Number 2: Winners! May: mudnmtns. June: publiclandlvr. July: bjaevee. Congratulations!

Number 3: Why are we seeing a decrease in the number of PBEs in these prime hiking months? Because they're prime hiking months. I know, I know. It doesn't seem to follow, but bear with me. There are two phenomena at play.

First, a lot of the adventurers taking part in the Poop Fairy Challenge are out there where few others go. I know when I go deep in the mountains I see fewer people and therefore there are fewer PBEs to collect.

Second, and more significant, peer pressure from other hikers is preventing people from leaving PBEs on the trail. The reason peer pressure is a thing is because we want to conform to the behavior of others. When there are more people on the trails there are fewer opportunities to discreetly deposit a PBE without the disapproving looks of other hikers. When hiking on my home trail I can definitely see a big difference in the number of PBEs I find after a sunny weekend compared to a rainy weekend. My theory is there's an inverse relationship in the quality of the weather and the number of PBEs left behind. (Better weather => more hikers => less alone-time on the trail => less opportunity to leave a PBE without being seen.)

Should we expect to see an increase in the number of PBEs as the weather becomes less conducive to hiking? Yes... to a point. If the weather is so bad nobody is going out, the PBEs will be not be generated at the same rate as when the weather is good, but a higher percentage will be left on the trails. And of course, when the snows come the PBEs will still be there, but buried and hard to find.

Seem reasonable? Sure. Provable? Not really. Stay tuned to see if it pans out.

Number 4: Did I start numbering these elements of the post in order to use the phrase, "Number 2"? Definitely.