Beesides, I want this query addressed:
But beyond that -- and here dim memories of previous threads on this subject
begin to surface -- is why this subject gets so emotionally charged? There
seems to be some weird fastidiousness when crapping into a bag that I don't
really understand.
I think there are several issues going on that causes so much "participation".
1. Nowhere else are people required to pack up their poop, and carry it in a backpack. When backpacking, that pack carries food, shelter and bedding. Nobody wants excrement mixed with that, and the idea that it is included in the pack -- well, it is disgusting to even me.
Compare that to Colorado River raft trips. Even there, people's toilet waste is carried but can be physically separated, even on a separate raft, from their food.
2. As seen in last year's posts in this discussion, the toilets were removed from the Whitney area and the wag bag plan implemented without full consideration of the other options available. With the toilets in place, they might have been upgraded to an improved and viable system, but instead, they were literally burned down. Now, as George has written, "Getting anything built within a designated wilderness would be a huge struggle"
