Have you been pondering on how to poop while camping? You should know that it’s not that big a deal. It’s part of the experiences you will gain on your camping trip, especially if this is your first-time camping.
Take note that some areas you want to camp at have regulations on human waste. Depending on how much people travel that route or some other factors, solid human waste wouldn’t be wanted lying around.
How to Poop While Camping
Follow these tips to become a pro in pooping while camping if you haven’t made your own portable camping toilet.
1. Prepare Yourself
To get yourself started on how to poop while camping, you should arm yourself with the following tools when leaving for the campsite. You should carry with you a trowel, hand sanitizer, and some tissue paper all in a Ziploc bag. If you like, you can create code words for each of the pooping tools. This is to avoid calling out for the items exactly as they are when the time comes to poop.
2. Search for a Good Spot to Poop
Before you get super pressed to go to the toilet, we advise that you first find a sweet spot where you would feel comfortable and at home (maybe) while pooping. Please ensure that this spot isn’t situated close to any water sources, trails or anywhere near the campsite. You don’t want everyone running off because of your poop’s smell!
3. Find a Way to Wipe
After choosing your sweet spot for taking a dump, the next step is to pick out the appropriate materials for butt wiping. This part could be a bit difficult if you’re dry camping. Common wipes are large leaves, which must be smooth-surfaced to avoid hurting yourself, and sometimes smooth rocks or sticks. You could also make use of your hand as a wiping tool. Some of us might frown at this, but it’s a great advantage if you can utilize your hand in getting your butt properly wiped.
4. Dig Yourself a Hole
Yes, you should dig yourself a hole. A 6-inch hole would be a nice pit to empty your poo in. You can dig this hole with your hand or a shovel to make things easier for you. Next up is the process of going about the act itself.
5. Take Position
The recommended positioning technique for taking a dump is the “Koala-bear technique.” Here, you wrap your arms around a tree and position your legs at the angle 90⁰. Feel free to push out the poo once this position is taken. When you’re done pooping, wipe your butt and throw the used materials in the hole. Make sure to cover it all up.
6. Mark the Spot
After you’ve covered up the poop hole, you don’t want other campers to step there. Therefore, it’s important that you make a visible mark for all to see. Using a stick, you can draw something up in the dirt. Feel free to explore your creativity when doing this bit.
Also, make sure you make use of a hand sanitizer after completing the whole process. You don’t want to go about spreading disease and compromising everyone’s health.
How About Urine?
Although your urine isn’t as harmful as your poo, there are still ways that human urine could cause problems. Some animals like goats and deer are attracted to salts. And as we know, our urine is a salty liquid.
Hence, it’s not much of a surprise to find these animals wandering around areas where humans often visit. When they sniff out these salty liquids in the ground, they start digging up the dirt and damage plants in the area. Situations like that aren’t very healthy for Mother Nature and can cause serious problems.
We advise you to follow these steps for urinating while camping:
- Take water sources and proximity to campsites into consideration when picking a spot to urinate. Somewhere about 200 feet away from the camp should do.
- You should also dilute your pee with some water. You can sprinkle some water from a bottle on it as this will reduce the concentration of pee in the soil. It will also reduce the smell of pee.
- Dispersing the urine properly is important. To do this, pee on some gravel or on a large rock. Pine needles are good too. When pee is dispersed it doesn’t really get to surrounding vegetation. Hence salt-loving animals won’t get a chance to destroy them.
Final Thoughts
We believe your questions on how to poop while camping have been answered now.
Please do well to follow the given guidelines and be mindful not to constitute environmental pollution as you go about your pooping business. We need to keep our national parks running in great condition so that everyone can enjoy them.
You can make use of biodegradable tissue paper, dig deep poop holes and bury your waste properly so as to ensure a beautiful, non-hazardous environment for everyone.