They are talking about preserving of the natural ecosystem by creating more waste in the form of plastic bags that will need to be thrown in a landfill some day to preserve their crap for thousands of years. Last time I had to go in the woods, it decayed by the time I went out their again. Poop breaks down, plastic bags don't. Am I missing something here?

Conundrum Hot Springs are very far from anything. Also, it is a Wilderness Area. Our government has made it a law not to put porta-potties in Wilderness areas. Even if there was a porta-potty, if would be impossible to get a truck there and unload it.
To get to the trailhead, you drive far into the forest. Then, it is a nine mile trail to tree-line on a 14'er. Tree-line is above 11,000 feet. It is rocky. There is no soil to dig a poop hole unless you descend nearly 1000 feet. That isn't fun when it is dark and you are tired. Not fun when it is early morning and you want to poo before walking a half hour. THE BIGGEST THING THAT IS NOT FUN AT CONUNDRUM: THE INEVITABLE FINDING OF SOMEONE ELSE'S POOP.

Once you get up to the springs, it is a small area that is mostly a scree field with some campsites. People poop too close to the campsites because it is less fun to poop on scree fields.

AS FOR THE PATHOGEN THING: Pathogens transmit within the same species much easier than between species. Remember bird flu? It goes from bird to bird easily, but not bird to human so easily.
Human poop contains pathogens that make human sick very easily. Elk, Bear, marmot, and fish poop contains pathogens that make humans sick but more difficultly. The creek that flows out of Conundrum feeds into watersheds below and is highly contaminated with HUMAN pathogens.
Plus, as you are making the nine mile hike and going up 3000 feet, it is good to drink water. You need a water purifier, and around Conundrum, it better be a good one because you aren't just filtering out Giardia. You have to filter out human pathogens, too.

Conundrum is beautiful. Lots of people that go up there are very conscientious, but many more are not. I want to keep going up there and be able to sit in the fabulous water without worrying about fecal matter in the water or at my campsite. It is a special place. It is almost the only hotspring in Colorado that hasn't been turned into a commercial property.

The bags have enzymes and polymers in them that solidify the poop and contain the stink. They are made of mylar so they don't tear. You put the bags in another bag and strap it to the outside of your backpack. When you get off the dirt road, there is Aspen with plenty of trashcans.

I support digging a poop hole in many other places because it works and doesn't create plastic bags that clutter landfills. Anyone that cares about Conundrum will realize that the bag idea may have to be the only way for this particular case. It is done by raft trips on the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. It is done is some areas of the Rocky Mountain Nat'l Park and in California. I think it could be done for Conundrum if people care.
I have never pooped in a bag, but I will be trying it for this summer's Conundrum backpacking trip.

Pack it out!? Goodluck. They should continue to stress not going within 100 feet of a trail and in a hole no less then 10 inches deep. If properly done you'll never know it was there even if you slept on it.

plastic poop bags . why not just make every one carry a sturdy tupper ware dish with snap lock lid . if big enough they can be used several times . they are durable, puncture resistant,spill proof, fit easily in a pack, and best of all, but not so popular( WASHABLE) no land fill needed . stick that in your pack and tote it or better yet your dish washer and clean it. lmao

sign should read .
DUE TO A RECENT SURGE IN PEOPLES POOH PLOP SIGHTING
ONLY PEOPLE WITH PROPERLY PERMITTED POOH PLOP CONTAINMENT DEVICES SHALL BE PERMITTED TO PROCEED ON TO THESE PREMISES . PROPER CONTAINMENT DEVICES INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING but not limited to
1.PLASTIC BAGS ( ZIP LOCK OR TWIST TIE TYPE)
2.TUPPER WARE DISHES ( THE OLD ONES YOUR WIFE NO LONGER USES )
3. COFFEE CANS (BOTH TIN AND PLASTIC ARE PERMITTED SO LONG AS THEY HAVE A SECURE LID )
4. LASTLY ONES OWN HAT - PROVIDED IT IS ONE MADE OF ALL CLOTH ,NO MESH TYPES ALLOWED . AND THAT IT IS KEPT PULLED DOWN TIGHTLY AROUND SAID USERS EARS AFTER IT'S INITIAL USE

((((( THANK YOU AND ENJOY YOUR DAY IN THE WOODS FROM THE FOLKS AT THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION ))))). AND REMEMBER WHAT SMOKEY THE BEAR SAY'S ONLY YOU CAN PREVENT FOREST FIRES AND PEOPLE PLOPS

Seems to me, if it's such a problem, the right thing to do is to build some porta-potties along the trail. Human nature being what it is, almost no one is going to use the bags. Inevitably, they'll just end up being litter along the trail. Also, what happens when someone poops in one and it gets a hole? They're going to dig a hole and bury the bag. Or, worse yet, they're going to be a little pissed about the leaking poop bag in their backpack and just fling the thing into the brush.

All I gotta say is they better make some hella tough bags...

Depends on where you put em. The bears could get to them. If they put them in a responsible spot, then i have no problem with the decision.

Nate

Last time I checked it only took 30 seconds to dig a foot deep hole..

I will go for the hole... a bad seems a little too complicated for me.

A cat hole makes more sense. You can always wall several hundred feet off of a trail and do your thing.
Buried at the right depth, it will be gone is a short time. It just seems strange hiking around with a bag of crap in your backpack. I don't care if it is double or triple bagged, a hole can still be torn into the bag.

Gotta go with Chuckles on this one. We're not talking about way out where most of us hunt, but a busy hiking trail with thousands of visitors a year. If every one of those people dug a hole, the area would be ripped to shreds in no time... not to mention that, at some point, digging one hole would only expose someone else's prior visit... not a pleasant thought.

The bottom line issue is too many people. Short of limiting the number of people to a sustainable level, the other option is to make people responsible for their own crap (literally and figuratively). This is already in place in many wild areas, such as the Grand Canyon stretches of the Colorado River and California's Mt. Whitney. It is working there, and it can work in Colorado too.

For my own part, I avoid places with that kind of crowding in the first place.

Yeah we're talking about a fragile high altitude ecosystem miles from the trailhead. It's not a KOA. The springs are small, it's not a lake where people can spread out, it's a small thermal spring. The Grand Canyon is massive but when you are on the river there are not a whole lot of places to camp. If everyone left their waste it would be a wasteland in a hurry. It's not convenient or fun to pack waste but if you care about a unique experience not only for yourself but for others and future generations sometimes you make sacrifices.
I never left a campsite with my grandfather without leaving a pile of wood and kindling under a bark shingle roof for the next person who might show up in the dark or the rain or worse. The first time he did it I asked why and he said "Always think about the next person down the trail when you are in the wilderness." I still do the same when I camp. Those sort of ethics are seemingly in shorter supply these days.
Dont' get me wrong, I have used catholes many, many times but this is a special case.
If you ever get a chance to visit the Springs you will earn the experience on the hike in and hopefully get as sense of why it is worth a minor personal sacrifice to preserve for the future. It is worth the trip.

This is just more of the wacko environmetalist stupidity. Crap disintegrates. Plastic doesn't.

The comment submitted by Walkingwoman makes a well informed, and contientious case for using the bags. I hope the other boobs who also commented here read what she wrote and think about it. Her points are exactly right. If you are too lazy and self-centered to do the right thing, then do the rest of us a favor and stay off the trails.

Poo Bags? I don't know about that.

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