Canyonlands National Park is a pristine desert, with almost no traces of modern, human damage, impressive because of the thousands of visitors the park gets every year. Visitors, rangers and outfitters take great care to protect the rivers and canyons.
The main impact I saw was dung and trampling from domesticated animals, primarily cattle and camels, and the non-native, overgrown tamarisk.
This trip was wilderness, environmental camping. There were no campgrounds, no minit-markets, no facilities, no other campers, no contact with the outside world. Just us and the river. Everything we needed, we brought with us. And everything we brought in, we burned or brought out.
When we left, there was no trace that we had been there, except for crushed, juvenile tamarisk, which was good, trampled cryptobiotic crust, which was bad, and some missing petrified wood stolen from the national park and the American public by a few, who-will-remain-unnamed-but-who-know-who-they-are, libertine trip members.
There was no hot water. There was no running water, except the river. We brought all our drinking and cooking water. Believe that was a gallon and a half per person, per day.
Fire we made in fire pans. We gathered drift wood to make the fire. When leaving a campsite, we dumped the ashes in the river and left the extra firewood for the next campers. All environmentally sound techniques and approved by the park service.
There are a couple of strategies on bathing. Rick's strategy is shower the day you leave (Sunday), shower the day you get back (Friday) and that leaves only Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday without showers. "You can make that".
Others took a dip, or in Kati's case a long swim, in the river while the hot sun blazed overhead. At 40 degrees, much too hardy for my thin skin.
I sponged off. When I could get to the river while the sun was up, took a sponge bath directly from the river. At night took some river water in a bucket, warmed the water at the fire enough to take the edge off, and washed in my tent. The river water had a lot of sediment and looked dirty, but did not leave any noticeable residue after washing. Tried, but did not need to use the biodegradable soap. Surprisingly the sponge bath worked well. Felt clean when I went to sleep, did not smell bad (as far as I know), and could have lasted a lot longer without a hot shower.
Most people, I do not know why, are curious about how we took care of bodily functions, specifically number 2, on a trip like this. Personally I would rather have not known.
Number 1 is easy for men and something women can manage. The instructions were to pee in the river, or being unable to get close enough, pee in wet sand. This is different from wetter climates, but the dryness of this region requires it.
This brings us to number 2. Meet Tex. Tex is a metal cube, with a round top that seals shut, and two handles for carrying. Tex comes with a yellow mesh bag that holds a black rubber seat and a plastic top for the seat.
We had two of Tex. On Wednesday, when Dirk came down the river to pick up a small group some days ahead of us, he swapped our two for fresh ones.
Like everything on this trip, there were no fixed assignments. Everyone took their turn without any direction. You figured you were going to have to take and set up Tex sooner or later and when you saw an opportunity to take your turn, you did.
To transport Tex, you make sure the metal top is tightly secure with four screwed latches. Though closed, Tex is not hermetically sealed and so two people carrying Tex, one one either side, is much preferred to one person carrying Tex alone.
To set up Tex, you find a secluded spot with a spectacular view, take off the metal top, fit the rubber seat into the hole and place the plastic cover on top of the seat. Alongside Tex, in plastic bag you put an emergency roll of toilet paper (each person had their own issue), and sanitizing hand wash. Lastly, you set up the flag somewhere visible to mark the general location of Tex.
Tex also comes with a small plastic bag containing a biological agent. The first person to use Tex, pours the biological agent into Tex. The biological agent requires some number 1, but not too much otherwise Tex will fill up too fast and be too heavy to move.
To use Tex, you first had to find Tex, which was not always easy. When approaching Tex, you look for a sign that Tex is in use. Some people put their hat on a nearby bush. Barring a sign, you should call out to see if anybody is home.
Personally, my most awkward moment involved Tex, Kati and Lynne, but I am not going into details.