(So I chose this topic first…?)
The area around Mount Whitney gets so much hiker traffic that it could not withstand the usual human solid waste disposal method of burying 6 inches deep. There would be trenches everywhere and up in the higher elevations the number of rocks make digging a trench almost impossible. So the authorities require that you carry and use a WAG (Waste Alleviation and Gelling) bag. After use, the contents are double bagged and carried with you until you leave the Whitney area.
Here’s the outside packaging of mine before I used it. Notice that the handy chair shown in the picture doesn’t come with it. The actual bag inside is much larger — about like a kitchen garbage bag.
The bag does have chemicals inside that reduce odor, but it still seemed kind of yucky to be carrying it around. There are lots of cheaters, I’m sure, but the park service reports that they collect over 3 tons of human waste every year at the WAG bag disposal stations, so they certainly get used. I guess the cute name helps alleviate some of the yuck factor.
5 responses so far ↓
1 Donna // Aug 15, 2013 at 2:50 pm
I need one of those for when I take Hanna for her walks!
Seems like this WAG bag would be much more pleasant to use the first time than on subsequent times. Not really something you want to open up and experience again and again.
2 Donna // Aug 16, 2013 at 5:47 pm
I just realized my first comment might be misconstrued. I could use a WAG bag on Hanna’s walks for HANNA’S poop, not mine! heh, heh..
3 Donna // Aug 16, 2013 at 5:49 pm
Oh no, my last comment might be misconstrued. Let me make this perfectly clear! I don’t poop on Hanna’s walks. But Hanna does. Over and out.
4 Daryl // Aug 16, 2013 at 8:39 pm
Donna, you sure seem obsessed about the whole solid waste elimination subject. Does this indicate that you are stuck in some infant Freudian stage?
5 Donna // Aug 17, 2013 at 11:14 pm
Not stuck, but probably heading back into it someday. 😉
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