For all those birders who happen to be hikers....

---Lisa ;-)
____________________________________________________
Lisa M. Smith, Seattle WA <subplot at u.washington.edu>


>From the October 1994 issue of *Walking* magazine:

After several hours of hiking, you're just about to reach the summit. You
take a deep breath, when suddenly you're assailed by an unmistakable eu
de, um, toilet. Horrified, you discover that what you almost stepped in
was issued not by a bear or even a dog, but, yikes, by another hiker.

It was just such a pile that got A. Bern Hoff going three years ago. A
55-year-old pathologist from Hampden, Maine, Hoff founded Hikers Against
Doo-Doo for walkers who have HADD it with poop in their paths.

"More people are out enjoying open spaces. But I've seen terrible things
--specifically, people droppings," says Hoff. After his Mt. Kilimanjaro
and Grand Canyon hikes were marred by *guano de sapiens*, Hoff got to
work.

"It's both an aesthetic and a health problem," he says. "We want
domesticated animals and people to behave better. We're tongue in cheek,
of course, but we are serious about trying to clean up the environment."

HADD serves as an international clearinghouse, sharing information and
tips on environmentally safe packaging and disposal techniques. "We plan
to develop new technology that anyone could use, like biodegradable
disposal bags that can go in a toilet," says Hoff.

But if nature catches you unprepared, HADD has one request: Be
responsible. Haul out your waste or bury it 200 feet from any water
source. And remember the group's motto for 1994: "Your movement is our
movement."

For more information, or to become a member ($20), write to HADD, Box 271,
Hampden, Maine 04444.