Gray Water Container in National Parks

[longhorn1]

I have a 7 gallon container and hose connected to the sink drain on my Grandby. In reading the rules and regulations for National Parks, they have a list of things that can't be left outside, including water containers, coolers, grills, anything that smells of food etc. What procedures have you followed when using a similar set-up for gray water?

I don't mind putting the cooler and grill back in the truck when it isn't being used. If you can't leave the container connected, it makes it kind of hard to use the sink since dumping water on the grounds is against park rules.

 

[Stalking Light]

Dump the water in the toilet before you go to bed or when you are away from the truck.

 

[ski3pin]

We empty ours in the outhouse and stash it empty in the front of the truck or in a bear box (if provided) overnight and during the day when we are off on adventures.

 

[billharr]

Put a PVC tank in your bed between the camper and the truck. Always ready and sealed. I just drain into a bucket to dump.

Note I rebuilt this tank on my new Hawk and moved the fill to the front.

Bill

 

[Ted]

We just returned from nine nights in Yellowstone. We only set up the gray water tank when we actively needed it - doing dishes, draining pasta, washing up, etc. When done we emptied it in the outhouse and put it in the bear locker. Kind of a hassle to get it out and put it away several times a day. In some campgrounds the bears aren't as bad and the hosts may not enforce this so much. In others, bears are a regular occurrence and following this procedure is not optional.

 

[Kispiox]

I am curious, has anyone ever had a bear problem with their sink drain?

 

[Stalking Light]

It's the look of the container as much as it is the smell. If a bear comes into a campsite and gets a food reward it will associate the look of coolers and water containers with the food and expect to find more food anytime it sees something similar.

 

[Kispiox]

I like your set up BillHarr. Stalking,.. I understand that, but would just like to know if anyone has ever had a problem?

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

Put a PVC tank in your bed between the camper and the truck. Always ready and sealed. I just drain into a bucket to dump.

Note I rebuilt this tank on my new Hawk and moved the fill to the front.

Bill

Pretty doggone cool!

 

[longhorn1]

Put a PVC tank in your bed between the camper and the truck. Always ready and sealed. I just drain into a bucket to dump.

Note I rebuilt this tank on my new Hawk and moved the fill to the front.

Bill

I like that idea.Good winter project. How did you secure the pipe to the truck?

 

[longhorn1]

Thanks everyone. We will just be selective when we hook the container up.

 

[Stalking Light]

Most park campgrounds will have a dishwashing sink by the toilets. I always wash my dishes there not at my campsite to minimize food odors around my rig.

 

[Kispiox]

This comment is made not to encourage recklessness, but rather to put folks (spouses) at ease with FWCamping in bear country. I just returned from several months of filming grizzly bears and fishing in British Columbia. The three primary Grizzly areas were Meziadin Lake, Bella Coola and Chilko Lake / River being the furthest off the grid. I used my drain water containment in all established campgrounds and let it drain to the ground when off the grid.

Other precautions were taken, I.e. cleanliness, boat horn, bear spray, car keys handy to set off alarm, etc. but no firearms. Off the grid I did leave all low draw LED down lights, flood lights and side lights on at night. Food was stored in my three way refer, not a vault. I always looked for bear tracks in camp each morning and found none, though on two occasions have found wolf tracks outside the side light perimeter. When I am photographing bears it is the time of year they are feeding on spawning salmon in the river. They don't seem to be interested in much else.

That said, rules are rules in national parks. I also believe park bears are a bigger concern because of their familiarity with humans. Remote bears tend to fear humans. Bears are to be respected but don't let them keep you from having fun and enjoying the freedom FWCamping provides.

 

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

This comment is made not to encourage recklessness, but rather to put folks (spouses) at ease with FWCamping in bear country. I just returned from several months of filming grizzly bears and fishing in British Columbia. The three primary Grizzly areas were Meziadin Lake, Bella Coola and Chilko Lake / River being the furthest off the grid. I used my drain water containment in all established campgrounds and let it drain to the ground when off the grid.

Other precautions were taken, I.e. cleanliness, boat horn, bear spray, car keys handy to set off alarm, etc. but no firearms. Off the grid I did leave all low draw LED down lights, flood lights and side lights on at night. Food was stored in my three way refer, not a vault. I always looked for bear tracks in camp each morning and found none, though on two occasions have found wolf tracks outside the side light perimeter. When I am photographing bears it is the time of year they are feeding on spawning salmon in the river. They don't seem to be interested in much else.

That said, rules are rules in national parks. I also believe park bears are a bigger concern because of their familiarity with humans. Remote bears tend to fear humans. Bears are to be respected but don't let them keep you from having fun and enjoying the freedom FWCamping provides.

Thank you. That makes a lot of sense,especially the "clean" camp.
I have fished along side black bears in the Campbell River area and they were interested in the fish coming up river than us humans.
That said one needs to be cautious and respect them.

I like the idea about leaving some LED lights on outside as long as they weren't too bright and didn't bother other campers.
Frank

 

[Stalking Light]

If you see someone leave a sloppy campsite notify a ranger. Even keeping a clean camp can be defeated by a single slob.

 

[Kispiox]

Frank

I only leave the exterior lighting on all night when off the grid. However, at Meziadin Lake where I stayed in a Provincial Campground a tent camper next to me requested that I leave them on.

RE the Cambell River,.. Last year I took the ferry from Rupert down to Port Hardy. I stayed at what I think was a Provincial Campground there? My FWC door was backed up to a Campbell tributary where I could not only see it but hear it too. In the middle of the night I heard a bunch of splashing and crashing around. It was black bears chasing salmon by moonlight in the shallows. I had to watch a while before going back to sleep.

 

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

Frank

I only leave the exterior lighting on all night when off the grid. However, at Meziadin Lake where I stayed in a Provincial Campground a tent camper next to me requested that I leave them on.

RE the Cambell River,.. Last year I took the ferry from Rupert down to Port Hardy. I stayed at what I think was a Provincial Campground there? My FWC door was backed up to a Campbell tributary where I could not only see it but hear it too. In the middle of the night I heard a bunch of splashing and crashing around. It was black bears chasing salmon by moonlight in the shallows. I had to watch a while before going back to sleep.

That campground is Elk Falls. We have stayed there several times.
The sites along the river are great I think we had #17.
Bears across the river catching the salmon.
I fished there near them (100'). They were just catching fish and didn't seem to notice I was there.
I did keep a close eye on them though in between catching my own fish.
The real danger to me came while standing in the river. The wind came up knocked down a tree from the campground side of the river just up stream from me. I could see it fall into the river and drift past me. So after that I had to watch out for trees and the bears.
Fun.

We stayed at Meziadin Lake in 1990. We took the ferry to Steward/Hyder. There was more wind than bears there.

These were taken from the Hwy into Steward,just past the lake turn off.
The bear was just munching on the clover along the side of the road.
Sat there for about 20 minuets watching it and taking pictures.
Than just down the road is Bear Glacier.
This shot taken in 2009, in 1990 the glacier was almost to the road,from where the picture is taken.
Beautiful area. Hope to get back one of these days.
Frank

 

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

Here are some "friends" at the Elk Falls site.Just across the stream from the camp site. Fun to watch from a distance.
Frank

 

[BobM]

I was inspired by Bill's post over a year and a half ago and built this setup. It holds 3.5 gallons and easily covers one or two days. I also carry my 5 gallon bag just in case my sink doesn't drain due to a full tube. Haven't used it yet in that year and a half:

 

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

Looks good.That's one thing to do with that space,and still have some space to store things.
Frank