Muir said the wilderness never comes back, but over time it does. There are so many steps in the direction of ‘less wilderness’, one little step the other way can’t hurt. So I hope the outhouses never return.
Still, certain bad behaviors could create a health hazard or a costly clean-up, and no pun intended but that’s serious business. Like it or not, rules and enforcement are a fact of life and necessary. A ranger on every corner doesn’t really work any more than a ranger on every corner of any city (think ‘Baghdad’). It’s more a matter of the authority to act, and then how you enforce it. There’s a lot of room for exceptions, like for an experienced climber who comes upon unexpected conditions while hanging on a wall - with explosive diarrhea, over a pool, who immediately calls it in over his / her Blackberry.
Group 1 is people who know how to act responsibly and why. A wag bag is arguably the classic best of bad solutions. It could be a bad hygienic choice in certain situations, and some people may have enough experience and knowledge to make that call. Some people know the ancient art of safe living absent indoor plumbing, some don’t. Some people spend a lot of their lives up there on a daily basis, such as the rangers and other locals…they don’t want a local health hazard or ecological damage and have a much greater stake in this than the rest of us. Some aren’t locals but are in the backcountry enough to know what it takes to protect mountain water. These people will always do the right thing.
Group 2 is people who want to act responsibly irrespective of a lack of knowledge or experience. If a sign says “Pooping In the Whitney Zone Will Kill All Eagles Everywhere” some folks could see that as a reason to act responsibly. Or, maybe it’s an appeal to pride, or greed (avoid the large fine). Or maybe a media buy reinforcing the ‘but mine doesn’t stink’ universal truth. You take a completely agnostic open-minded approach directed to find ways to make people fell happy pooping in a bag (the ‘wag bag experience’). Wag bag celebrity spokespeople, Miss Wag Bag Pride Parades --- there are endless possibilities. Hollywood could get a revenue source from it and maybe kick back a little more water. People can be convinced to do the right thing.
From there you drop to Group 3, the group that doesn’t want to act responsibly. Now comes other motivations and deterrents, such as ‘huge fines’. You can’t get all the perps, but occasionally you get enough money to support the Lone Pine Climbing Wall Fer Kidz, etc. In more extreme cases perhaps you Taser (preferably AFTER the perp has evacuated), or find some alternative lower power energy weapon, maybe in a risk-reduced blend with a smaller-than-average puff of tear gas, or all that, along with, including, but not limted to, or in any combination thereof wherefore, additional humane stuff. Capilene restraints, of course, if need be.
Then the only problem is if someone starts wondering “…hmm…pooping in the water supply…how would they have handled that in the Wild West?…”. Everything works out badly in those cases.
