Best ways to pack out TP in Alpine environment

[HeathP]

Gathering more information for my Sawtooth Wilderness trip this summer and after speaking to the Ranger station today they advised that all toilet paper must be packed out as it’s an Alpine environment. Now I already anticipated this but am wondering what are some best practices for storing this used TP? The last thing I want is to smell that or have it open in my pack. I was thinking about double bagging it in zip locs then using an opsak odor barrier sak to put this in. Thoughts??

[Matthew / BPL]

On the JMT I carried a travel bidet and a small empty disposable water bottle and a tiny dropper bottle with some unscented Dr. Bronners soap. I did bring some TP as well in case that was more convenient. I carried that out in a extra ziplock I had from a Packit Gourmet meal which I keep in the side pocket of my pack. 220 miles, no failures (I did pitch my first one and switch to a new one from my resupply at MTR around mile 110). I’ll admit that I put a little opaque tape around the bottom half of the bag to keep it more discreet.

[HeathP]

Matthew

That looks like a solid option. Maybe I can bring TP/baby wipes as a backup. I need to get one of these and try it out.

[Matthew / BPL]

Home Depot carries a couple options in the toilet aisle and then there’s the Boulder Bidet. I’ll let you google. :)

[James holden]

doggy poop bags …. put it in a CLEARLY MARKED odor proof disposable bag

;)

[Valerie E]

Hi Heath!  I use a 3-pronged system:

Regular Ziploc with about 1 teaspoon of powdered bleach inside it (prevents odour/bacterial growth), then I put that inside a mylar Ziploc bag. I use one — re-labelled — from Sprout’s Animal Cookies (larger size for long trips) or from toddler’s Yogurt Bites (small bag, in baby food section of supermarket).

Mylar bags keep odour down quite well.

[Ben C]

Consider natural materials.  I recently ran out of TP on a trip and did about a week with all natural materials.  It was completely unintended.  I was a bit concerned.  But it went surprisingly well.  I used mostly carefully selected rocks.  You quickly get better at finding good rocks.  I had no bad consequences at all.  If choosing between natural materials and carrying a bag of TP around for a week, I think I would choose the natural materials.

[Matthew / BPL]

Oh yeah. I forgot that I loaded the bag with a spoonful of baking soda before I left town to absorb odor.

[Steve M]

Another option is to use some of these:

3mil Nitrile gloves……sorry it won’t post my link to Harbor Freight

This allows you to use minimal TP, moss, leaves etc. and keeps you from making direct contact with ‘hazards’.  Used correctly, you can even forgo hand sanitizers–carefully take them off inside out (doctor style) and tie them closed or store in a ziplock.  Clean gloves can also serve double duty–as storage bags, first aid kit item (gloves or irrigation bag).  The blue ones (5mil) are stronger, but also weigh a bit more.

[HeathP]

Valerie,

I didn’t even know powdered bleach was a thing. We have an 11 month old and I have bags of those yogurt bites going in the trash twice a week. I shall see about re purposing one.

Ben,

I don’t know about natural materials I have never had much luck with that.

 

Steve,

I work in a hospital (Radiation oncology). I am familiar with nitrile gloves as I use them daily.

 

I still think the bidet sounds like the most sanitary option combined with a bag for any TP/baby wipe usage.

[Matthew / BPL]

I’m going to overshare here but I took some of the nicest dumps of my life in the Sierra Nevada last summer. I’d find the perfect spot with a nice view and privacy and then clean up sitting a perfectly sized boulder with just the right slope below it. A little bidet + Dr. Bronners action… Air dry for a minute and then hike on down the trail with that just out of the shower fresh feeling downstairs. Stopping at a gas station on the drive home after was the worst after that.

[HeathP]

Thanks Matthew. Yeah I’d prefer that feeling especially with us walking 13-15 miles a day.

[Roger Caffin]

I can understand the problems in the Grand Canyon, but not in an Alpine environment. There are all sorts of animals up there, and they do not carry poo bags.There are Alpine environments around the world, and I don’t know of any others which have that requirement.

I note that you said that the TP must be carried out – with no mention of anything else. I agree 100% that you don’t want to leave TP or poo lying around: that’s uncouth. Bury it or even burn the TP if you must maybe?

I would check the official regulations to see whether such a rule really exists. I doubt it.

Cheers

 

[Greg Mihalik]

Well, here’s one –

“Human waste management has been a major problem at Mount Whitney so in 2006 the Inyo National Forest instituted a mandatory “pack it out” program. ”

And that means “all” of it.

[Paul McLaughlin]

I just put the used TP in a  ziploc that lives in the bread bag with the TP. Never had an odor issue at all, winter or summer. If at any point in the trip you are in an area where campfires are allowed, then I’d burn whatever I had collected to that point – but fires are often banned at higher elevations so that may not be feasible.

[Valerie E]

Roger, Mt Whitney is SUCH a high-traffic area, with so many inexperienced visitors, that they were forced to do something to curtail the accumulation of barely/inadequately buried human poo.  There are literally hundreds of visitors each day all summer long (many of whom camp in a very limited number of campsites available), and it really was a mess.

Although it’s unpleasant to carry the cheap plastic WAG bags that they give you on Whitney (and those DO smell after a few hours!), it’s preferable to seeing poo and TP everywhere you look — which is how it used to be.  [Marmot poo is a lot smaller than human poo, and they don’t seem to poop on the trail much.]

[HeathP]

Roger, Greg, Valerie,

I spoke with the ranger station in Stanley Idaho that is responsible for the area we will be hiking in. The female ranger I spoke with for over 30 minutes made it very clear they want you to follow leave no trace and to pack out all TP. She said the area is visited very infrequently and they are attempting to maintain its pristine nature.

Paul,

All fires are banned in the backcountry in the Sawtooth wilderness unless you use a fire pan or a fire blanket to build a fire on. I’m not carrying either so no fires for us.

 

[Roger Caffin]

I can understand about Mt Whitney. Here in Oz we can have thousands of  visitors a day to the summit of Mt Kosciusko: there is a metal boardwalk to the summit and they come by the tourist coach-load (quite seriously). The quad chairlift does a roaring trade in the summer season – you don’t think the tourists can walk all the way up, surely?

The metal boardwalk is to protect the environment. It is rather visible (!), but it is preferable to the erosion grooves that were getting deeper and deeper. It is slightly rusty, so it does not stand out too much. And it is bouncy too!

Toilet facilities for the thousands – ah yes. The authorities dug a large chamber into the side of the mountain and installed a number of toilets in there, underground. I think they ferry the containers of poo out either by truck overnight or by chopper. The front entrance is small and discreet. It may not be the most LNT solution, but it works well.

Pristine areas? Yeah, well, tell that to all the animals that live up there. But I will support the LNT ideas every time.

Cheers

 

[HeathP]

I keep forgetting that Australia has mountains (even though I have seen them in person). Here is the information for the area and fires aren’t allowed and they would definitely prefer if you pack out your TP.

http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/sawtooth/recarea/?recid=5969

 

 

[Ian]

My very favorite alternative to TP is snow.  Sounds horrible but it’s absolutely wonderful.   My hope is that we will be there early enough in the year that there will still be some snowfields.  We should at the very least find patches of snow and I’ll try to coordinate my BMs accordingly.

Thread drift…

Here’s my poop plan for the Sawtooths:

I’m still bringing TP for when time is of the essence and suitable natural materials aren’t readily available.  In my youth, I could schedule my BMs throughout the week.  Nowadays, once I get the urge, I’m on a mission to find a location and soon!  Unfortunately that means I have to find natural materials as I’m sprinting to the woods and/or hope that I find a suitable location that’s within arm’s reach of TP.

Where we’re going to be, there’s no need to pack out the feces itself so I’ll either bury it, or in rare circumstances, smear it when digging a hole isn’t feasible.

My TP kit is going to include a few things previously mentioned above.  Hopefully I won’t have to use it but I’m bringing the dog pooh bags to pack out any TP I may use.  I was planning on putting it into a freezer bag but I may steal a couple ideas from Valerie and use a mylar bag with some powdered bleach in it.

TP will be paper towels ripped into quarters.  I keep a small dropper bottle of Dr. B’s and hand sanitizer in my poop kit.  I realize a lot of people only do one or the other, but I prefer overkill.

Again, I hope to not use any of it and go 100% with natural materials.

 

[HeathP]

Hey Ian. Glad to see you joined the discussion. Rangers definitely said to bury poo and there was no need to wag bag it like Whitney. Just to pack out the TP. I still like the bidet option the best out of all of these.

[Link .]

THESE work well to put TP in also, I can send you some.

[HeathP]

I could use a few. PM me what you would charge for them + shipping,

[Link .]

No they are not mylar bags, and I figured you guys didn’t need that many that is why I made my offer, but if you prefer those then by all means purchase them

[HeathP]

See edit above. Sorry for the confusion.

[Author]

Posts