[pct-l] Sierra Club groups

[Diane at Santa Barbara Hikes dot com]

One thing to keep in mind regarding Sierra Club outings is that many  
times they are open to the public. You end up leading whoever shows  
up. And you don't supervise them when they poop.

I lead SC hikes and I once had a woman come on a day hike. I wasn't  
even leading the hike. She proceeded to peel her hard-boiled egg into  
the seasonal pool of water below the waterfall where we lunched. I  
said something to her and she got upset. It's biodegradable, she  
exclaimed. She just refused to understand that it would not  
biodegrade in the next 15 minutes, and by then her waste would have  
time to pollute the water, attract non-native scavengers and be  
visible and disgusting to the next group of people to arrive after us.

She was angry, but she did clean most of it up. But let me tell you,  
it's really hard educating the idiotic public that shows up. I'd  
quit, but I keep doing it.

And while we're on the subject of pollution, why do any of us think  
our wild lands are somehow different than where we live? Why is it ok  
to waste our fresh drinking water by pooping in it? Why is it ok to  
send our crap downstream to the ocean? Composting toilets for everyone!