Bags of poop beside the trail?

Dogs, dogs and even some cats
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JE242
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Re: Bags of poop beside the trail?

Post by JE242 »

+1 There is no poop fairy!
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Re: Bags of poop beside the trail?

Post by Magnum420 »

As a non dog owner, I'd rather see the poop than the bags
I completely agree!! I love dogs but The "poop bag" problem is getting pretty bad. I counted 20+ bags within the first mile of a popular trail up here, some had been tied to trees last summer.
Have you ever considered that, maybe chipping in to keep our trails clean?.... Also, how do you know the owners did not pick it up?
There's a big difference between picking up a water bottle and picking up and packing out 20+ bags of poo... "how do you know the owners did not pick it up?" I hike almost every day and see the same bags all summer.
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Re: Bags of poop beside the trail?

Post by globreal »

Cruiser wrote:What is the deal with the bags of poop along the sides of popular trails? Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful that folks are scooping the poop. But what's to stop them from double bagging it and then tucking it into their pack?

I hate to be a winer. But really, if you're going to accept the responsibility of taking your hound into the wilderness then can't you also accept the fact that other people don't want to see bags of $h1t along the trail?
My hope would be that a person who bagged the poop is doing an out-and-back hike and they plan to pick it up when they are retracing their steps.

However for me, whenever I see trash on the trail, I just pick it up....even poop bags. To me it's not a big deal.

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Re: Bags of poop beside the trail?

Post by Wildernessjane »

cheeseburglar wrote:I can't believe someone would bag dog poop in the woods.
My understanding is that it decomposes, turns into topsoil, and plants grow.
Why do you bag and carry out your dog poop? Do you hate plants?
Tigerbear wrote:I'll pick up my dog poop in the woods, when cows and horses carry out their own also :idea:
Actually, dog poop contains the same bacteria as human waste and adds an excessive amount of nitrogen into the soil, which encourages weeds. Horse manure contains mainly hay and grasses and will therefore decompose quicker than dog poop and also act as fertilizer. In contrast, there is a lot of *crap* in dog food that isn't going to break down so easily (excuse the pun). Also, dog poop contains diseases and parasites that may put humans and wild animals at risk (not good for our water sources).

http://www.gardeninggonewild.com/?p=2973" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Last edited by Wildernessjane on Sun Jul 07, 2013 10:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Bags of poop beside the trail?

Post by RyGuy »

Magnum420 wrote:
As a non dog owner, I'd rather see the poop than the bags
I completely agree!! I love dogs but The "poop bag" problem is getting pretty bad. I counted 20+ bags within the first mile of a popular trail up here, some had been tied to trees last summer.
Have you ever considered that, maybe chipping in to keep our trails clean?.... Also, how do you know the owners did not pick it up?
There's a big difference between picking up a water bottle and picking up and packing out 20+ bags of poo... "how do you know the owners did not pick it up?" I hike almost every day and see the same bags all summer.
I think the sad reality of this post is that it's evident that more folks out there are of the mindset that they can just make a mess or leave things and others will take care of it for them. Much like the tourists at Disneyland. I went to university near Disneyland, and was there quite regularly. People would just leave things sitting around that they no longer needed or wanted. Reason being was that there was an army of Disneyland cast members that were always on patrol picking things up. Heck, they were so efficient that often you'd set a drink bottle down on a rail while in line, and you'd turn around 2 minutes later and it was gone.
globreal wrote:
My hope would be that a person who bagged the poop is doing an out-and-back hike and they plan to pick it up when they are retracing their steps.

However for me, whenever I see trash on the trail, I just pick it up....even poop bags. To me it's not a big deal.

I was once taugh a valuable life-lesson by a former employer: if you see a problem, you now own it. Whenever possible, I try to live my life that way.
As globreal pointed out, we should step up and take the high road and do our part to protect the mountains we all love so much. Yes, part of me is pretty pissed off that there are such lazy, thoughtless people out there. But that doesn't mean we just let the problem persist when we can easily be part of the solution. Heck, I typically carry 2 gallon sized zip lock freezer bags in my pack just for such issues.
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Re: Bags of poop beside the trail?

Post by cheeseburglar »

Wildernessjane wrote:
cheeseburglar wrote:I can't believe someone would bag dog poop in the woods.
My understanding is that it decomposes, turns into topsoil, and plants grow.
Why do you bag and carry out your dog poop? Do you hate plants?
Tigerbear wrote:I'll pick up my dog poop in the woods, when cows and horses carry out their own also :idea:
Actually, dog poop contains the same bacteria as human waste and adds an excessive amount of nitrogen into the soil, which encourages weeds. Horse manure contains mainly hay and grasses and will therefore decompose quicker than dog poop and also act as fertilizer. In contrast, there is a lot of *crap* in dog food that isn't going to break down so easily (excuse the pun). Also, dog poop contains diseases and parasites that may put humans and wild animals at risk (not good for our water sources).

http://www.gardeninggonewild.com/?p=2973" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Interesting how you state these "facts", then use a blog as your reference.
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Re: Bags of poop beside the trail?

Post by SDflatlander »

Flick it with a stick, leave it...etc? Educate - http://tchester.org/srp/lists/dogs.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Re: Bags of poop beside the trail?

Post by Hungry Jack »

If you are going to bother to bag it, what is the point of just leaving it there?

Interesting case study in human behavior: We landscaped a special "dog area" in the parkway in front of our community green space (where dogs are prohibited for liability reasons). It is a very attractive space with a curved iron fence, pea gravel, and an ornamental tree centered in the space. It looks really nice.

Before the landscaping, the area was a weedy, sandy patch. Rarely a day went by without a dog "present." Now that the area is landscaped (and we provide a bag dispenser), there has not been a dog present in over 3 weeks.
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Re: Bags of poop beside the trail?

Post by Cthulhu 2008 »

Hmm... I always run by these "mystery bags" on the side of the trail and often pry them open hoping to find something of value or interest. I think I'll wash my hands now.
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Re: Bags of poop beside the trail?

Post by CorduroyCalves »

Dex wrote:Why don't they just push the poop off the trail with a stick or something.

If they are going to carry out poop, whey not pick up all the deer and other animal poop?
Well, deer live in the wilderness and domestic dogs don't.

I'm with globreal in that I pick up trash that less courteous people leave, rather than ignoring it. No, I'm not applying for sainthood, but the effort to pick up trash isn't really much more than the effort to ignore it.
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Re: Bags of poop beside the trail?

Post by screeman57 »

Maybe they are marking the route with bright blue poo bags so they can find their way back? \:D/
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Re: Bags of poop beside the trail?

Post by Jmbiller »

Its the new alternative to survey flagging!

I actually bag my dogs poop and she carries it around in her backpack and it gets tossed when i get home. I used to not bag her poop and actually never bagged the poop of my previous dog. But some NFS employees asked me to one time to bag her poop, and ive been doing it since. Plus its a habit, you do it when walking everywhere else why not when hiking.

I dont understand the leaving it by the trail though, i think people do that with the intention of picking it up on the way back, but on the way back just walk by it and leave it because they don't want to be bothered or think its gross carrying poop in their backpacks and they know a good person (probably a 14ers.com member) who actually loves the outdoors will pick it up for them.
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