[at-l] HIKE-USA supported hikes and maildrops...

[Tim.Hewitt@fairchildsemi.com (Tim Hewitt)]

on 2/9/01 5:22 PM, Rich Bowyer at halflifelost6@hotmail.com wrote:

>> Perfectly acceptable to soak in a cold tub on the trail, just don't use
>> soap in the stream please.
> 
> Actually I used a biodegradable liquid soap.  I felt better using it but
> still was not 100% sure what, if anything, I was doing.  Environmentaly
> speaking.

(stepping up on soap box - metaphorically speaking)

Therein lies the problem. Biodegradable soaps do NOT belong in the
watershed. They are simply made of stuff that is friendlier than
non-biodegradable soaps. Biodegradable soaps, AT BEST, add to the nutrients
in the water source and cause algae blooms and oxygen degradation.

They are NOT to be used within 100 feet of a water source. This is not well
communicated by the manufacturers of such soaps, and it's the job of each of
us to teach others in the woods.

I stopped a woman at a spring in New Hampshire in 1999 who was washing her
hair with a biodegradable soap right in the spring! I scooped up a cup full
of her rinse water and handed to her, asking her to drink it. She laughed at
me and said "I wouldn't drink that, it's full of soap!"

"Exactly," said I, and helped her haul water off into the woods to rinse her
lovely locks.

She too thought biodegradable meant OK to dump into the water source until
she thought about it a bit more.

Ever used water downstream from a Crest user brushing and rinsing at the
waters edge for mac and cheese? It makes Liptons taste like mint...

Don't treat the rivers, streams and springs like the drain in your kitchen
or bathroom. There is no garbage disposal, sump, sewer or septic system at
the receiving end of your waste in the woods - only other users who would
appreciate clean, clear water, and not your waste products.

-Paddler (stepping down from my soap box)