.” AMC NY-NoJ :: Appalachian Mountain Club – New York-North Jersey
Chapter :: Welcome. 31 Mar. 2009 <http://www.amc-ny.org/recreational-
activities/leavenotrace/lntquiz.html>.
Leave No Trace. 31 Mar. 2009 <http://www.lnt.org>.
McGivney, Annette. Leave no trace a guide to the new wilderness ethic. Seattle, WA: Mountaineers Books, 2003.
“Minimize Horse Impacts.” Leave No Trace Dude. 30 Mar. 2009 <http://www.leavenotracedude.com/lnt-horses.shtml>.
National Park Service – Experience Your America. 30 Mar. 2009 <http://www.nps.gov/isro/planyourvisit/upload/LNT%20Booklet.pdf>.
NOLS – National Outdoor Leadership School. 31 Mar. 2009 <http://www.nols.edu>.
O’Bannon, Allen. Allen and Mike’s Really Cool Backpackin’ Book Traveling & camping skills for a wilderness environment. Helena: Falcon, 2001.
Sheehan, Kathryn. Earth child 2000 earth science for young children : games, stories, activities,
and experiments. Tulsa: Council Oak Books, 1998.
US Forest Service – Caring for the land and serving people. 30 Mar. 2009 <http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/recreation/camping/backpacking.pdf>.
Formal Dance
I took the the two oldest to a Spring Formal tonight. There are people out there who question whether homeschoolers have social opportunities. Those same people seem to think that if children don’t attend school they will miss out on dances, dating and other important mile stones. It’s too bad those people can’t or won’t open their eyes long enough to see that school doesn’t offer the only opportunities to young people.
My count put the teens at around 50 give or take a few. They came as couples, singles and friends. The kids danced until a pile of shoes formed near the dance floor and then demanded another song by stomping their feet to the tune of “We Will Rock You” when the night was over, which the DJ obliged. A photographer was available with prom type props to take pictures of couples, friends and singles. He even took a mother and son picture, which I am eagerly waiting to purchase.
What I didn’t see were cliques. The kids that would be considered odd at school are cool in the homeschool community. They wear Rat Pack hats and perform Blues Brothers dance routines. Swing dancing is fashionable and circles are formed to encourage dancers to display talented and not so talented moves. Towards the middle of the evening a couple of girls displayed their Celtic dance jigs. The crowd cheered and clapped with approval.
It was a very satisfying evening with a really nice group of people. I dare say, homeschooled kids have figured out how to treat people no matter age, economic, or racial status based on their virtues and nothing less. It is refreshing and brings a kind of hope that the next generation isn’t so doomed after all. Here are my thanks to all the wonderful young people tonight.
Geocaching
About two weeks ago the hubby introduced me to the sport of geocaching. Some people may disagree with me about the status of sport, but I challenge naysayers to give the hunt a try.
For the most part, geocaching is a very inexpensive sport, but it requires the knowledge of how to use a GPS, even a simple older model would work. If a person does not own one of these devices, it is impossible to participate. So it is safe to say that geocaching is expensive you have to purchase a GPS just to participate. However, for those of us who own one, it is a great additional use of the tool. I have one because my husband purchased it to help keep me from becoming hopelessly lost all the time. My sense of direction really stinks.
When a person decides to hunt for a cache, he must know the exact coordinates of the treasure. A person must have the exact longitude, latitude and decimal degree of each on the x,y coordinate grid. Luckily the GPS makes life really simple by simply decoding everything and pinpointing the exact location of the device in hand.
Once you have the coordinates, the hunt begins and this is where the sport portion comes in. Yesterday the kids, hubby and I went on a geocache hunting hike. We had planned to hike ten miles anyway which should only take about four hours, but adding the eight cache hunt brought on an additional three and a half hours to our exercise.
With GPS in hand we carefully glanced at the coordinates until we reached a location that looked close the degrees of the cache. Then left the trails and began walking through the brush and trees in search of the exact coordinates. Once we had identified the location it was time to really begin hunting. You see as wonderful a device it may seem, GPS’s are machines and can be off a little. With a less expensive the device, there is a better the chance that you will have a more difficult search. However, once you find the stash the reward is worth all the thorns, squishy mud, and snagging branches. It is even worth the effort of digging out a cache from a knot in a tree, unearthing it from a dead log, or even crawling under low hanging pine braches. The creators of these caches are some of the most creative people on the planet. Containers range from ammo boxes, to bored out screws, to plastic containers and each contains a log book and usually some sort of treasure that you can trade. My children love to bring along something they no longer want like an old kid’s meal toy to trade with something more exciting like a new kid’s meal toy. Sometimes there’s an extra treat like a post card from far distance locations or even an unusual coin. However, if the hunter is really lucky he will stumble across a cache with a travel bug.
The travel bug looks like a dog tag, with a printed bar code is in the shape of a beetle. This bug, TB, can be traded for something and then later placed in a new cache. Each travel bug has a special theme. We have discovered a NASCAR TB as well as a Big Water’s TB. The description for the NASCAR TB simply states that it wants to travel to locations with NASCAR sites nearby. The Big Waters TB wants to travel the globe and over many oceans. There is an infinite amount of bugs out there to go with an infinite amount of themes.
Once the cache is located, items are read, viewed and traded and the log book signed the cacher must then put the stash back exactly as found. Then begin the hike back to the trail.
Geocaching is a sport worthy of respect. It connects people of different cultures, life styles and backgrounds through one common goal. The hung also gets people outside, walking and crouching and crawling which is something many of us have forgotten how to do properly.
So I challenge you to go to www.geocaching.com and give this challenging sport a try. It is certainly a better way to spend an evening than mindlessly watching a predictable television show.
Trying Sports
I’ve never been much on sports, but lately I’ve been trying my hand at a few. Over the next few weeks, I will try to write about my account of each as well as the injury that caused me to sit out for almost a month.
Twilight
This week I promised to take my daughter to the movie, “Twilight”. She had previously read the entire series and I thought it would be wrong for me not to at least read the first book.
It was a read that I probably would have appreciated more if I was a couple of decades younger, but still found it to be delightful. It certainly is not the type of book I would have read without a little prodding. Honestly, if I was a teenage girl looking for any Prince Charming, it would meet many of my criteria. If I was a teenage boy, it would make me cringe knowing that girls were introduced to an unselfish guy who unconditionally devotes himself to the preservation of one non-perfect person.
The movie may not be Oscar material, but it certainly met the expectations of the girls in the theatre during the midnight showing. When the lights went out the room filled with squeals of delight and I could feel the floor vibrate under all the shaking and stomping feet. When Jacob was introduced on the screen there were squeals and gasps, but the appearance of the Cullen’s, namely Edward caused the theatre to erupt in sighing, squeals, and clapping. I couldn’t help but smile as I was nearly caught up in the electric atmosphere.
Despite all the bad reviews, the movie in my opinion is a huge success. If only because it has helped bring reading to households and for two fun hours it introduced a safe romantic fantasy to an age group that is usually ignored. However, from this mom’s point of view, it was a success because it allowed me two hours of listening to the emotions of idealistic, reach for the sky teens.
Cycling Slow
I decided to begin training closer to home and stop driving to the nearest bike trail, which was beginning to benefit the oil company more than myself. However, I have come to quickly realized that the bike trail is of a very low grade while the streets and especially the hills are much more challenging. Based on my trail riding, I thought my legs moved quite fast. The reality is that I am a very slow cyclist. My goal is to keep up with that skinny male cyclist that blew past me on a 90 degree hill while I was slowly huffing my way to the top.
Today—10 miles in 1 hour–like I said, super slow!
Walking and Cycling
About 4 months ago I started walking anywhere from 5 to 15 miles a day and it was great, slow but meaningful. Then I took up cycling about a month ago and have found that it is a phenomenal sport. What a mind clearing, exhilarating activity to participate in daily! I’ve been traveling 10 miles each morning in addition to walking 5. Well the 5 takes about 1 1/2 hours while the 10 takes 30 minutes. So I’ve been thinking about dropping the walk and begin training for a 20 or more mile bike ride. I’ll keep you informed.
I would encourage each to dust off your bikes and go for a ride some morning. (Mine and the hubby’s are 22 year old matching bikes the kids purchased for our anniversary from the thrift store—-I’m so proud of them!)
Let me know what you think of the sport. 
Happy Dad’s Day Honey!
The hubby was out of town for dad’s day which meant that the kids and I couldn’t give him his customary breakfast in bed and a day of rest. So we did the next best thing, we ordered a calzone, anit-pasta, cheese sticks and a raspberry cheesecake from Cemeno’s Pizza. Thanks for helping make this a better father’s day for my dear hubby!
The kids and I also ordered a basket of nuts, fruits and a plant from Labo’s. He was really pleased with the plant and loved the apples. Apparently the hotel has a no apple policy during the daily continental breakfast.
Happy Father’s Day honey, you’re the best and we love you!
Walk the Walk
During the last 2 weeks I have walked 90 1/2 miles.
The boys attended Day Camp during the last two weeks and in our attempt to protest the gas price increase we opted to walk the 2 miles to and from camp. Doesn’t sound like a great distance, but when you take into account the accumulative mileage, that is 40 miles per week. A savings of $16 in my pocket and approximately 4 less gallons the corporation didn’t sell. Good for us and good for the environment! Perhaps it’s time to look into walking to the grocery store?
Bad, Bad, Bad Economy
Much like everybody else in the country, our family is participating in activities closer to home. The gas prices are out of this world and we are told that it will only get worse before it gets better. My husband has predicted that we are sliding back to the 80’s economy only to slide further back to the 70’s and eventually the 30’s economy. Hopefully this prediction is exaggerated. However, after what I saw yesterday, I wonder if he might be seeing into the bleak future.
In our effort to keep spending low but still have some fun, we have opted to not take a vacation this year and instead signed up for a membership with the local amusement park. I remember attending the same park as a child and dreaded the long lines under the hot sun, the smelly people and the over priced snacks. Thus it is part of the reason we had not attended the park since moving into the area 6 years ago. However, after much begging from the kids and the nagging pocketbook screaming mercy, we relented and purchased season passes.
Much to my suprise there were no long lines and few people that it almost makes me breathless. We have only attended during the weekends when the park should be at its busiest. I have been delighted to zip right up to the front and ride my favorites over and over without the stress of waiting. Yesterday we rode the same water ride 5 times in a row within the period of one hour. At one point we got off and asked if we could just wait near the front to ride again and were told to get back on the raft because nobody else was in there. Has this ever happened before on a hot, Friday, summer evening? Perhaps, but I suspect it is not common and I’m certain that two separate but very similar visits isn’t just a coincidence.
The government seems to think that the stimulus checks they sent out will bounce us right back to the 90’s economy of happiness and spending. Instead, I think most people are using that money to pay for gas, home energy, and rising grocery prices. Many have realized they can’t just spend the government check on whatever suits their fancy and they certainly can’t keep using their already bulging credit cards. Instead, most have begun to slow down household spending. If the amusement park attendance is an indication of the future, we should see shorter lines and emptier carts for the rest of the year.
