Responsible Trail Sanitation: Pack It In, Pack It Out
delalbright.com — Sustainable, Responsible, Common-Sense Adventuring
Words of wisdom from a guy they once called the “Poop Master.” And yes, there’s a story behind that.
Nobody really wants to talk about poop around the campfire. But after decades of four-wheeling, trail stewardship, volunteer work, and fighting to keep public lands open, I've learned that sanitation isn't just a camping issue. It's an access issue.
Whether you're exploring backroads, crawling into a quiet Sierra basin, running the desert, or joining a caravan of motorheads for a weekend trip, what we leave behind matters. Get it? Behind? :)
Many of the places we love have no toilets. No vaults, no outhouses, and no facilities whatsoever. Sometimes, even where facilities exist, they're full, damaged, closed, poorly maintained, or downright unusable.
At the same time, more people are discovering dispersed camping, overlanding, OHV recreation, and America's backcountry. That's a good thing in many ways, but it also means more pressure on the land. Sooner or later we have to ask the question nobody particularly wants to ask: Where does all that human waste go?
Too often, the answer is behind a tree, under a rock, beside a campsite, or accompanied by those infamous little “white flowers”—toilet paper fluttering around the landscape like the world's ugliest trail markers. Besides being disgusting, it reflects badly on all of us who use public lands.
For motorized recreationists especially, responsible sanitation is another chance to show we care for the places we use. My preferred rule is pretty simple: If you can pack it in, be prepared to pack it out.
I Learned This One on the Rubicon
This isn't theoretical for me. Years ago, during some of the Rubicon Trail's busiest periods, sanitation became a serious management problem. Thousands of people could travel and camp along a trail with limited toilet facilities, rocky ground, water nearby, and very few good places to properly dispose of human waste. Trail volunteers saw the results firsthand, and so did land managers.
Somewhere along the way, after spending far too much time talking about toilets, sanitation systems, waste bags, and what happens when thousands of people all have to “go” in the backcountry, I acquired the distinguished title of “Poop Master.” I've been called worse.
There was an important lesson underneath the humor, though. Poor sanitation can become a land-use problem. When campsites and trails become littered with human waste and toilet paper, somebody eventually has to deal with it. Volunteers clean it up, land managers have to respond, complaints increase, and eventually additional regulations or restrictions can follow. That's why I became such a believer in packing it out.
Packing It Out Is the Best Default
There are certainly places where properly buried human waste is legal and appropriate, and you should always know the regulations for the land you're visiting. But I've also spent enough time in the Sierra, deserts, rocky trails, snow country, and heavily used campsites to know that the textbook “dig a cathole” solution doesn't always match reality.
Sometimes there's barely enough soil to drive a tent stake. Sometimes you're near water. Sometimes you're camped on granite or hard desert ground. Sometimes an area receives so much use that dozens or hundreds of catholes aren't much of a solution at all. And sometimes, let's face it, people simply don't do it correctly.
That's why my preferred backcountry sanitation plan is to carry a pack-it-out system before you need one, not after somebody starts doing the emergency toilet-paper dance behind the Jeep.
What Works?
You don't need a $100,000 overlanding rig or some fancy expedition toilet to handle sanitation responsibly. You just need a system that works for you and, more importantly, one you'll actually carry and use. I've used several systems over the years, and I'm not selling any of these products or representing the companies mentioned here. These are simply things I've used or seen work in the real world.
PETT / Cleanwaste GO Anywhere System
This has been my longtime go-to system. It folds up, travels well, provides a real toilet seat, and uses waste bags designed specifically for human-waste disposal. For families, groups, longer trips, or a base camp, add a privacy tent and you've got a pretty civilized backcountry bathroom.
I've also learned a few tricks from years of field use. On snow or very soft ground, give the toilet a solid base so the legs don't sink. Carry more waste bags than you think you'll need, and follow the manufacturer's instructions for using, sealing, storing, and disposing of them.
And keep the privacy tent zipped up. Trust the Poop Master on this one: flies can find an open toilet tent faster than your buddies can find the cooler.
Bucket Toilets / Luggable Loo
Another perfectly good option is the simple five-gallon bucket toilet. They're inexpensive, easy to carry, and, when used with an appropriate waste-bag system, very effective. Campers, hunters, RVers, four-wheelers, river runners, and plenty of other backcountry travelers have used some variation of the bucket system for years.
It isn't glamorous, but neither is squatting behind a manzanita bush while hoping nobody comes around the corner. I'll take the bucket.
What About Catholes?
Where regulations allow them, properly located and properly dug catholes may still be appropriate. The important part is knowing before you go, because rules vary and some heavily used or environmentally sensitive areas require human waste to be packed out.
Even where catholes are allowed, consider the terrain, the amount of use the area receives, proximity to water, and whether you're realistically going to be able to do the job correctly. Rocky ground, shallow soil, snow, high-use campsites, and sensitive environments are all good reasons to choose a pack-out system instead.
And whatever method you use, please don't leave those white flowers decorating the bushes.
Sanitation Is Also Mentorship
There's another part of this that we sometimes overlook: sanitation is something we need to teach. A newcomer to four-wheeling, overlanding, or dispersed camping may honestly have no idea what's expected when there isn't a restroom around. That's where those of us who've been doing this awhile have an opportunity — and a responsibility — to mentor by example.
When you take somebody new into the backcountry, show them your pack-out system. Explain why you carry it, how you use it, and why leaving toilet paper or improperly buried waste behind isn't acceptable. Don't embarrass somebody for not knowing; teach them before they need to know. That's how responsible recreation gets passed from one generation of trail users to the next — not through another regulation or sign at the trailhead, but from one person showing another how we take care of the places we love.
The Bottom Line
We spend a lot of time talking about responsible recreation. We talk about staying on designated routes, respecting closures, putting out campfires, picking up trash, helping other travelers, volunteering for trail work, and being good ambassadors for motorized recreation. Sanitation belongs on that same list.
Maybe it isn't glamorous, and maybe nobody wants to be the person who brings up poop at the club meeting. Fine. I'll do it. I've certainly talked about worse things over the years.
Taking care of human waste is simply another part of taking care of the places we use. If we want our four-wheeling routes, dispersed camps, beaches, dunes, forests, deserts, and backcountry destinations to remain clean and available for future visitors, we need to accept responsibility for what we leave behind.
Pack it in. Pack it out. Leave the campsite cleaner than you found it.
Keeping our public lands clean isn't somebody else's responsibility. It's ours, and it's one more way we can demonstrate that responsible motorized recreationists aren't just users of public lands — we're caretakers of them too.
What Works for You?
I'm interested in what other experienced backcountry travelers are doing. What toilet or pack-out system works for you? What have you found works particularly well for families or groups? Do you have a favorite privacy-tent setup, storage trick, or sanitation lesson you learned the hard way?
Share it. This is one of those subjects where exchanging a little practical trail wisdom — and maybe having a few laughs along the way — can help all of us do a better job of taking care of the places we love.
Clean camps. Clean trails. Responsible recreation. Open access.
