balzaccom
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Waiting for spring...
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Post by balzaccom on Sept 7, 2022 7:50:13 GMT -8
Since this topic isn't getting the attention I would like it to get in Trip Reports, I decided to reformat and repost here The Ten Essentials needs go to eleven, to include a ziplock bag. I am sick of seeing (and now cleaning up) other hikers' TP! Here's a more in-depth rant: www.backpackthesierra.com/post/the-ten-essentials-updated
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reuben
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Post by reuben on Sept 7, 2022 8:39:49 GMT -8
Given how many times the 10 essentials have been updated, we have to be up to at least 20 now, maybe 30.
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zeke
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Peekaboo slot 2023
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Post by zeke on Sept 7, 2022 9:17:39 GMT -8
It's not just in the US. I saw plenty of TP while on the West Highland Way in Scotland, 2016. None of it of the brown variety. Popular trails get abused. Some people just can't bring themselves to pack it out.
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Post by trinity on Sept 7, 2022 10:12:52 GMT -8
Nice rant, balzaccom, and I totally agree. I had a spare ziplock on my last trip, and put it to use when I found a pair of men's underwear hanging from a bush in the back country in the Winds. I figured they were left there for a reason, so I gingerly moved them into the ziplock and packed them out. I feel like I have been finding more trash in the back country of late. On an earlier trip in the South San Juan Wilderness I packed out a long stem lighter (who brings that into the back country?) and a broken umbrella. Sometimes people really piss me off...
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Post by Sleeping Bag Man! on Sept 7, 2022 11:12:37 GMT -8
I had a spare ziplock on my last trip, and put it to use when I found a pair of men's underwear hanging from a bush in the back country in the Winds. I figured they were left there for a reason, so I gingerly moved them into the ziplock and packed them out. Sainthoods have been granted for less than this!
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gabby
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Post by gabby on Sept 7, 2022 11:34:56 GMT -8
No one mentioned diapers!
Once, some years ago, when I went to a local state park on a Monday (Erock - it’s really popular on weekends), I picked up a full medical kit in a red case sitting on a rock near the trail, three diapers (which I stowed in a nearby garbage bin - go figure), Kleenex and a couple of plastic grocery bags. This was “pre-covid” - I probably wouldn’t touch a stray Kleenex now. Or a used bandaid. You gotta draw the line somewhere.
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ErnieW
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Post by ErnieW on Sept 7, 2022 12:53:54 GMT -8
Is it OK that a bandana is already my #11?
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Post by cweston on Sept 7, 2022 13:58:20 GMT -8
Yeah, that really grinds my gears.
It weighs almost nothing, and you carried it in, so why not carry it out?
99% of the time it's just been used after a pee--it's not even particularly gross or anything. If you (original TP user) don't have a bag, just stick it in the bottom of your pack or something.
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balzaccom
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Post by balzaccom on Sept 7, 2022 14:58:33 GMT -8
Is it OK that a bandana is already my #11? Only if you use it as a pee rag.
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ErnieW
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Post by ErnieW on Sept 7, 2022 15:26:03 GMT -8
Is it OK that a bandana is already my #11? Only if you use it as a pee rag. That's better than you asking me to use it as a toilet paper replacement.
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rebeccad
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Post by rebeccad on Sept 9, 2022 17:03:46 GMT -8
Only if you use it as a pee rag. That's better than you asking me to use it as a toilet paper replacement. I’ve seen a fair number of bandannas along trails in places that pretty clearly indicate that they have been used as TP and then left, along with the pile. I think we might need to start by suggesting that people bring some kleenex or TP on any hike! Then we can work on “dig a hole,” followed by “pack it out.” I’m thinking part of the problem is the germ-a-phobia that has been created in our society by the purveyors of unnecessary sanitization products.
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Post by trinity on Sept 9, 2022 17:20:18 GMT -8
I’ve seen a fair number of bandannas along trails in places that pretty clearly indicate that they have been used as TP and then left, along with the pile. Wow, that's horrible. I think we might need to start by suggesting that people bring some kleenex or TP on any hike! Then we can work on “dig a hole,” followed by “pack it out.” Though I haven't needed to use it yet, I just carry a Biffy Bag on all my dayhikes, as well as whenever I'm out fishing. Extremely packable and lightweight. I wish more folks would carry these into the back country. I’m thinking part of the problem is the germ-a-phobia that has been created in our society by the purveyors of unnecessary sanitization products. I agree. I know that I am often guilty of an irrational level of germ-a-phobia. COVID has definitely not helped any.
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rangewalker
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Post by rangewalker on Sept 9, 2022 18:59:23 GMT -8
I have a minor suggestion on containment of potentially hazardous material pickup; my favorite of late is doggy poo bags. My locality has dispensers stuck everywhere. I was repping off a few panels every time I pedaled by on the local pathways. Then my daughter gave a micro roll from Petco. A kitchen-size trash bag has been in my personal "14" essentials for years and has seen service day hike after day hike. I have the doggy bags in wit my tool kit, biffy kit, and on my bike bags.
Instant glove for moving roadkill from the highway to save some magpies, ravens, and eagles from car collisions.
I have not always been a good scout on multi-day trips hauling out trash from the wilderness. Twice in recent years, I did what I could and then went to local social media and posted a plea. In both instances, some young Vulcans packed in and completed the haul
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balzaccom
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Waiting for spring...
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Post by balzaccom on Sept 10, 2022 5:28:26 GMT -8
I eat a lot of granola for breakfast, and it comes in ziplock bags. I always carry a packet of them on the trail. They weigh nothing, and serve multiple uses!
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gabby
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Post by gabby on Sept 10, 2022 17:29:00 GMT -8
I eat a lot of granola for breakfast, and it comes in ziplock bags. I always carry a packet of them on the trail. They weigh nothing, and serve multiple uses! Ez-in, Ez-out!
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