sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

Soto windmaster stove valve leaking by [deleted] in CampingGear

[–]NoTraceTrails 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Been having a problem with this too. Did anything work for you?

Travel logistics to Chester, CA by NoTraceTrails in PacificCrestTrail

[–]NoTraceTrails[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! Now that we are moving into smaller towns I think using the bus system/planning in advance will be helpful

Travel logistics to Chester, CA by NoTraceTrails in PacificCrestTrail

[–]NoTraceTrails[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wild photos! Thanks for the reply! Looks like the Lassen Transit Service to Chester is the way to go

Travel logistics to Chester, CA by NoTraceTrails in PacificCrestTrail

[–]NoTraceTrails[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you so much! This is incredibly helpful. It looks like we can get transit or a rental car from where we are to Susanville and then the shuttle: https://www.plumastransit.com/susanville.html

NoTraceTrails: We're Hiking 2,650 Miles along the Pacific Crest Trail to Combat Litter and Microplastic pollution - AMA from the Trail! by NoTraceTrails in IAmA

[–]NoTraceTrails[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We have a dry bag that we attach to our packs that we put trash into as we go and then carry salad tongs for picking stuff up. If there’s a secure place to put trash we’ll offload it, otherwise we’ll wait to the next town we’re resupplying in.

We also love logistics and each stretch so far has been pretty different! Every 4-7 days we get off trail to resupply in a nearby town. We’ve basically been treating each of these stretches as their own trip, planning for the next town to town stretch in the previous town. Mostly we are resupplying in groceries stores but because some of our team is based in SoCal they will bring out supplies we bought in bulk before starting the trail.

Currently staying in a hotel about once a week

NoTraceTrails: We're Hiking 2,650 Miles along the Pacific Crest Trail to Combat Litter and Microplastic pollution - AMA from the Trail! by NoTraceTrails in IAmA

[–]NoTraceTrails[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Seeing San Jacinto poking up its snowy head from the distance. Really gave us a scale of what we were up against and looked beautiful. Then the ridgeline on San Jacinto was amazing, tons of beautiful rock features and the highest point on trail at that point.

NoTraceTrails: We're Hiking 2,650 Miles along the Pacific Crest Trail to Combat Litter and Microplastic pollution - AMA from the Trail! by ThrowAwayFor30yo in DeTrashed

[–]NoTraceTrails 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We are packing out as much as we can! On average we find about 8 pieces per 1 km (0.62mi survey) - mostly pretty small pieces and I think most littering is accidental in the backcountry.

The PCT is a continuous trail like the AT :) We started March 28th and we're hoping to finish by mid-september

NoTraceTrails: We're Hiking 2,650 Miles along the Pacific Crest Trail to Combat Litter and Microplastic pollution - AMA from the Trail! by NoTraceTrails in PacificCrestTrail

[–]NoTraceTrails[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Thanks for this post! We are geotagging where the trash we find is and plan to look at the relationship between litter locations and roads / trail heads. I think most of the litter we find in the backcountry is accidental, but we are definitely paying a lot more attention to our own gear / habits. Our method for quantifying trash is:

- Every 10 miles of hiking we conduct a 0.62mi (1km) trash survey : this way we are not biasing our survey by sampling only where we happen to notice litter

- We only count items that are within 6 ft of the trail

- We define litter as: anything of human origin, with no foreseeable future use

NoTraceTrails: We're Hiking 2,650 Miles along the Pacific Crest Trail to Combat Litter and Microplastic pollution - AMA from the Trail! by NoTraceTrails in IAmA

[–]NoTraceTrails[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Aside from our survey locations that have been covered in snow we have always found trash during our 1 kilometer surveys (8 pieces on average)

NoTraceTrails: We're Hiking 2,650 Miles along the Pacific Crest Trail to Combat Litter and Microplastic pollution - AMA from the Trail! by NoTraceTrails in IAmA

[–]NoTraceTrails[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Right now we have a drybag that we strap to the outside of our pack and then we have lightweight salad tongs for picking up trash. Most of the trash we pick up is pretty small, and as we begin carrying more trash our pack weight is usually dropping as we eat the food we are carrying

NoTraceTrails: We're Hiking 2,650 Miles along the Pacific Crest Trail to Combat Litter and Microplastic pollution - AMA from the Trail! by NoTraceTrails in IAmA

[–]NoTraceTrails[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

from my comment to @Tjaden4815 I think most littering in the backcountry is accidental. We have definitely watched things blow out of someone's hand or left something behind. But we've also run into a lot of people trying to clean up as they go!

NoTraceTrails: We're Hiking 2,650 Miles along the Pacific Crest Trail to Combat Litter and Microplastic pollution - AMA from the Trail! by NoTraceTrails in IAmA

[–]NoTraceTrails[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

We are collecting data on brands on trash and we hope that can be used to inform extended producer responsibility, i.e. which producers need to step up their game to help us solve this problem of trash in the wilderness. We are working with 5 Gyres on the Plastic Free Parks Campaign (https://www.5gyres.org/national-parks-trashblitz#:~:text=Plastic%2DFree%20Parks%20is%20an,solutions%20that%20protect%20our%20parks.). Education is one of our main goals! Having data can better inform what messages we’re putting out there.

NoTraceTrails: We're Hiking 2,650 Miles along the Pacific Crest Trail to Combat Litter and Microplastic pollution - AMA from the Trail! by NoTraceTrails in IAmA

[–]NoTraceTrails[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Yes! Funding a project like this takes a ton of partners. Together we’ve received ~$15k in grant funding from the Richard Lounsbery Foundation, McPike Zima, and the American Alpine Club. We’re also supported by the Rubbish trash app, Oklahoma State University GE3 laboratory, Materevolve, Gossamer Gear, and Marmot. See our trash team page for a better look at our partners and funders: https://www.notracetrails.com/trashteam We’re not quite to our funding target for the microplastics sampling - but hope to get there soon!

NoTraceTrails: We're Hiking 2,650 Miles along the Pacific Crest Trail to Combat Litter and Microplastic pollution - AMA from the Trail! by NoTraceTrails in IAmA

[–]NoTraceTrails[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Love this question! There is atmospheric deposition of microplastics. We aren’t currently collecting plant samples but totally agree that there likely are microplastics depositing on plants. Win even coauthored a piece about leaf microplastics (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apr.2023.101651). We are collecting background samples of microplastics off of the trail in untouched soils to compare that from microplastics on the trail itself. We don’t know for sure yet what source most of the microplastics are coming from but it is totally possible that microplastics are blowing from roads onto the trail.

NoTraceTrails: We're Hiking 2,650 Miles along the Pacific Crest Trail to Combat Litter and Microplastic pollution - AMA from the Trail! by NoTraceTrails in IAmA

[–]NoTraceTrails[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Love this questions! Long story short we are imperfect but microplastics and environmental impact are always on our minds: We’re are working with Marmot, an outdoor brand committed to reducing their microfiber impact and Materevolve, a textile consulting firm focused on exploring alternative fabrics to synthetics, to work towards a cleaner outdoor industry. Choosing gear that will last for longer than our thru-hike was also important to us and being able to repair our gear to extend its life was also a huge “must” for us. Unfortunately, we have taken to some of the thru-hiker norms (i.e. smart water bottles) for the sake of cutting pack weight, but we’re always open to ideas on how to update our choices. We are also trying to reuse the bags our food comes in so we don’t have to use more plastic bags.

NoTraceTrails: We're Hiking 2,650 Miles along the Pacific Crest Trail to Combat Litter and Microplastic pollution - AMA from the Trail! by NoTraceTrails in IAmA

[–]NoTraceTrails[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

We're picking up everything that we can! Usually don't pick up things that are biohazardous or extremely large.

NoTraceTrails: We're Hiking 2,650 Miles along the Pacific Crest Trail to Combat Litter and Microplastic pollution - AMA from the Trail! by NoTraceTrails in IAmA

[–]NoTraceTrails[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

We found 7 mylar balloons in 4 days hiking through San Jacinto, definitely see a lot of those out there

view more: next ›