I can’t believe it has taken me this long to finally write a post about how to poop in the woods!
This is actually one of my favorite topics to teach to new backpackers! Seriously, though.
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Why do I like teaching people how to poop in the woods while camping??
Because it is also my number one biggest pet peeve when hikers use the bathroom all willy nilly in the woods, wherever and however they want to, without any consideration to anyone else or the environment.
Since I’ve become a Leave No Trace trainer, I’ve talked to more people about pooping and peeing in the woods than most probably do their whole lives!
And I feel like I’ve heard it all –
“My horse poops on the trail, so… so can I! It’s natural”
“Oh I just hold it. I held it in for five days once.”
“My wipes are biodegradable, so it’s ok to leave them on the ground.”
These are actual things I’ve heard hikers tell me!
So just to clear some things up, in case you can relate to any of those – horse poop *is* natural and can be found and left out in nature, it is also relatively low in harmful bacteria and breaks down fairly quickly.
Human poop is very very high in all sorts of harmful bacteria (not regularly found in nature) and doesn’t break down that quickly if not dealt with properly.
Please please please never hold it in! Ok maybe if you know you’ll be near a bathroom within a half or hour or so, then you might hold it in and I wouldn’t judge you. But you can do some serious damage (even die) from holding poop in for too long! And by too long I mean several days or longer. Seriously. Please don’t do it, take care of yourself out there.
Ok, biodegradable wipes – don’t just disappear. It could take years for them to ‘biodegrade.’ And they definitely aren’t natural or something that would be found in nature. A lot of them have some sort of scent to them and would be dug up by animals long before they biodegrade, which isn’t good for the animals to be eating them, or for other hikers to see your dug up, used wet wipes. Please pack them out in a ziploc baggie with other trash.
Alright, I think we’re ready. In the video below I’ll show you how to dig a proper cat hole and poop in the woods. I decided to keep it playing in real time, instead of speeding it up like a lot fandangled videos on the internet these days, because I want to reiterate how quick of a process this can be. It literally takes less than five minutes to dig a cat hole (and watch this video) Less than five minutes!
So please be sure to practice Leave No Trace when pooping in the woods while camping and help us prevent the spread of illness and disease in our water sources and public lands.
Pro Tips for pooping in the woods:
- Choose a spot with a great view! May as well enjoy yourself, right?
- Hold on to a sturdy tree or large log while squatting, to take some of the pressure off your legs. Keyword being sturdy.
- Allow your body to fully sink into the squat, this is actually how our bodies were designed to poop and helps us fully empty everything out of there. You know those weird holes in the ground that every other country calls a public bathroom? They’re not crazy, they’re practical.
- If you’re with kids, or just a kid at heart, create a 5-star rating system to make it more fun and easy to talk about and do. You get one star off the bat just for pooping in a hole. One for a great view. One for spotting wildlife. One for consistency. And one for wipe-ability.
Equipment Needed:
- Camp trowel
- Toilet paper
- Ziploc bag for packing out waste, if needed
- Hand sanitizer or antibacterial hand soap
- Water
- A stick
Check out these other great hiking tips and how-to’s:
- How To Pick A Good Campsite
- How To Plan Ahead And Prepare (Leave No Trace Style)
- How To Have Your Period On The Trail
I wanted to take my kids out for camping but I’m not sure if they could adapt well to the extreme environmental conditions. I’m looking for options and if is it possible that I could train them to poop in the woods beforehand, and I’m really glad that you even included a video for better visualization. However, while I can follow all your instructions, I’m not sure if my kids can. I should look around for portable potty rental services I could avail to make their first camping experience easier for them.
Hi Zoe! Oh yes, this is a little trickier with kiddos, but totally doable. While I don’t have kids myself, I hear it’s best to dig the cat hole beforehand for them and then check afterwards, if they miss the hole that’s ok! You just need to use a stick to make sure all waste gets in the cat hole, then add water and cover it back up properly. If you’ll be staying at the same camp site multiple nights, you could even dig several holes or a long skinny trench ahead of time, then they know they can just go to one of the holes or poop in the end of the trench and then you can help them bury it back up. Depending how little your kids are, you may even need to help hold their hands or arms for balance while they’re squatting. And wipes are your friend, just remember to pack them out in a ziploc baggie 😉
I have shat in the woods on just about every continent. As a cub and boy scout growing up in Oregon I leaned on a lot of Douglas Firs. I have always taken a trowel off the beaten path to do my duty. A deep cat hole is a must to contain what passes through after a hearty oatmeal and bacon breakfast on the trail. Before each adventure I would practice my squatting to get the old thighs in shape. As I am now nearly eighty years old, the “old thighs” are indeed old. Squatting has become a major camping problem. Leaning on trees is the new accepted form. As a professional photographer and writer I have covered most of the Adirondacks and Catskills while attending Syracuse University. I lived in Singapore for over 30 years, and covered all of Asia including the deep jungles of Borneo. I now live in Sri Lanka, the former Ceylon of tea fame and am still leaving my mark in virgin jungles and tropical beaches. A big part of exploring tropical jungles is figuring out which leaf is safe enough and soft enough to use after doing your duty. Saves bringing the detritus back in a zip. Enjoy your musings but must hit the trail once more. Here’s to the tropics. See ya. Kurt.
Always love to see posts creating awareness on leave no trace, especially when well written like yours! 🙂