Mt. Whitney, the Privy on High is no More!

[Jasper]

This is not new; Rainier has been doing this for years. What is interesting is that it is in the New York Times and is the leading e-mailed article. I am not sure if this is an indication of a ground swell of interest in hiking or interest in bathroom humor.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/05/us/05whitney.html? em&ex=1189137600&en=d8929b7a693e3188&ei=5087%0A

 

[poison ivy]

That's funny... my editor just brought the NYT over to show me that story. He was just saying the New York Times seems to put a hiking-related story on the front page every few months and was wondering the same thing as you-- if that means there is a growth of interest in hiking. I said if my newspaper wants to follow suit with hiking related front page stories, I'm the girl for the job.

The wagbags aren't all that new to Mt. Whitney... though they have not been *required* in the past. I was there in 2005 and we were given wagbags along with the permits. The rangers asked us to use them rather than the privies.

- Ivy

 

[Jay H]

Mandatory when we were there in 2006. 3rd party Wag-bags and the privy and the solar privys at High Camp were closed.

I have an extra one from Whitney tacked to my bathroom wall as well as "wag-bags" from Rainier, Hood, and Shasta (Mt Shasta has the best one! so far )

Jay

 

[beverly]

Good article

It's nice to see that the reporter - Felicity Barringer - actually hiked to the top. There's a 7 minute video that goes along with the story - it's better than the article.
She talked to a lot of people on the trail that were positive about the requirement and a few that weren't.

 

[kmorgan]

It's nice to see that the reporter - Felicity Barringer - actually hiked to the top. There's a 7 minute video that goes along with the story - it's better than the article.
She talked to a lot of people on the trail that were positive about the requirement and a few that weren't.

Good story. Nice to see something other than another lost hiker/climber rescue being featured. Back in the fall they had a multi-page story on the 'gunks too.

And yes, it's nice to see a reporter actually going for the experience rather than being helicoptered up with a crew.

Kevin

 

[Pete_Hickey]

In early 2005 I was given a wag bag, and there was this sign.

http://newmud.comm.uottawa.ca/~pete/whit/mw1.jpg

 

[Kevin Rooney]

Actually, not only is the privy no more, it actually burned this spring. Someone said it was an inside job ... seriously - just a few charred boards last time I went by it.

 

[Snowflea]

Yep, I can add that to my list of firsts for the summer:

Packing out my poop on Mt. Whitney.

There is actually a sign on the trail titled "PACK OUT YOUR POOP," explaining the reasons, etc.

Yeah, it was a little weird, but one can understand why with all the people who climb the mountain.



.
www.runsuerun.blogspot.com

 

[Pete_Hickey]

.....the privy ..... burned this spring. Someone said it was an inside job ...

So it wasn't caused by someone eating Mexican food the night before? ..... "Gather up the usual suspects" One has to ask who are "The usual suspects" on a privy job....

 

[Kevin Rooney]

Pete -

They've actually had WAG bags for several years now but they were optional up until (I think) last year. If memory serves, the privy at Outpost Camp was still open, but the one at Trail Camp wasn't. Or vice versa. And then the word was you couldn't use the privy for anything privacy so bring the WAG bag in to do your business and ... if anyone is really intent on the history of privys on Whitney they can peruse the Whitney Portal BB.

What isn't at all clear is - what is people's responsibility if they enter the Whitney Zone from the PCT (John Muir Trail)? They're getting different answers from different rangers depending upon where they enter the PCT/JMT because of differing jurisdictions within the USFS and then some enter via the National Park system (Seqouia, or Yosemite, or Kings as well as others). And even within the organization, like the USFS, they don't talk with each. One time I asked the ranagers at the Mt Shasta ranger station why they didn't use the very sophisticated, commercial WAG bags that Whitney used (Shasta uses a simple brown paper lunch bag, a piece of large pager with a circle (X? - can't remember - it's usually dark) and a Ziplock (regular, not the freezer) with some clay kitty litter). They were curious about what Whitney did, explaining that each jurisdiction makes up their solution. Then, if you go to Rainier, you get a blue bag. Yup, just a plain, plastic bag that's blue. Oh, and a twist tie.

Anyway, lots of big mountains now require that your pack out what you packed in - everything, except for urine and who knows if that will change. Whitney has the best bags (have had for years, even though they've changed vendors once or twice). Since the WAG bags aren't always needed, I keep the unused Whitney ones so that if I go to Shasta, Rainier, Hood, etc then I use the superior system. And it doesn't hurt to pack one or two gallon freezer quality ziplock/glad bags along to further encase the cargo and prevent odors.

This is probably more that most people want to know, but ... if you climb these big hills, then Leave no Trace has an extended meaning.

 

[Jay H]

We (Tmax, me, Hikethe115, and a non-vftt friend) did Whitney via the JMT from Guitar lake and if I remember correctly, you could bury one's crap outside the Whitney national forest which is signed, once inside, you had to use the Wag bag, which I included a picture of above. They actually make a portable toilet but of course, we didn't use one of those, but you could use the small Wag bags with this portable toilet system for the ultimate backcountry crapping experience (tm).

Mt Shasta's one, as Kevin mentions has a paper with a bullseye on one side of it with markings like 10 being the bullseye and 9 being the first ring, 8, 7, etc... etc. No, we did not make it a competition of it and at Helen Lake on the standard avalanche gulch route, there was a big privy hole there dug into the snow for use...

Jay

 

[giggy]

Yep, I can add that to my list of firsts for the summer:

Packing out my poop on Mt. Whitney.

.
www.runsuerun.blogspot.com

yea, just imagine doing it on a 30 degree snow slope in the dark by headlamp - on Shasta. Quite the challenge to leave no trace -

and then have a water bottle whizzz by you!!

not mentioning names

I think Rainier still has privies at muir, the flats and camp sherman?

 

[Kevin Rooney]

I think Rainier still has privies at muir, the flats and camp sherman?

Yes, although haven't been there this year. The blue bags are for when you're not near one of these privies. Personally, if it isn't storming ... a blue bag is preferable to enduring the stench in the privy.

And the privy at Horse Camp (Shasta) - open on alternating dates. Don't forget to pack your calendar watch ...

 

[Snowflea]

What isn't at all clear is - what is people's responsibility if they enter the Whitney Zone from the PCT (John Muir Trail)?

I was told to bury the contents once outside the Whitney zone. (I went north on the JMT.)

For southbounders, there is a plastic tub containing WAG bags near Crabtree Meadows, i.e. the western Whitney zone boundary. Hikers are supposed to take one if they're headed into the zone.



.
www.runsuerun.blogspot.com

 

[erugs]

Last year Wildebeat had an interesting two-part podcast on "The Poop on Whitney" which told the whys and hows of the new system. I was surprised last month when getting a permit for two nights on Rainier's Wonderland Trail that I wasn't issued a bag, as a lot of the portion of trail I was on was quite exposed. Earlier this summer Brian and I climbed the Grand Teton with Exum Guides and they dispensed poop bags with kitty litter for us to use and carry out. At their Saddle camp, they have an enclosed area with two toilet seats. While there is no hole for the poo to go into (you put your poo bag under the toilet seat) you can "go" there in relative comfort and privacy.

 

[Kevin Rooney]

I was told to bury the contents once outside the Whitney zone. (I went north on the JMT.)

For southbounders, there is a plastic tub containing WAG bags near Crabtree Meadows, i.e. the western Whitney zone boundary. Hikers are supposed to take one if they're headed into the zone.
.
www.runsuerun.blogspot.com

Yeah, I don't know why it's so confusing either, but the rangers are giving out conflicting info depending upon the jurisdiction/department they work for.

Part of the problem may be that most of the rangers/rangerettes are college students, and may have just arrived to the area. For example - I was at the Lone Pine Visitor Center in early June getting a walk-in permit, and the couple in front of me (German tourists) asked the ranger where the nearest motel was (it's about 1 mile north of the VC). He just smiled, shook his head and say "I'm sorry, I just got here from Arizona 2 days ago myself - you'll have to ask someone else".

I've found that even when you live in the Sierra, there's such a mass of regulations about what can be done where, what mountain lakes you can keep a fish in and what ones you can't, whether crossing pass X violates the closure of Mt Williamson during bighorn sheep season ... the list of regs is bewildering. No wonder the fine points of WAG bags, a delicate topic at best, isn't uniformly understood.

 

[Rik]

I picked up my permit in Lone Pine on Thursday and climbed Whitney on Friday. The ranger that I spoke with was very knowledgable and addressed the WAG bags and regulations first thing and very clearly. I didn't see any privies from the portal to the summit (we stayed at trail camp).

 

[Jay H]

Trail camp is the last designated campsite from the Portal side before the summit, no? When we went there, we passed the solar privies that were there but closed, this was in 2006. Have they been removed? They looked like they were almost brand new when we were there...

Jay

 

[Rik]

Trail camp is the last designated campsite from the Portal side before the summit, no? When we went there, we passed the solar privies that were there but closed, this was in 2006. Have they been removed? They looked like they were almost brand new when we were there...

Jay

They are gone. The ranger told us they were making weekly helicopter flights to keep them empty when they were in operation.

 

[dr_wu002]

What would be cool is if where the privy used to be they installed little seats that you could secure your Wag Bag to for use. That way you could sit in comfort, especially if you wanted to read the paper or something. Then you just pack out your Wag Bag.

-Dr. Wu