An excellent report from Rocky but I have to say I'm not convinced the same system will work on the Whitney corridor. The key to the Rocky report seems to be weekly (!) maintenance and hauling out the solids. The USFS has a very poor record of being able to maintain anything in a remote wilderness setting. Not their fault, mostly. A combination of budget constraints and commitment. ... George
Rocky Mountain NP has a different knowledge and experience base than the Inyo NF. RMNP supports 73 backcountry campsites with privies. (Two of the four solar seats support Boulderfield camp site, the other two are along trails.) They also have 200 permanent and 272 seasonal employees and 1699 volunteers (102,240 hours). That's a different base of support. That doesn't make solar toilets impossible for Inyo, but it means that it will take a lot of careful creative thought to deal with the hurdles of definition, authorization, funding, acquisition, staffing, construction and operation. The process of dealing concretely with these hurdles seems negative compared to wishful thinking, but it is necessary to deal with them all to accomplish something. The process would also make it easier to identify and evaluate useful alternatives.
