[pct-l] Whitney Scoop

[dude at fastmail.ca (dude)]

> The increasing number of hiker on Mt. Whitney has caused another
> mountain "Human Waste" The Forest Service has proposed an
> alternative "Pack it out." The existing nonproductive Solar System
> Toilets will be yanked out. 

Its about time they started doing this.  they have been doing this on 
Shasta for at least 5 or 6 years now.  I think its great.  It not 
only will cut down waste on the mountain, it will also probably 
reduce the number of people willing to climb whitney because they are 
disgusted by the thought of carrying out their own feces.

They should think of dozens of things that all but the true outdoors-
lover would be bothered by, so that they reduce the amount of traffic 
up there.  One thing I'd do is institute some sort of fitness 
requirement.  I can't think of any "PC" way to implement such a 
requirement, but its rediculous to give a permit to some guy who is 
easily 100+ lbs overweight and has absolutely NO hope of reaching the 
summit, when there are 100's of fit and healthy people who are dying 
for a permit and have been applying for years with no luck.

Of course, this will never happen and I am only half-way serious, but 
the huge quantity of absolute bafoons on Whitney is astounding.  
Seriously, its like the Grizwalds x 200.  They all show up with their 
kids who have never been away from the playstation for longer that it 
takes to go to the fridge, and their "expert" brother-in-law who 
thinks he knows everything about hiking/climbing because he 
read "Into Thin Air" sixteen times.

If you want my full rant on this topic, I posted it back in September 
and you can find it here:
http://www.backcountry.net/arch/pct/0309/msg00110.html


peace,
dude
http://www.dudedesign.com

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