Howdy,
So an interesting first post, but I am running a flat water trip on the Colorado River through Canyonlands National Park and it is required that all river trips pack out all human waste. Does anyone have any good ideas for a system to efficiently haul 5 days worth of 3 people’s waste with minimal smell and inconvenience? I’m leaning towards biffy/wag bags, but the cost is significant and from experience they become incredibly bulky once used. I’ve also looked into big wall style poop tubes or dry bags and kitty litter, but am concerned in the heat they may be too foul to handle.
Thanks!
Cooper
Poop tube?
Canyonlands regs require:
An approved toilet system: washable, reusable system equipped with RV dump fittings or commercial bag systems such as PETT, Wag Bag, or Rest StopII that render human waste non-hazardous. Bag systems must be stored in hard sided containers or waterproof bags labeled “Human Waste.”
I’ve found that plastic peanut butter jars work well. Those with a cardboard or foam insert in the lid are best. Screw off the lid at the store to see. The Rest Stop bags seem to be the only ones I can find, they are way bulky so I typically cut off and toss 1/2 the plastic. Outside of the park I use home made ones. For a landing strip, brown paper squares cut from grocery bags with some ironed in candle wax are good. Then toss on some kitty litter to de-stink and stuff it into the plastic jar.
For the San Juan, we also needed some sort of pooper carrier, so we went to the hardware store and made some from PVC (5" I think). One end had a glued cap and the other had a removable gasket cap that tightened with a wingnut. Cheap and no smell. Duct tape some webbing along the length of it to make it more riggable. We use stripped down restop bags inside of the tube.
The commercially available restop bags are spendy (for something you fill with shit), but work and can be stripped down a bit. I’ve also used this formula: double up paper lunch sacks with the tops rolled down, with a handful of kitty litter inside them, then put in zip locks.
Also, these look like they would work: http://www.imlaycanyongear.com/keepdry.php
Google “Big wall poop tube”. There are tons of great ideas, very common on multi day big walls climbs, add some kitty litter to help with the stench.
I’ve used wag bags in conjunction with the Sea to Summit trash dry sack and it worked pretty well for me. If I was to do it again I would use a different bag and then repackage the powder that comes with it.
I think it’s better to plan the disposal in a right manner. Not only the human waste, any sort of waste is really difficult to manage our own. So it’s better to rent a bin for the everyday waste along with that call up any of the junk removal team for removing it on time. I used to call up the junk removal personals of Red Bins http://www.redbins.ca/ for proper management.
I got the 4" pvc idea from the GC NPS. As one prior said it’s a glued end and a removable end with relief valve. The prior suggestion for the plastic container with red cap from Europe will not work as it says if it’s too full the lid will release. If it’s that fragile… now way.
My dilemma now is how long to make the pvc, 1 or 2 to balance on each side of the packraft? Not decided on what bag to use but I like all the diy suggestions especially the wax with liter was very innovative. Anyway, the relief valve lets you defuse the pressure buildup inside the pvc before you take the lid off. Can you picture the lid coming off with pressure… yikes!
Doug
A Nalgene.
I have to carry a human waste disposal system that is BLM approved on my packrafting trips that you need a permit for. The BLM say that for a 2-day trip a Nalgene is totally acceptable. That means I don’t have to carry anything extra (which is obviously important for the weight restrictions of packrafting). I can fill my ‘poop Nalgene’ with water so it’s actually practical and serves a purpose. Then I can show it to any BLM official to prove I’m in compliance.
I’ve never had to use it.
The ‘carry out your poop’ laws are a little bit over-the-top IMHO. People have been pooping in the woods for millennia. Unless you’re doing it right next to a water supply, or in a campsite and not burying it, I don’t see what the big deal is. For commercial trips, sure - you need something. But for a one or two person packrafting trip, I feel it’s more of a check-box to keep the BLM happy than anything.
However, I get it that you can’t have one law for one person and another set of laws for big groups.