[pct-l] Cat Holes a la Colin Fletcher, 1968 in The Complete Walker

[charliethorpe@att.net (Charlie Thorpe)]

on 12/4/01 1:14 AM, Ronald Moak at ronm@fallingwater.com wrote:

> ...Several years ago when Charlie posted his original LNT discussion, I posted
> a long diatribe about the Laws of Unintentional Consequences. It's in the
> AT-L archives if anyone is interested. So I won't repost it here...

Hello ron -

Whaddya mean "diatribe"...it was good stuff!  I hope that you noticed that
some of it later showed up in other places...<g>
 
> ...adding fluid to the poop and TP help breaks up the TP. The TP acts as a
> sponge absorbing the fluid and releasing it gradually. Mixing the mess
> together incorporates the TP and poop so that the moisture trapped by the TP
> is gradually released to microorganism already present...

Interesting observation...I had not thought of that.  My wife, the
composter, waters her compost piles when it doesn't rain enough to suit her.

> ...On my trip last summer, I tried to pay
> attention to the number of times I've found TP along the PCT. Over the
> entire summer, I saw used TP on less than 6 occasions....

Wow...a VERY good example of how pristine the PCT can be in many locations.
I wish the same were true of the AT.  My son and I joked that we didn't need
a map to tell when we were coming to one of the many AT road crossings - we
could always tell by the presence of the little TP blooms (usually KFC
napkins...) just down the trail and around the corner from the road.

Trace No Leaves,

- Charlie