Nobody wants to discuss our turdly calling cards—not me, not you, perhaps not even the people who specialize in human waste disposal. But with public land use booming, so, too, are growing mountains of excrement and the blooms of toilet paper that mark their passing with a tattered little wave from a catch-branch. Shit is piling up everywhere in popular sites and it’s past time for us to take care of our own.
The time-tested protocol of natural waste management is to dig a cat hole, make deposit in said hole, and refill with the dirt you dug out. But not everyone follows this religiously (guilty) and even when they do, heavy visitation can leave fragile areas looking like a gopher convention (parts of Cedar Mesa, sadly, I’m talking to you). Cat-holing can still be an option—I’ll cover a tidy new kit from PACT Outdoors below—but in many dispersed camping spots, it’s time we pack out our own poop. In some places, it’s required; in others (the desert), it’s the only responsible choice. Remember, ohana means family and family means no poo gets left behind.
Do I want to be an exporter of personal solid waste? No. Hell, no. But having followed the WAG-bag rules on numerous peaks and obeyed federal “you import it, you export it” regulations in fragile areas, I’ve become accustomed to getting past the ick response. And dealing with shit properly feels better.
So, what does responsible excrement management look like?
Well, for starters, let’s assume that most people will prefer sitting over squatting and take a look at portable throne. When I took my 70-something mom for a weeklong desert road trip in my camper van, we carried a small commode with a waste holding tank. It was fine, but these days I prefer a simple drop-through seat with a space for a catch bag. It’s more compact and portable and you can toss your (solidified) waste bags in the trash instead searching for a black water dump site.
Specifically, I’m using the Cleanwaste GO Anywhere portable toilet. It’s reasonably small, securely holds your waste bag, and has a mesh “safety net” under the hole to prevent runaway trains. The folding legs are quite secure—perhaps a bit too secure given how much I wrestle to close them—and the weight capacity is 500 pounds. It also mates well with Cleanwaste’s own GO Anywhere toilet kit bags. These contain a waste bag with a solidifying agent, Poo Powder, already loaded in the bag, a zip-locked disposal bag, hand sanitizer, and some toilet paper. The waste bag is big enough that you could use it without the potty, so consider it for backpacking.
A seat, a bag, some solidifying agent let you poop well, poop cleanly, and poop responsibly. And what about pooping privately? I recommend you consider the NEMO Equipment Heliopolis, a pop-up tent, shower stall, rain room, and, if you can sleep standing up, tiny house. Until recently, privacy shelters weren’t on my radar, let alone my gear list, but last summer my family and I were camping in Los Padres National Forest and the public pit toilets were the worst I’ve experienced. I’m not squeamish but these were beyond the pale—fetid, gag-inducing, blood-curdling. A neighboring campsite had a privacy tent, the light went on, and the first thing I did when I got home was to order the NEMO.
So far, I’ve only used it once, on a late-fall overnight in Joshua Tree National Park. JTNP’s pit toilets are clean as these things go, but private rules over public every time. Set up behind a juniper tree downwind from my sleeping tent, the Heliopolis was unobtrusive, even with the bright orange walls. Every time it caught my eye, I smiled a little smugly, like I knew something that other people didn’t. (Let’s ignore how late I was to this party.) In the evening, I stepped inside, zipped up the tall door, and enjoyed being out of the breeze. Without a doubt, it was the most pleasant, least gross public campground constitutional I’ve had. And the downwind location didn’t really matter, because I walked the solidified bag directly to the dumpster. Thanks, Cleanwaste. Thanks, NEMO.
The Heliopolis likely will see more use on group trips than solo missions, serving as a changing room, shower, etc., when privacy is hard to find, and I suspect that others will see it as enchanting as I do. The floor is waterproof and the bottom of the walls are mesh so gray water drains out. There are hooks for threading the hose of a NEMO Helio shower and attaching the nozzle above. There’s a toilet paper holder with a waterproof cover. A large mesh window aids ventilation, an included ceiling light reduces midnight fumbling, and a mesh side pocket holds your phone. There’s even a mesh stash pocket in the roof for your towel. I don’t think I’ll ever stay in a public campground without the NEMO or the porta-potty again.
But what of cat-holing? That’s where a new Crested Butte, Colorado, company called PACT Outdoors comes in. These are the kind of folks who don’t mind talking about human waste, and, indeed, they’ve built their brand around making pooping more responsible. Their $50 PACT kit comes with a shovel, spray sanitizer, biodegradable wipes, and mycelium tablets that help the poop decompose faster. The small shovel is the best I’ve ever used for this purpose. It moves soil quickly and the serrated side cuts easily through hardpack. The TP wipes are shipped as pellets, which open into nine-inch-square towels when sprinkled with a bit of water. They’re thicker than TP, which means you need fewer of them. And while I’m not sticking around to watch the decomposition, I have no doubt that faster breakdown thanks to the mycelium is a good thing.
Obviously, you can make do with a digging stick and a handful of leaves or a rock or snowball, but the PACT kit is neat and tidy and keeps everything in one place, including an export bag should you level up and pack it out. It goes everywhere my truck does and I’ve even stashed a couple of the compressed wipes in my daypack and bike saddlebags. Cause at some point you’re gonna do it, so you might as well do it right.
Photos by Casimiro. For more on proper numbing twoing, check out PACT’s guide here.
For car camping I use a military style folding shovel I got for about $25 on Amazon. The PACT kit might be reasonable for backpacking though.
On my next desert trip, I plan to bag it and pack it out, probably using a portable toilet and shelter similar to your system here.
For now, I’m sticking to hiking in areas where I’m more remote, and just doing cat holes with a rock on the top. I do have a bidet bottle for the next trip to save on tp. Might have to invest in some compostable wipes and those composting tablets.
I’d rather not have to pack around my poops. The lure of the dessert is high, but lugging around a few days poop is really unappealing.
As for the people who leave tp visible, or even poop … seriously, you can’t even bury it? Hiked Desolation Wilderness last year, and someone pooped and didn’t cover it at all, and it was right on the trail. They could have done it a few feet to the side and put a rock on it, but no, right there against a rock that the trail went over. I’d support fines and bans for that sort of behavior.
For those wanting a cheaper option than a specialist poop shovel, we aliexpress snow stakes/pegs which are almost the same size as a $20 lightweight trowel, but cost 1/10th the price. Then Harbor freight have squirt bottles for about $1.
A bud brought along the Nemo on a backpack trip; is solid, private. Now what I usually use, what I usually do is ….. er…. uh…. do I really wanna tell people? Does anybody else truly give a shit?
Everybody gives a shit.
It’s way out of hand. Last summer I was fishing one of our high mountain lakes (about a 4-mile hike from the trailhead) and started back around the lake for home when a man stood in the trail and asked me if I’d please stop and wait a moment while his wife “did her thing” adjacent to the trail just ahead. Their son was on the other side, stopping traffic coming the other direction. Incredulously, I asked just what the hell they were thinking? The were supposed to be at least 200′ from the lake, as well as the trail, and mentioned the popular spring less than 50′ away where everyone gets their drinking water. He just shrugged and said “when you gotta’ go, you gotta’ go”. And that’ s just one story of many.
Charmin mushrooms are everywhere you look anymore.
We used to use the CleanWaste but the bags are no fun to haul out. And if you run out of bags like we did a couple times? So we switched to a Dometic porta-potty and it’s better. You can dump it at any rest stop and refill it.
The Nemo tent is nice but the Joolca is even better!
Otherwise this is a great article. Everyone poops. Not everyone does it best.
When backpacking, I dig a cat hole, but pack out all my toilet paper and wipes. I’m the only one in my gang who hauls out the paper ;(
When car camping, wife and I use a bucket with a small toilet seat that fits on top. it’s sturdy enough for us. The bucket is lined with a construction-grade trash bag (get them at any Home Depot or Lowes) – very thick plastic. An old coffee can is used to sprinkle dirt (or you can use kitty litter) over the latest donation. All bags are tied in a poop-proof knot and hauled home or to the nearest dumpster.
The thing we’ve not mastered yet is bucket-privacy, so I think NEMO is on our list. Great tip!
Check out the Joolca. I like it better than the Nemo
@TheWoodsman it does seem that the issue isn’t getting the considerate hikers who are 500′ off the trail and digging a 8′ deep hole and covering it with a rock etc to do better is the issue. It’s the people that can’t even do the most basic things.
So having the already good people do more, won’t fix the issue.
Thinking about it, I could say I carry my poop out, and nobody would know any different, because I poop so far off the trail and cover my tracks so well, that it may as well be carried out 🙂
Agreed. I’ve always played this game whereby I become competitive with my family and friends to do the very best in digging the hole, dumping and covering my tracks so good that not even Mantracker could find it.
It’s as close as you can get to leave no trace without packing it out. That being said, it’s only shit. I’m happy to pack it out as needed.
The last time I was doing extended camping, I opted to incinerate all my waste, instead of digging a bunch of holes to bury it. Get the fire nice and hot, then heap your turds into it. It is initially smelly when it burns, but when you’re done, you’re left only with ash. Since you have a fire going, you can also heat some water and give yourself a wash too.
Poop. For one, take care of it no matter where you are. Also, for those who are squeamish about it – go work as a plumber for a couple of years. You will get over your phobia.