Bathroom Breaks on the Trail (without the bathroom) Hiking Tip
Everything you need to know when you have to relieve yourself on the trail
Benefits:
Be prepared when you can't hold it any longer
The Verdict: Mandatory for hikes longer than two hours
Cons:
Added weight to your pack
Click the image above to watch our Youtube short on going to the bathroom on the trail.
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If you’re new to day hiking, let me enlighten you on something that will happen when you start doing longer backcountry hikes. There will come a time when you need to ‘enlighten’ yourself on the trail.
You might be able to hold ‘it’ until you get to a toilet if you only do shorter hikes in more developed areas, but trust me, once you start spending full days in the backcountry, you will need to relieve yourself while on the trail.
We learned this the hard way, so I can attest to the fact that there is nothing worse than knowing you can’t hold it any longer, and not knowing how you’re going to get it done!
Enter the hiking trowel--we bought the BoglerCo Trowel. It's the key piece of gear for your travelling bathroom on trail. Using it is simple: head off the trail and away from any water sources (get as far off trail as you can without destroying flora and fauna), find a hidden spot, use your trowel to dig a cat hole (at least 6 inches deep), do your business, cover the hole, and voila, crisis averted!
By the way, good hiking etiquette means packing out your used toilet paper. If you bury it, animals will find it and dig it up, creating an unsightly mess for your fellow hikers. So make sure you have a leak proof plastic bag to carry it out without messing up your backpack.
And don't forget hand sanitizer: you're going to want to wash your hands! Wet wipes can be handy too, but they are optional.
Some heavily trafficked trails require you to pack your human waste out, so you won’t need a trowel on those hikes. Instead, you can buy a bag which has a chemical in it that renders all the waste solid on contact, but for most hikes in Canada, the trowel is what you need!
Your trail toilet kit is one of those things you carry that you hope you’ll never use, but when the time comes and you really need it, you’ll be glad that you have it. Happy trails!
Click here for our review of the Bogler Trowel mentioned in this article or click the buttons below to view purchasing options for the trowel.
If you're interested in buying a Bogler Trowel for yourself, you can use the buttons at the bottom of the page. Some links may be affiliate links.