Mt. Baker Climbing - Sanitation
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Protect the environment and ensure public health and safety and pack-it-out.
Most areas on the Mt. Baker Ranger District where backpackers and climbers camp are in the sup-alpine or on glacier. This environment is absent of adequate soils for burying and decomposing waste, or is dominated by rock, snow and ice, creating exposure to fecal contamination in the watersheds.
Visitors are asked to pack out all their waste. This includes human waste, food scrapes, packaging, wands, and anything else that was brought in with you. The use of cat holes for human waste is not suitable in sub-alpine or alpine environments due to inadequate soils and disturbance to fragile vegetation, and to heavy use.
• Toilets are not available at most camps in the wilderness and NRA, or on the mountain.
• Bags for packing out your solid human waste are available at the ranger station in Sedro Woolley or the Glacier Public Service Center.
• There are no collection facilities at the trailheads or on the routes for bags or other pack-it-out products. Visitors can properly dispose of used pack-it-out products in garbage receptacles or empty contents down the toilet upon return home. Do not bury bags in snow, toss in a crevasse or moat, or leave along the side of trail.
Thanks for doing your part in helping to keep Mt. Baker clean.
Alerts & Warnings
- Mallardy Ridge Trailhead and FSR 4030 and 4032 Closure
- Harris Lake Trailhead and FSR 5510 Closed
- Middle Fork Camping Closure
- Delays possible on PCT at the Summit at Snoqualmie Ski Area
- FSR 4110 Road Closure
- Camping Restrictions
- Fireworks and Explosive Targets Prohibition
- Read this Before Climbing or Backpacking on Mt. Baker
- Hwy 542 Closed to Artist Point
- New food storage rules for Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie NF
- Alcohol Prohibitions