'There have been numerous reports of hikers defecating too close to trails and directly on them.' 'The increase in usage has come with problems associated with hikers not adhering to the 'leave no trace' principles, by doing things such as hiking in large groups and leaving behind garbage,' writes Mike Lynch in an August 2016 issue of the Adirondack Almanack. In July 2016, one poster provided advice for hiking Mount Marcy at night, writing, 'Leave nothing behind!!! And don't poop on the summit!' Somehow, this message has failed to reach the masses of mountaineers hitting the trails every summer, even though it's an increasingly popular topic on the ADKHighPeaks forum. Crane goes on to explain how to do a doo-doo 'very carefully and as quickly as possible.' That includes digging a cathole (see sidebar) if no toilets are nearby or taking your business back home with you. Others the turtlehead.' The gopher, the prairie dog - you get the picture. 'Imagine hiking for hours, and the nearest thing passing for a restroom is miles away,' he writes. In ' The Art of the Adirondack Dump,' an article published by the Adirondack Almanack in 2012, Dan Crane offers entertaining and informative instructions for pooping in the woods. In the past few years, however, the number of hikers in the High Peaks has grown, and the talk has turned to human turds. Identifying the droppings is part of being out in nature. A decade or so ago, Adirondack scat belonged primarily to animals - bears, rabbits, moose, foxes and coyotes.

Foxes afloat composting toilet