My first backpacking experience is coming up. It’s a Grand Canyon/Rim-to-Rim the first week of October. It will cover aout 22 miles over 3 days with 2 nights in the canyon. On the surface it doesn’t appear to me as being overly strenuous. Anyway, what’s considered appropriate when it comes to human waste? Bury it and leave it? Is there a specific type of toilet paper?
From here:
I belive the accepted method is to poop in a ziploc and pack it out.
Some areas of high use have their own rules, you should probably check the backcountry section of the park’s website.
Don’t underestimate the elevation change of a drop into the canyon and back.
Leave nothing behind please.
A small piece of sponge soaked in ammonia in your poop bag makes the whole thing much less oderous.
We did a rafting trip there several years ago - seven days on the river. (HIGHLY recommended, the trip of a lifetime). #1 went into the river and #2 went into these stainless steel “boxes”. I think they had one for each day on the raft and, of course, packed 'em all out. Peeing on the ground anywhere was absolutely prohibited. The guides said the pee would quickly/mostly evaporate but what was left would really stink. I think I encountered a spot where someone or something (Bighorn sheep?) had peed. It was bad. Unlike an upthread post, we were encouraged to bath right in the river. I don’t recall having to get special “green” soap but we may have. You haven’t lived until you taken a bath in 50 degree water with the air temp around 100. It makes you feel…alive!
I’ve backpacked all my adult life.
You need to break in your hiking boots and other gear before a major hike like the Grand Canyon.
Go out on a Saturday, day long hike. See how the pack feels on your back. Adjust the straps. You may need to repack some of the gear for better comfort.
I like to test out all my gear before a major hike. But, a day long hike is probably all the OP needs.
Are you staying at Phantom Ranch? If so, you might want to sign up for the breakfast or the dinner (or both). Expensive, but filling and delicious, and you don’t have to bring it and cook it.
I’ve done trips that required packing out ALL waste (including your own feces); my toilet was a pair of nested Hefty bags, you poop into that and your TP/baby wipes go in as well. Squeeze the air out, twist up the bag necks and store in a sealable plastic container - basically an appropriately-sized Tupperware (needless to say you probably don’t want to use that for any other purpose, ever, even after cleaning and sterilizing it).
You can also buy “WAG Bags” which are self-contained backcountry toilet kits, it’s a ziploc bag with some absorbent/odor killer inside to keep smells tolerable. REI and other outdoor stores sell them.
These solutions will work great for less restrictive situations where you just have to pack out your used TP - a pair of nested heavy-duty ziploc bags and some absorbent kitty litter & baking soda to spinkle inside perhaps? As the links mention, bury your waste deep - six to twelve inches, well away from water sources. Cover it and stick a rock on top.
Buy a good trowel for this, please! On one trip through the Sawtooth Mountains somebody broke our only trowel a few days in. Don’t get the $2 cheapy orange shovel, pay a few bucks extra for the super strong one (there’s also a folding stainless steel trowel for $15 or so).
You probably won’t need a lot of TP for 3 days/2 nights, one or two of those little travel packs is fine, no need for an actual roll of paper. I would also bring a small pack of baby wipes and a little thing of hand sanitizer and put it with your toilet kit. Former for your butt, latter for your hands that is.
I would actually put your full pack together and then put an extra 10 pounds of weight. I have never met a new backpacker who: 1. at the trailhead didn’t put more stuff in their pack like extra clothes and food and water than they had pre-packed and 2. didn’t overpack. That pack is going to be heavier than you expect once you hit the trail so trim it down now to get it to a manageable/good weight.
I presume you’ve found a good list on the web of what to pack and what to wear?
Fortunately, I’m going with three experienced backpackers.
There’s a book:
How to Shit in the Woods.
Hilarious & helpful.
Right.
Op, wear Smartwool. Smartwool socks, smartwool briefs, smartwool t-shirt. Bring more briefs and socks than you think. Bring less other clothes. Layers, not changes. Best talcum power you can buy.
Besides TP, bring along the handy travel size wet-wipes, the ones for your ass.
I used to carry one of those very sharp japanese made trowel/knives. Not only can it dig, it can serve as a utilty knife too.
Bring along: whistle, LED light, mirror, firestarter, water purification, moleskin. Have those duplicated so that they are with you at all times.
I would take probiotics before and after. Take a fiber supplement the day before you you take a big crap that morning you are leaving. Constipation is not fun. The probiotics will help prevent both that and diarreah.
This is your first trip and you don’t think taking the stairs to the top of a 500 story building overly strenuous? Based on you username, you’re training at sea-level. You might want to rethink your plan.
You’re hiking the Grand Canyon…not a garden path in a state park , and not even a mountainous path in Yellowstone.This is in a different category altogether.
This is a steep, steep hike. And, yes, it IS strenuous. (and the strenuous part is not only on the uphill…walking downhill seems like it should be easy, but it’s not. It is an “unnatural” way of walking, and your muscles will tell you so.
Three decades ago, when I was in good physical condition, and an experienced backpacker, I hiked the Canyon. (no overnights—just down and then back up , all in one day.Carrying only a small lightweight pack.
I knew it would be a challenge–but well within the abilities of someone of my age and physical condition. I was with a couple other people, who were in better shape than me. They found it tough. I found it exhausting.
Your toilet question has already been answered…but you should ask yourself another question now: " can I do this?"
chagogu is right—get yourself in shape! Find a 500 story building in your city, and walk the stairs to the top. If that’s a bit hard to find, then take a 10 story building, and do 50 round trips. Then do it again, with a 30 pound pack on your back.
The Natives have called the Grand Canyon an “inverted mountain,” and that’s exactly what it is. Except you’ll be doing the descent before the assent. And in some ways descents are the more difficult, especially as your feet are crammed into the toes of your shoes. Plus, the temperature rises as you descend. Talk with your more-experienced buddies about all the aspects of what’s in store for you. And bring Moleskin for your feet. Blisters are hell.
Make sure to well trim your toenails right before the trip. Being in boots where you feet are being shoved forward and therefore your toenails are being shoved into your toes is a bad thing…a very bad and painful thing.
OK. I haven’t been backpacking in a number of years, but this seems like good advice.
But as a matter of curiosity, why are boots necessary? Sounds like the thing I’d rather carry two pairs of trail runners than one pair of good boots. Light pack, lots of need to be flexible, and potential to get leather boots waterlogged. Yeah, snakebite or whatever, but sounds like a hassle to use full-on arctic tundra boots for a junket, no matter how physically demanding.
Good advice, sounds like to me, about making sure one is physically able for the journey.
Ray Jardine has some good sewing patterns for “sun-gloves” and stuff to cover exposed skin. I prefer that method rather than sunscreen, but I’ve seen the David Lean pictures about that guy in the desert too often to prefer it any other way.
Personally, I always hike in trail runners these days, but most of my hikes are daytrips. For the extra weight of an overnight pack many people prefer beefier boots. I’ve never been down in the canyon so I don’t know how rough the trails are.
Seconded
And if your feet hurt STOP right away and tend to it, since you are new stop and ask for help - this will ensure you will enjoy the trip.