How To Poop While Camping

Everyone poops. If you’re healthy and regular, you can expect to poop once to several times a day. There’s no way around it and if you’re spending a day or more camping in the wilderness then odds are you’re going to have to relieve yourself at some point. In this article, we discuss the proper way to poop while camping.

-The dangers of pooping while camping.

You might have thought there was a simple solution to this problem. You pick a spot, you pop a squat. Easy peasy, right? Wrong! Pooping in the wilderness can be one of the most deadly things you do while camping and, if you’re not careful, it could be the last thing you. Far too many people are injured or worse every year due to unfortunate wilderness pooping incidents. If you’re not properly prepared prior to pooping on your camping trip, you could be another statistic.

Getting lost-

This is more common than you would think. When pooping in the woods, for example, it is important to take care of your waste at a great enough distance from your campsite. However, sometimes this results in people wandering for too long in an effort to find the perfect spot to relieve themselves. They circle around a few trees to stay out of sight from fellow campers, they climb over a tall hill and turn past the large rock in the brush before they feel secure enough to take a proper dump. Then, when its time to return to the campsite, they are so turned around that they have to wait for a search party to recover them. Trust us when we say that you don’t want to be the person who got lost while taking a poop in the woods.

Getting injured –

Walking in through the wilderness is dangerous under any circumstances. But try to do this while urgently having to go to the bathroom and the danger increases. For one thing, people stop paying attention to their surroundings. While scurrying away from your campsite to find the perfect woodland latrine, it’s important to not lose sight of your surroundings. This means being mindful of uneven surfaces, low hanging branches, and threatening woodland creatures. You don’t want to be the person who broke their leg while running to find a place to go to the bathroom while camping.

Getting Dead –

This is obviously the worst-case scenario, but death is a real danger while on any camping trip. The wilderness is unpredictable and you need to realize that camping needs to be approached from a serious and responsible perspective. That’s why it is important to take extra care while relieving yourself in the wilderness. One wrong step can leave you tumbling off the edge of a cliff. If you aren’t paying attention to your surroundings, you could end up pooping on a poisonous snake and we don’t need to tell you what might happen next. You could even relieve yourself next to a den where a mother bear is tending to her newborn cubs. The dangers of pooping in the wilderness are real and if you don’t take them seriously, one poorly placed poop could be your last.

-Where to poop while camping

Now that we’ve discussed the dangers of pooping in the woods, we will examine where to do it safely. Additionally, we need to note that before you even consider pooping in a wilderness location while camping, you need to check to see if there are any regulations on human waste in the area in which you will be camping. Some public campgrounds, high elevation locations and heavily traveled areas might require you to pack up your solid human waste. So, be sure to check for these regulations before you embark on your expedition.

It’s important to remember that human feces are full of bacteria, which is part of the reason for its strong odor. The bacteria itself can cause illness in humans and the smell can attract animals (namely animals that are dangerous to campers). For those reasons, it is important to build your woodland bathroom far enough from your campsite to avoid inadvertent exposure to it and to avoid attracting animals. We recommend that you carve out a location at least 200 feet (about 61 meters) from your campsite.

Once you’ve mapped off the appropriate distance, you need to consider your location in comparison to moving bodies of water. You do not want to defecate near a stream or water source or else you run the risk of contamination. Always make sure that you are using a location that is above the maximum water level for a body of water. You don’t want an unexpected rain to fill the water body to a point where it could wash the water to your campsite or potentially mix with your own source of drinking water. For these reasons, you need to make sure that your bathroom location is also 200 feet (approximately 61 meters) from any body of water.

Additionally, it’s important to not relieve yourself near a trail or anywhere where people might be traveling through. There are obvious reasons for this. For one thing, you don’t want young campers to stumble upon you pooping while they are hiking through the woods trying to earn merit badges. However, the less obvious issue is that your fecal matter could attract predacious animals. If you make a bathroom close to a trail or even another person’s campsite, you run the risk of attracting threatening wildlife to locations where people are located. This could end very badly if you are not careful. Choose a location that is at least 200 feet (61 meters) from trails and locations inhabited by other people.

-How to poop while camping – the process

So now that you know what is at stake when it comes to pooping while camping, we will discuss how to poop while camping.

What you will need:

-Something to dig with

-Something to wipe with

You might look at this list and think, “piece of cake.” Slow down, Skippy. Let’s examine this a little more carefully.

So you’ve found the perfect location to poop in the woods. You’re secluded, you’re far enough away from your campsite and water and other campers. Now, it’s time to do the deed. The first thing you’ll need to do is dig a hole about six inches deep. This is essential because, at this level, the soil has natural bacteria that will help break down and decompose your feces. You can use a hand shovel or a branch or a rock with a sharp edge to dig your hole.

Toilet paper is a common topic that comes up when discussing pooping in the wilderness. If you are going to use toilet paper, be sure it is a non-scented, biodegradable toilet paper.

Once you’ve relieved yourself in your makeshift toilet, mix in a little soil to speed up the progress of the soil’s natural bacteria in decomposing your fecal matter. If you are using a biodegradable toilet paper, you can deposit this in the hole as well. Just make sure you have dug your hole at least six inches deep so that the natural bacteria in the soil can interact with the waste. Next, completely cover the hole and pack the dirt down to seal it off. This will help the decomposition and aid with any residual smell.

Pack and Go:

Some camping locations might have regulations on what sort of human waste you can leave on site. Some sites may require you to pack up your fecal matter and remove it from the camping area. This can be accomplished a number of ways. For one, you can turn a Ziploc bag inside out and pick up the excrements and used toilet paper and seal the back for proper removal.

The poop tube:

Another convenient device you can make to remove your feces and toilet paper from your campsite is a tube made from 12 inches (about 30.5 cm) of PVC pipe with screw on caps for both ends. When you have to use the bathroom, simply unscrew one of the caps from one of the ends of the tube, stand the tube upright, position yourself over the tube in a squatting stance and relieve yourself into the tube. As your skill level with this process increases, you can use one had to press the tube up to yourself as your defecate rather than hover over the upright tube. When you’re finished, screw the cap back on to the open end of the tube. You can now conveniently remove your waste from the campsite.

Smear:

Sometimes, camping means making the best with what you’ve got. You might find yourself in a situation where you can’t bury your feces, and you lack the tools necessary to pack it out of your campgrounds. So what do you do? Another fine way to manage your waste is to smear it on a rock with direct exposure to sunlight. The UV radiation will sterilize the waste and eventually the rain and general moisture in the air will wash it away. However, as we stated previously, it is important to do this far enough from your campsite, water sources and populated areas. The smear strategy should be your last option when choosing a poop solution.

So there you have it. A few fun tips for going to the bathroom while camping. Keep these points in mind and use a little common sense when you poop in the wilderness and you will have a fun camping experience.