Trash in the Backcountry

[Rogue Bay]

If I had a dollar for every Mylar balloon… sigh

It kills me how seemingly every television show has a family releasing Mylar balloons to commemorate a loved one. I get it, but all those balloons end up somewhere, and none of those locations are good.

 

[Itsabadhabit]

Pretty sad when people have to come up with ideas on how to haul some slobs trash out of the bc instead of being able to focus on their own agenda.

 

[dlee56]

I like to use the mylar balloons I find to float my trash haul up and out to the next guy. Pay it forward

Jokes aside I like the sound of a dump pouch, I might have to sew myself some prototypes for my Kifaru

 

[chizelhead]

Clam bag? They're for razor clams. At least the design looks like it may work.

 

[MtnRedy27]

Thanks for all the trash you have taken the time to clean up as you been out there. I try to do the same on my trips to the back country. A little can go a long ways.

 

[MTN Humper]

Dang I wish I would have thought of this! No one flames you for shed hunting as long as you say you’re picking up trash too! That’s genius!

 

[sz28]

Sounds like a dump pouch or two would be the solution. Are you generally finding this trash a distance away from any civilization? Or on established trails, or primitive trails? I hardly ever run into much trash in the backcountry I'm in, but also the trails I normally use aren't very recreational.

 

[flyfisher117]

Definitely a dump pouch. Everyone and their dog makes ones. Some are small and some are giant.

Wife’s family did a balloon release in “remembrance” of her uncle that passed. They were a little unhappy that I didn’t release one but I was sticking to my guns on it being a waste of helium and it’s just sending trash into the wilderness that I will end up picking up in a year or two when I find it.

 

[displacedtexan]

Either a Fishpond PIO Pod, or a rock climbing chalk bag.

 

[HairyScandinavian]

Might be able to use a bird hunting vest with the big open pocket in the back also, bonus you can use it for actually bird hunting.

There's also a flounder gigging rig that sounds similar to what some of the recommendations are. Long sharp pole with a string on it but it's something more to carry.

Blows my mind some dude can pack a full water bottle miles in but apparently the empty plastic is too heavy to bring it out.

 

[go_deep]

I use my 6ish thousand cubic inch bag and pack it full.
Couple areas I hike have old encampments where the Roosevelt tree planters worked, piles and piles of cans, huge holes dig in the ground the size of cars filled with old steel cans.

 

[Trout&Buck]

How about one of these?

Trash Can Camp Accessory | Big Agnes

Pack it in, and pack it out with the Big Agnes Trash Can. Multiple sizes to pack out waste and keep your gear funk-free. Shop today at bigagnes.com

www.bigagnes.com

 

[def90]

Yeah, dump puch all the way. I use them on my toolbelt at work (low voltage work) especially when I'm plating out a building. Just pull the wall plate out of the wrapper and dump the wrapper in to the pouch, empty it at the end of the day.

Mine is a 5.11, rolls up in to a small pouch when not needed.

Flex Drop Pouch 2.0

Flex Drop Pouch 2.0

www.511tactical.com

 

[JustABritCrazy]

Busch Light is the brand most of the road hunters use in the area I hunt. While waiting to start a deer drive I decided to clean up the cans lying along the road. 3 miles in from the hard road. Picked up like two dozen cans in about a hundred yards. Apparently you get about 3 miles to a can.

 

[FunkEyeMissed]

I started shed hunting this year and put a lot of miles in my boots. I’ve been disappointed to find tons of trash deep in mountains and have been picking it up as I go and putting it in my pack. It is a bit of a hassle to take my pack fully off as I have a camera attached I bring with me and when I have sheds strapped to it I have to take them off and put them back on every time I come across a can, balloon, etc. to hike out.

I was wondering if anyone has any recommendations for hip belt attachments that have a larger carrying capacity that I could stow maybe 2-3 cans, plastic, balloons, etc. so I am not having to take my pack off and reassemble every time I pick up a piece of trash. I run a Stone Glacier pack and have thought about getting the larger accessory belt pouch, but feel it still wouldn’t be big enough to carry lots of trash. Just looking for something big enough to carry a chunk of trash so when I come across the next shed to strap to the pack, I can empty out the trash pouch as well into my lid or something then refill the belt pouch and not have to take my pack off as frequently.

Thanks!

Check out the roll up dump pouches on Amazon. Maxpedition looks like they have a decent one for $25 that I might grab!

 

[Poser]

Unfortunately, I tend to find the most trash in what are obviously hunting camps and glassing spots.
I have a summer glassing spot I hit from time to time. Someone built a stone windbreak years ago -its obviously a glassing location with no trails anywhere close and no reason for anyone else to visit this particular spot. Every time I go, I end up packing out multiple Mountain House packages that have been left there over the Winter. Presumably, there is a hunter or hunting party who hits this spot every Fall and leaves their MH packages. WTF? Who actually does that in the year 2025?

 

[JeffRaines]

Unfortunately, I tend to find the most trash in what are obviously hunting camps and glassing spots.
I have a summer glassing spot I hit from time to time. Someone built a stone windbreak years ago -its obviously a glassing location with no trails anywhere close and no reason for anyone else to visit this particular spot. Every time I go, I end up packing out multiple Mountain House packages that have been left there over the Winter. Presumably, there is a hunter or hunting party who hits this spot every Fall and leaves their MH packages. WTF? Who actually does that in the year 2025?

Selfish assholes that want to ruin it for everyone else, that's who. The same types that drag beers miles into the wilderness and leave the empties, or the types that don't dig a hole before they go and leave their shit and paper for someone else to find or step in.

I'd like to think no one on here is this way, but if you are - DO BETTER.

 

[Nickofthewoods]

Unfortunately, I tend to find the most trash in what are obviously hunting camps and glassing spots.
I have a summer glassing spot I hit from time to time. Someone built a stone windbreak years ago -its obviously a glassing location with no trails anywhere close and no reason for anyone else to visit this particular spot. Every time I go, I end up packing out multiple Mountain House packages that have been left there over the Winter. Presumably, there is a hunter or hunting party who hits this spot every Fall and leaves their MH packages. WTF? Who actually does that in the year 2025?

A few years ago I backpacked through the Weminuche for a week starting the day after 1st rifle season. There were so many trashy hunter campsites it was unreal. Most were from horse camps but I found a few backpack hunter camps that also left all their mountain house packages and butane cans behind. What I don't understand is why the horse packers left so much trash. Its not even like they have to carry it out on their own back, the horse does! All they literally have to do is load it back into the same bags they brought it in with. It's beyond lazy.

 

[Poser]

A few years ago I backpacked through the Weminuche for a week starting the day after 1st rifle season. There were so many trashy hunter campsites it was unreal. Most were from horse camps but I found a few backpack hunter camps that also left all their mountain house packages and butane cans behind. What I don't understand is why the horse packers left so much trash. Its not even like they have to carry it out on their own back, the horse does! All they literally have to do is load it back into the same bags they brought it in with. It's beyond lazy.

That's pathetic. I think there's just some sampling of the population who has a "playground" mentality when it comes using Western lands for vacation. I see it on display frequently in the summer amongst ORV user groups: SxSs doing donuts on the tundra or some POS driving his Jeep into an alpine lake to get a picture of it parked in a lake. Probably the same mentality with leaving trash.

 

[Nickofthewoods]

Driving into a lake for a photo op? That's a new one. There was a sxs I saw parked at a trailhead one time and the grill and grillguard were packed full of wildflowers. To achieve that they had to have been driving like 45mph through a pristine mountain meadow somewhere.