Apparently under consideration for the increasingly John Muir Trail in the Sierra Nevada:
Bob, I couldn't agree more with you on the High Sierra Camps! These places have LONG since outlived their usefulness! I can't imagine a day with pit toilets all along the JMT! The first thing they should do to start minimizing damage is to ban all horse and mule traffic except those needed for any suppport for rangers or trail maintenance! They destroy much of the fine work trail crews do, and attract flies everywhere they've been! It's one of the main reasons I've steered mostly clear of the JMT corridor the last few years and doing off piste routes. It's amazing how wonderful it is to see the country parallel to the JMT, and one doesn't have to go too far to find solitude. I agree that LNT principles need to be taught, but from what I've seen of the weekend warrior hikers lately, there's a LONG way to go on the education front! I actually would be happy if they did away with Bear cans and easy resupply points to actually make it HARDER for people to do the JMT as they'd have to carry and store all of their food in an approved Bear can. The JMT should be a trail that rewards those that are willing to work for it a bit, just my 2 cents The easier they make it logistically, the more bodies you'll see on it.
Not only do they have toilets in the huts in NZ, many of their tracks have outhouses along the trail side.
Also the Wonderland trail has composting toilets at/ near designated campsites- must say- I was not seeing any of the “ white blooms” of wadded TP on any of those trails. Up in the Jefferson Wilderness and Wallowas in Oregon though- such a shame to see areas that people just leave it where they go- sad and disgusting
There are special use provisions that allow for certain land uses and development under the Wilderness Act, as long as it is deemed to be necessary by a Minimum Requirement Analysis. A congressional guidance document on the topic says: “Generally, we only place toilets in locations where reducing or dispersing visitor use has failed to alleviate a sanitation problem or prevent significant degradation of wilderness character and values”.
What do you think? Should there be pit toilets or porta potties along wilderness trails?
Thomas
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