When nature calls and there's no toilet or other facilities available, you have to make do with what you have. Here are some tips on what to bring in your backpack and how or where you can handle bathroom visits in the forest. One of the worst things is finding trash left behind by people who didn’t think ahead. A good rule to follow is to leave the spot as nice or nicer than when you arrived, even when it comes to bathroom visits.
Along many hiking trails, there are outhouses or other toilets. Use them as much as possible.
Urinating when you’re out hiking is not a big problem as long as you avoid doing it near a water source. Go a good distance away from water. Keep in mind that if it’s warm, it may smell, so also move away from the trail.
What can be an issue is toilet paper left behind along the trails. Use as little toilet paper as possible. Put it in a dog waste bag and take it to the nearest trash bin or burn it. A lighter, some hand sanitizer, and a roll of toilet paper along with dog waste bags can be stored in a ziplock bag to keep it dry and easy to find in your backpack.
Burying the paper or placing it under a rock is better than leaving it exposed, but animals or heavy rain can make the paper visible and cause it to blow away. There’s also moss (sphagnum moss) and leaves (dandelion leaves or large leaves like maple leaves are great) that you can use to wipe yourself. Make sure the area looks undisturbed when you leave.
Wet wipes that might contain plastic are something you should definitely avoid when you’re out in nature. If you do bring them, make sure to put the waste in a bag and dispose of it in a trash bin. The same goes for other hygiene products like diapers – they should go in your waste bag and be thrown in a trash bin.
If you need to defecate and there’s no toilet nearby, the best option is to have a small shovel with you and dig a hole. There are foldable shovels that don’t weigh much. Go a good distance from the trail and make sure there’s no water source nearby. You can lift a rock and replace it afterward, but it’s better to dig a sufficiently deep hole and cover it with the dug-up soil. Where digging isn’t possible, using a rock is an alternative. When nature calls, you have to do what you have to do.
Make sure the area looks as good or better when you leave as it did when you arrived. If someone who passed before you dropped trash – pick it up in your waste bag so we all do our part. That’s the secret to enjoying nature and following the right of public access responsibly.
Remember to bring:
- Ziplock bag
- Waste bags/dog waste bags
- Toilet paper
- Lighter
- Foldable shovel
- Biodegradable soap
- Possibly hand sanitizer
Remember to leave at home:
- Wet wipes