Alex Roux wrote: ↑10 Aug 2022 15:25
Speaking of which, I did not want to be a party pooper (no pun intended), but...
Some people on this trip had zero camp etiquette.
Confronting people on this while camping is tricky without causing a bad taste / smell, so I do it here in stead (and catch a wider audience).
There were instances of no toilet hole being dug and even toilet paper left wide open for the wind to carry further. That's not on.
Whoever the guilty ones were, please may I request in future,
Get a spade and dig your own whole. Close it up afterwards. Toilet paper included.
Thanks!
This specific post was brought to my attention whilst I was still away. It saddens me, as references to this post were made on another forum as well. This thread was not linked to, which is good news.
I also do not want to be a "party pooper", but I have a few thoughts on this matter that I need to mention.
One of the things I've always enjoyed about being a Patrol Forum member is that we've got a sterling reputation between all the rest of the great-unwashed. We're the "good-natured, go-anywhere, do-anything and, most of all, do it right bunch". This sort of occurrence brings us into disrepute.
I think for many of us, camp etiquette is second-nature. Posts related to prior river trips often actually mentioned proper "wild camping toilet etiquette". I remember the long debate about bio-degradable toilet paper for the 2016 river trip (I think it was 2016?). I also think that because this is second nature to us, we sometimes forget that newer forum members or similar may be unaware of these sort "basic guidelines". Furthermore, as web-based forums lose a little popularity when faced with other social-media platforms (ie: WhatsApp, FaceBook, etc) a bunch of "institutional knowledge" gets lost. I use that term loosely. I don't know how else to phrase myself.
Reading between the lines from various mutterings by other non-starter organisations about potential upcoming legislation regarding these sort of activities, this sort of behaviour also has the potential to make our lives more difficult. ie: I can see a tour operator organisation (for example) rabidly citing this sort of post whilst debating with the department of tourism and using this as an argument for why these sort of trips should only be done with the involvement of a legitimate tour operator. In that case, we are our own worse enemies.
I am not one for endless red-tape and admin nonsense. However, perhaps we should just have a link to basic guidelines to these things somewhere. And direct new participants in these sort of trips to just familiarise themselves with how things work.
That's all. Just my 2C on the matter.
