You Love the Outdoors. So Why Are You Pooping All Over It?

Human feces improperly left in the wilderness is one of the top issues noted by staff who work in the backcountry. “Land managers from Vermont to Patagonia are asking the same question: why is it so hard for humans to bury their poop?” Many people don’t understand that human waste doesn’t break down in the same way that animal scat does, for example. Kelton Wright explores what this means, especially for the US’s National Parks, thru-hiking areas, and really any remote places where humans go—and may not have access to a toilet to relieve themselves. There are solutions, such as digging a cathole or carrying one’s waste out in a bag, but most people either don’t know how to do these things or, worse, don’t care to. Wright explains how backcountry programs are ill-equipped to process human waste, and how sanitation technology in the wild is lacking in most parts of the world.

“But do the toilets flush?”

They didn’t. It was some kind of vault toilet, and when I told the woman that, she balked.

“I’ll just find something to hide behind.”

The Four Corners Monument is situated on a high desert. The best and perhaps only thing to hide behind was the toilets themselves.

Backcountry rangers see this dynamic play out daily. A visitor in an endless stream of cars will recoil at the idea of using the same bathroom as millions of others. And a visitor who will spend $400 on a down quilt and $200 on a titanium stove will laugh at the idea of carrying a free waste kit. The math isn’t rational; it’s emotional. It’s about what we think wilderness should be: a place where we can disappear to be and do what we want.