This has been a problem for years, especially after the USFS removed the toilet at trail camp. The USFS needs to bring those "unsightly" toilets back, and perhaps install several along the trail for those folks who don't know the proper way to shit-in-the-woods.
One of my favorite hikes, the Bishop Pass trail, is also polluted with human waste at most of the better camp sites. When I backpack there, I avoid the more populated areas and get way off the beaten path to select a camp site.
Another popular hike, the Camino De Santiago, in northern Spain is notorious for the amount of human waste along the route, most of which is left by European hikers.
While tempted to blame certain ethnic groups at Mt. Whitney who have bad toilet habits, I realize it is a universal problem. I believe that when a trail becomes famous, like Mt. Whitney, it tends to attract people who have little knowledge or regard for human impact on the environment. Mt. Whitney is a tourist magnet for people who have the need to add it to their "bucket list", regardless of the mess they leave behind.
Well said
