As we're all aware, Leave No Trace emphasizes a Pack it in, Pack it out mentality - and this includes dog waste.
From the Frontcountry Ethics Reference Card:
Trash Your Trash and Pick Up Poop.
- Use a plastic bag to pack out your pet's poop to a garbage can.
While this task can be come increasingly stinky on long (and multi-day) hikes, I've discovered
a great compromise!
Meet my backpacking Lab, Ollie:
Ollie on top of Sunshine Peak, her first 14er (July, 2008).
Instead of (me) lugging around days worth of her less-than-pleasant smelling deposits, she
carries it herself in her own pack!
There are several great manufacturers making dog-specific packs. Just make sure to balance
the load, and keep a light load to maximize the fun factor for your pooch. For example, Ollie
just carries her food and waste (in separate air-tight containers, of course).
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4 comments:
I hope this will catch on in my local parklands. Here, many dog handlers do gather their dogs' poop in plastic bags ... but then leave the filled bags at trailside, presumably for "someone else" or "the rangers" to pick up.
What a great idea!!! If only I had a dog instead of 3 cats. :)
This is a great idea! LNT principles are so important, but carrying around smelly bags of your pet in addition to your own makes people less inclined to do it. Great tip for making a nice compromise!
I went to a lecture at my local REI this week about climbing Mt. Whitney and why Wag Bags are required... while they're a hassle for each of us, together we are saving our heavily used hiking trails.
Keep up the good work Leave No Trace!
Always glad to see dog owners being responsible and picking up after their pets. Keeping them in a backpack and having the dog carry it around is actually a really neat idea.
Hopefully, though, you guys are all using biodegradable plastic bags. Those grocery store plastic bags are EXTREMELY detrimental to the environment.
Hiking Lady- do the people at REI specify what type of bags to use, I would be really interested to know about that.
I wrote a blog post about the dangers of plastics and their popularity with dog owners (they are extremely convenient). If you are interested please check it out: http://www.rascodog.com/scoop/grocery-store-bags-being-eliminated/
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