How to poop outdoors in a way that won't harm the environment and other hikers

Summary

If you’re one of the 63 million Americans who went hiking last year, chances are you’ve found yourself needing to go, with no toilet in sight. Aside from personal inconvenience, why is this such a big deal? Human fecal contamination is a public health concern in natural areas. Pathogens in human poop can remain active for a long time – over a year in outdoor environments – meaning that waste left behind today can cause severe gastrointestinal disease and other sicknesses for future visitors. Fecal waste can enter waterways after storms or snowmelt, harming water quality. Finally, it can be upsetting – or at the least, unpleasant – to encounter someone else’s poop and used toilet paper in nature. Toilet paper waste on Mount Elbert in the San Isabel National Forest in Colorado. Shari Edelson, CC BY-ND As a researcher and a Ph.D. candidate who study human impacts on parks and protected areas, we have been thinking quite a lot about poop and ways people can tread more lightly on the landscape. Our focus is on Leave No Trace, an environmental education framework – created by an organization with the same name – that helps people implement minimal-impact practices in the outdoors. Poop is causing problems in parks and protected areas From the Appalachian Trail and Mount Everest – known as Sagarmatha in Nepali – to national parks in Norway and Aotearoa – known as New Zealand to English speakers, researchers have documented the negative impacts our bodily wastes are causing in the sensitive environments where we seek recreation and restoration. In Colorado, the problem has gotten so bad that land managers have decided to take action. In the Eagle-Holy Cross District of the White River National Forest, for example, the U.S. Forest Service now requires visitors to take their human waste out with them. A footbridge on the Chimney Tops Trail in the Great Smoky Mountains near the Appalachian Trail. Shari Edelson, CC BY-ND Best practices for dealing with your poo in the great out...