By Nicole Blanchard, Idaho Statesman Via The Associated Press
BOISE, Idaho — Some litter is obvious — plastic bottles, beer cans and cigarette butts stick out like sore thumbs on the side of a trail.
But what about the other stuff? The biodegradable stuff? After all, dog poop is natural, right?
Nope.
“Can something be biodegradable and harmful to the environment? Possibly,” Evan Worthington, a Boise Bureau of Land Management wilderness ranger, told the . “We really lean on these words, ‘biodegradable’ and ‘natural.’ A Buick is biodegradable.”
Worthington has been an ambassador for the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics for more than 10 years. Leave No Trace is an organization focused on educating people on how to responsibly enjoy nature — or, as Worthington calls it, “table manners for the outdoors.”
What about food?
Don’t toss your table scraps by the trailside, no matter how innocuous they might seem.
“If you wouldn’t find it in that area normally, it doesn’t belong on the ground,” Worthington said in an interview.
Those cigarette butts, bottles and wrappers can take five years or more to finally decompose. And even “healthy” food scraps can stick around for a while. Orange and banana peels can take up to two years to fully decompose, Leave No Trace reports.
A lot of Worthington’s Leave No Trace talks touch on litter and similar beginner topics, but he’s also an expert in what he calls “the scoop on poop” — and not just animal poop, but human waste of all kinds.
Worthington, with Idaho Trails Association board member Pam Bond, sometimes host feces-focused talks for outdoor recreationists. Bond began giving general talks on Leave No Trace’s Seven Principles and quickly found the topic people wanted to know most about was waste.
Worthington said he hopes the talks address some of the embarrassment or the “yuck” factor that can surround the topic.
“This is a common denominator between us, and itap not something to be ashamed of, itap not something to panic about,” Worthington said.
For the most part, things are pretty straightforward.
Pee
“Nothing earthshattering has happened to how you pee in the woods,” Bond said.
Itap a rule of thumb to urinate at least 200 feet from a water source — unless you’re rafting or kayaking, in which case itap a good idea to pee in the water. Urine is mostly water, so it will dilute in large bodies of water. Plus, this avoids creating smelly spots alongside rivers, where it may not be possible to move 200 feet from the water easily.
“The biggest thing is hygiene is so important,” Bond said.
That goes for all aspects of bodily functions.
“Itap not that big a deal to carry some wipes, hand sanitizer and a baggie to pack wipes out,” Worthington said. “You don’t want to find yourself with just dirt and cheatgrass.”
Poop
In some cases, itap acceptable to dig a “cathole,” a small pit 6 to 8 inches deep and at least 200 feet from water sources. In other instances, the best practice is to pack out your own poo, as well as dog waste and toilet paper.
“We carry diseases,” Bond said. “This is my biggest pet peeve. Itap not that gross.”
Periods
Bond and Worthington also broach the topic of handling menstruation on multi-day trips. Essentially, the same rules apply. Pack wipes, sanitizer or latex gloves to keep things clean. Plan to pack out used tampons or pads, dig catholes to dispose of blood from reusable menstrual cups, and boil cups to keep them clean.
“Itap not just women who need to know these things,” Bond said. “If you’re a man and you have daughters and you want to take them hiking, you need to know this.”
And no, Bond said, bears are not attracted to women who are menstruating.
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