How to Poop in the Woods: The Complete Backcountry Bathroom Guide

It’s the question every new backpacker is too embarrassed to ask — and getting it wrong pollutes water, spreads disease, and ruins the wild places we love. Done right, it’s quick, clean, and leaves no trace. Here’s exactly how to handle your business in the backcountry.

Why It Matters

Improperly buried (or unburied) human waste contaminates water sources with bacteria like Giardia and E. coli, takes a long time to break down, and gets dug up by animals. In popular areas, the cumulative impact is enormous. Doing this right is a core part of Leave No Trace — and it’s not hard.

The Cathole Method (the standard)

For most forested and backcountry terrain, the cathole is the gold standard:

1. Walk at least 200 feet — about 70 adult steps — from water, trails, and camp.
2. Dig a hole 6–8 inches deep and 4–6 inches wide with a lightweight trowel. Aim for dark, organic topsoil — that’s where microbes break waste down fastest. Keep the dug-out plug of dirt nearby.
3. Do your business into the hole.
4. Fill it back in with the original soil, tamp it down, and disguise the spot with a rock or branch.
5. Pack out your toilet paper (more on that below).

A dedicated trowel makes this dramatically easier than a stick or tent stake.

• The Deuce of Spades trowel — the ultralight favorite, well under an ounce.
• Sturdier digging trowel — for hard or rocky ground.

When You Must Pack It Out (WAG Bags)

The cathole doesn’t work everywhere. You’re required to pack out solid waste in:

• High-use alpine zones with thin or no soil
• Desert and slickrock (waste doesn’t break down in arid ground)
• River corridors and canyons
• Glaciers, snow, and many heavily regulated areas

The tool for this is a WAG bag (Waste Alleviation and Gelling). It contains a gelling powder that solidifies and deodorizes waste, plus a sealable outer bag you carry out. Less gross than it sounds — and increasingly the rule, not the exception. Check the regulations for your specific area.

Toilet Paper & Hygiene

• Pack out used TP in a dedicated sealable bag (a doubled odor-proof bag works great). Buried TP doesn’t decompose quickly and animals dig it up.
• Use unscented, plain white TP (a compact roll) and use less than you think.
• Hand hygiene is non-negotiable. Carry hand sanitizer and use it every time. Most backcountry stomach bugs are spread hand-to-mouth, not by water.
• Some hikers prefer a “natural” wipe (smooth stone, snowball) followed by sanitizer — fine where appropriate, but never bury or scatter used TP.

Peeing in the Backcountry

Urine is largely sterile and low-impact, but still pee at least 200 feet from water. In fragile alpine and desert areas, pee on rock or gravel rather than plants — animals will dig up vegetation for the salt. For anyone who’d rather not drip-dry, a reusable pee cloth (like a Kula Cloth) is antimicrobial, clips to your pack, and is a game-changer.

Periods in the Backcountry

Menstruating on trail is completely manageable. Pack out all products — used tampons, pads, and wrappers — in a sealed odor-proof bag (never bury them; animals dig them up). Many backpackers prefer a menstrual cup, which means nothing to pack out and works for long stretches between empties. Keep hands clean with sanitizer. More in our women’s backpacking gear guide.

A Simple Backcountry Bathroom Kit

Keep it all in one small zip bag:

• Trowel
• Plain TP in a zip bag (+ a second bag for used TP)
• Hand sanitizer
• Pee cloth (optional)
• WAG bag(s) where required
• Odor-proof bag for waste/products

It weighs a few ounces and means you’re never caught unprepared.

Related Guides

• Leave No Trace in the Backcountry
• The Complete Backpacking Gear Checklist
• Women’s Backpacking Gear Guide
• Ultralight First Aid Kit

Leave no trace — especially this one.