beginner's questions on backcountry pooping

Backpacking and camping basics and other general trip planning discussion for the uninitiated. Use this forum to learn where to look for the information you need, and to ask questions, related to the beginner basics of backpacking and camping, including technique and best practices.
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yosehiker
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Re: beginner's questions on backcountry pooping

Post by yosehiker »

Another option is not to use TP in the first place. I haven't carried it for many years now. It takes a little getting used to, but it works well and I don't have to mess with any TP. Try it on your next backpack and see how it goes. You can bring some TP along too so you have a backup option in case it doesn't work out too well. Like almost anything, the first time isn't the best, but you figure out a system the more times you do it. And this summer would be a good time to try it out as snow is a really good natural TP. I do get some squeamish comments about it, but if you think about it how many people in the world now or in the past use or have regularly use TP? They did it somehow, so should you.

And my $0.02 for the TP debate. Just pack it out. You don't leave or burn other items that may decompose or burn, so why just TP? I can understand why the land management agencies don't want you to burn it, so not having small fires all over the place. The few times in the past that I have burned TP I found it problematic as it was windy, or didn't burn well as it was wet/damp or I didn't want to get my hand too close to my waste, etc I guess if you really want to burn, I would do it in a hot campfire so it burns completely and is in a contained spot.

And the putting a rock on it advice is horrible. Those rocks stick out like a sore thumb. It always makes me feel very disgusted and gross whenever I see that in an area in the woods. Even areas where I know there is a lot of waste don't bother me as much as when I see those upturned rocks. Maybe just because I now know exactly where the waste is whereas other areas I can only assume.
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rlown
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Re: beginner's questions on backcountry pooping

Post by rlown »

so, you're not practical.. nice. the rock thing is what most of us do.
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yosehiker
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Re: beginner's questions on backcountry pooping

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Why the snarky comment rlown? I mean you certainly can disagree with me and post your own opinion but why go beyond that?
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rlown
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Re: beginner's questions on backcountry pooping

Post by rlown »

i think i did say what i meant. it is what it is.. you go when you go.
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kpeter
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Re: beginner's questions on backcountry pooping

Post by kpeter »

yosehiker wrote:And the putting a rock on it advice is horrible. Those rocks stick out like a sore thumb.
Well, it is how it is done. If you can remove and reinsert a rock in place then it has been done well, and probably should not be detectable. In any case, it is often much less disruptive to the landscape than digging a hole.
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rlown
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Re: beginner's questions on backcountry pooping

Post by rlown »

perfect reply. it is how it is.
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RoguePhotonic
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Re: beginner's questions on backcountry pooping

Post by RoguePhotonic »

I was talking to an old guy at Lodegpole last year and he was saying how no one talks about it but he thought it was a perfectly reasonable subject to ask how people wipe their butt in the wilderness. He said he likes to take a stick to get the more messy bits first to save on TP. I think I agree with him on the subject so I have to ask, do you people actually use the squares on the TP as they are? You actually take them and use maybe 3 or 4 stacked? If that is the case then that is why I use so much more because I have never used TP in squares like that. I unroll probably 10 or more squares and wad it up into a ball and use that.
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whrdafamI?
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Re: beginner's questions on backcountry pooping

Post by whrdafamI? »

Most all the answers can be had by simply reading "How to s h i t in the woods". That is the actual title of the book and is available at REI or any other similar store. The technics discussed here are unneccessary. I've always felt that going to take a **** was a private time to squat and reflect on days gone by...........
Better to have it and not need it than it is to need it and not have it!

Get busy living or get busy dying.
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rlown
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Re: beginner's questions on backcountry pooping

Post by rlown »

RoguePhotonic wrote:I was talking to an old guy at Lodegpole last year and he was saying how no one talks about it but he thought it was a perfectly reasonable subject to ask how people wipe their butt in the wilderness. He said he likes to take a stick to get the more messy bits first to save on TP. I think I agree with him on the subject so I have to ask, do you people actually use the squares on the TP as they are? You actually take them and use maybe 3 or 4 stacked? If that is the case then that is why I use so much more because I have never used TP in squares like that. I unroll probably 10 or more squares and wad it up into a ball and use that.
squares.. until clean. Sorry Bill, but this way no one has to buy a silly book. If you don't like the subject, don't read it. yes, i've been told that before..
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whrdafamI?
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Re: beginner's questions on backcountry pooping

Post by whrdafamI? »

Russ, the book is no more silly than people asking how to wipe their ass.
Better to have it and not need it than it is to need it and not have it!

Get busy living or get busy dying.
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