[pct-l] TP or noTP issue

[Melanie Clarke]

Dear PCT,

This is awkward to discuss but very important.  We should not be leaving
toilet paper or anything behind except footprints.

I absolutely do not carry toilet paper on the trail.  After I pee, I just
pull up my underwear to absorb remaining drips.  I bathe and wash out my
underwear (shirt and socks) every single day so I don't accumulate filth.
Sweat also contains salts and urea so a few more drips are no big deal.  For
the poo, I carry a small stack of folded diaper wipes in a ziplock bag.  A
bag of about 20 clean wipes take up less room than toilet paper.  I use one
to wipe, fold, wipe again, fold wipe clean.  Then I place in a dirty Zip
Lock.  Since I seem to cross an area with trash service 7 days at the
longest, this isn't a lot of nasty garbage to carry around.  10 dirty (poo
smears folded in) diaper wipes in a zip lock bag does not take up a lot of
room.  This keeps me cleaner than toilet paper, using less room.  All
excrement should be sufficiently buried and dirt re-packed firmly with your
shoe.

Melanie

On Sat, Nov 20, 2010 at 9:31 AM, Edward Anderson <mendoridered at yahoo.com>wrote:

> Properly disposing of toilet paper remains an important issue.  And. of
> course,
> this issue will be discussed every year. and rightly so.
>
> Leaving no trace behind your behind  (pun intended) - is imperative!  There
> is
> nothing more disgusting than coming across TP blowing in the wind. There
> are two
> possible approaches to this problem - either you do a proper job of burying
> it
> along with your poop or you bag it up ( I use a small OpSak) and carry it
> out.
> The latter is certainly the best. Sometimes I decide to bury, but only if I
> can
> dig a proper and deep enough hole in organic soil where carbonic acid and
> bacteria will be present to help break it down. Peeing on it also helps to
> start
> the process. So, a lot depends on where you are - can you find the right
> conditions to bury.  During my ride I could only find acceptable conditions
> about half of the time.  So I packed it out often.  Since I don't go into
> towns
> unless the trail passes through them, one consideration for me is always
> where
> will I find a trash can?  Since I often drive my rig ahead and cache my
> resupplies near road crossings, I am always able to check this out when I
> cache.
> Also, try your best to bring a bio-degradable TP - found in places like
> Camping
> World - used by RV'ers.  This kind of TP is designed to break down more
> readily
> than most regular TP.
>
> MendoRider/Ed Anderson
>
>
>
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