LNT in the Grand Canyon

Personally this is a special topic for me. I am a Master Educator in LNT and I went through a NOLS course at the Grand Canyon (Ranger Elise "E" was one of my teachers!)

Please pick my brain about anything related to LNT not just in the Grand Canyon but anywhere. And if you feel too embarrassed to ask on the forum send me an email (sabrina@justroughinit.com) and I will post the answer in the forum!

Here is something everyone asks me about and I often see people doing incorrectly so I thought I would start out with brushing your teeth...

1. Use as little of tooth paste as possible (smaller than a pea will work!)

2. Where to spit that minty fluoride foam???
     A.There are two good places to spit.
           a. On the trail itself, it is one of the most durable surfaces and with hikers coming through it will be broken down and diluted by the dirt quickly.
           b. On a rock (one with out lichen) this is also a durable surface and can easily wash away.
           c. People really into LNT will swallow it (Im not that cool)
     B. There are two bad places to spit.
           a.  On any plant life including lichen and cryptobiotic soil/crust. So lets say someone spits onto a plant that is poisonous then a little cute chipmunk
                goes to eat the minty salad BOOM poisoned to death! cuz someone had to brush their teeth in the backcountry...  
           b. Broadcasting: WHY??? looks stupid, gets it everywhere, little to no control over where it goes.

3. Rinsing and Diluting your toothpaste spit... Well that kind of makes sense to rinse your toothbrush right over where you have spit out your concentrated toothpaste foam. Do the same thing when your rinse your mouth. This will help in the process of diluting the tooth paste and breaking it down.

I have to say it just incase: do not do any of the above near water, don't want to contaminate the water or give bacteria some "food" to grow!