There's a cool wilderness-wide initiative going for packing out litter from the BWCAW as we each take our trips this summer. Pack out some trash, socially engage about it, and you could get a free patch in return from Portage North. I think it's a pretty cool way to continue giving back to a wilderness that means so much to all of us.

On that note, took my first eight miles of BWCA paddling for the season on Saturday and found a decent pocket-full of trash already.

Here's the official information about the program on their site.

Hell yes! I want that nifty patch. That thing looks so cool! We travel light so I figure we can carry 2 trash bags at least.

Thanks for posting this. I always dedicate a pocket just for picking up the litter from others. Fun to get a patch for my normal efforts.

Very worthy cause and we will make our best effort to pack it out, post it online, and proudly display the patch!

Thanks TreeBear! Glad you've already got some miles in and some trash out. We make it a point to bring out what we can on every trip. Happy to be part of this effort!

i'm in !

That is a great idea/project.
I'll participate this year. I usually bring out something but I'll try to bring out more.
Spread the word!
Tom

We always do...we pick things up on the trail or floating in the lake. The main place we find trash is half burned in the firepit and we clean it out and take it out in our trash bag. We will do so again this year but can't really do more since it is always a priority. However, this year we will be cleaning up Quetico rather than the BW.

Interesting, worthwhile post, but I guess I don't get it.
This has always been the standard in my world.
Trash, yours and others pack it out.
Why do people only do the right thing if they get a "reward".
One old man's viewpoint.

alpinebrule: "Interesting, worthwhile post, but I guess I don't get it.
This has always been the standard in my world.
Trash, yours and others pack it out.
Why do people only do the right thing if they get a "reward".
One old man's viewpoint."

That's great, Alpinebrule, that you've always packed out trash. We truly need more people like you. I think the fact that we still find garbage indicates there are too many people that leave the garbage in the first place. By bringing attention to the issue through this campaign, perhaps more people will be aware and not cause the problem in the first place. I don't think the reward of a patch is enough to change behavior but I do believe the awareness of these types of initiatives helps improve the situation through education.

Pack it out every year. Most of the time it's plastic tarp material/poly and old spent propane bottles. Typically 20 lb/trip or more - it fills the food pack. Its the least one can do.

I must be taking the wrong route because I rarely find any trash to pack out and it seems like over the past 40 years it has gotten less.

An excellent idea.

Just an idea for others, I always carry a zip lock sandwich bag in my left cargo pocket specifically for picking up twist ties, cig butts, snack wrappers, twine, etc that I find on portages or in camp. If one fills I get another. I also carry 2 spare garbage bags to pack out any otters large crap that I find if needed.

In case anyone is not aware, Portage North and sister company SunDog are the re-branded entities of Kondos in Ely. A good rebranding if you ask me, as Kondos is too similar to Condos.

Yep, been doing so since first trip last century, and continue to do so each trip. Glad to see that Portage North is incentivizing others to get in the game.

Jaywalker: "
I also carry 2 spare garbage bags to pack out any otters large crap that I find if needed. "

Wow, that's a lot of otter crap!

I have always packed out whatever garbage I find. Hopefully the incentive and social media aspect will increase the awareness of this as a good general practice for others.

geotramper: "

Jaywalker: "
I also carry 2 spare garbage bags to pack out any otters large crap that I find if needed. "

Wow, that's a lot of otter crap!


I have always packed out whatever garbage I find. Hopefully the incentive and social media aspect will increase the awareness of this as a good general practice for others. "

Ha! At least one of those T’s should have been an H.

One piece of crap we did not carry out was a 10 pound steel frame quad chair a previous camper had stuffed down the latrine on Insula.

A couple of rangers stopped us on our way out to check permits. I made them wince when I reported the unauthorized deposit.

Some people are just ignorant pigs.

I am with Alpine, always have an always will. You need to care for the things you love.

I am shocked that plunder packs our 20# per trip? I have fortunately, never seen a gross amount of garbage. More scraps and laziness, the occasional can and what not. Fortunately never anything major since I like to go light, but I'd certainly pick it up and bring it if I had seen it.

DP

Okay now I’m just going to pack in litter for the latecomers to pick up !
No, not really. I’ve spent my entire camping life (58?) years going by “pack out more than you pack in” The thought of not picking up a piece of litter that I noticed , is unthinkable. It’s more “This shouldn’t have been left here and I’m putting it right into our trash bag right there “
Cool that it’s being pointed out so we can have a new generation that thinks the same
I’ll take the cool patch just for fun! Automatic boost to the Fun Meter

BonzSF: "Okay now I’m just going to pack in litter for the latecomers to pick up !
No, not really. I’ve spent my entire camping life (58?) years going by “pack out more than you pack in” The thought of not picking up a piece of litter that I noticed , is unthinkable. It’s more “This shouldn’t have been left here and I’m putting it right into our trash bag right there “
Cool that it’s being pointed out so we can have a new generation that thinks the same
I’ll take the cool patch just for fun! Automatic boost to the Fun Meter "

Same here... Except for a few years ago on Agassa Lake....when we found car batteries, spray paint cans, several junk tents, unopened bean cans, ...you name it.
We let the Forest Service know, and they did a great clean up job, and got back to me with a nice email....... Well done

Yup, I always do. One of the first things I do at a campsite is police the area, pick up any trash and put it in a bag. Portage trails, same thing. I double portage, so I spot it when I'm hauling the canoe, pick it on the way back. I even do it at the local park where I hike.

Here's what I found around campsite 241 and also bushwacking the perimeter of the island, this was on Trout lake. Collecting microtrash has always been a camp activity for me. Larger "normal" trash typically goes right into my camp trash, but the bits and pieces i like to accumulate and sort by type and/or color before i leave; I always keep tent stakes as souvenirs. In this case I kept the bobber and the jig as well.

We also found some horrific historical trash piles related to an old fishing camp on the island.

Well, it was quite the first trip of the season. I was called into guide very last minute and headed out Thursday. Quite the trash collection including a bunch of pop/beer bottles, a mystery bag whose contents I didn't want to see, a tin can with some undergarments, two suspicious chemistry beakers, a vape cartridge, tons of aluminum foil and fishing line, a long metal pole folded in half, broken sunglasses, batman's throwing star, a small propane tank, and a ton of wrappers and other miscellaneous. Why does there have to be aluminum foil in EVERY fire grate? People are kinda gross...