
I am a dental assistant who hikes. I hike,
which means I walk in interesting places for longer than normal lengths of time. And, I have Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). For many years I have hiked, mountain biked, and trained for half marathons. I’ve successfully navigated the unique challenges of IBS when enjoying outdoor sports. But, when I first considered adventure travel, and hiking long distances in particular, I had a few concerns. Not the least of these was, where will I go to the bathroom?
Yes, I was concerned about food, water, a good fitting backpack, knowing how to layer clothing and what hiking boots would accommodate my wide foot on a long trek, but these are easy questions to ask your Authentica trip coordinator, your guide, or your local green vest at REI. Who wants to admit to a stranger that they suffer from IBS and have serious concerns about pooping outdoors? Even people who don’t suffer from IBS worry about where to “take care of business” when they’re deep in the wilderness with no porta-potty in sight. This is a crappy problem and if I’m going trekking, I need answers . . . and so do you!
Preparing for a Bathroom Break on the Trail
When people first start adventuring, toileting needs quickly move to the front burner. Where do you do “it”? How do you do “it”? I hike with my local women’s hiking group regularly and we frequently welcome new members, many of whom are totally new to hiking in the wilderness. I tell them that the best strategy is preparedness and a sense of humor. Simply communicating with the people that you’re hiking with can go a long way to easing your anxiety about having to go Number 2 on the trail. We’ve all been there so your fellow hikers will be more than empathetic.
The Ultimate Poop Kit for Your Backpack
As you can tell, the poop issue is the one that I’ve pondered quite a bit. Here are the things I carry, my “poop kit”, if you will, to make me feel prepared for any doo-doo emergency:
Toilet paper- A hiker can use leaves or other items found in nature to wipe with, but I find this idea a little risky. Who wants to end up with an uncomfortable rash for the duration of the hike just to save a little TP?
Sealable plastic bags (at least 2)- Never bury your TP. Carry it out in this bag and dispose of it when you get to a garbage can. Some wilderness areas require you to carry out your poop as well. You read that right. In those situations, these bags work for poop portage too.
Wipes (for bum and hands)- Just in case . . . pack these out too.
Hand Sanitizer- Contaminated hands have the potential for giving you even worse stomach issues and other illnesses. Just like in real life, wash your hands after you poop in the woods, but if you can’t, use hand sanitizer.
Latrine Trowel- This is to dig the cat hole where your poop will go. You dig a hole, squat over it, poop, then cover the hole and the poop with dirt. If you do this right, the trowel should never come in contact with poop.
Disposable Gloves- These are especially crucial for me if I have to carry out my poop. I’m too afraid that getting all that toilet paper and poop into the plastic bag will be messier than I anticipate.
Extra set of underwear and pants- I carry these in case of an accident. There I said it. I know you were worried about that. Just keeping it real here.
Gallon size sealable bag- If you needed that extra set of underwear and pants, your messy ones go in here. You can thank me later.
Picking the Perfect Spot
There are conventional standards about where you “do the deed” when you’re in the wilderness. Generally follow these guidelines:
Find a spot of soft earth where you can dig a hole 6 inches down.
Be about 200 feet away from water if possible.
Be about 200 feet away from the trail. Heavily wooded areas can disorient you so be sure you note landmarks to help you get back to the trail safely.
Avoid digging up vegetation for your cat hole.
Remember to pack out your toilet paper, wipes and other personal hygiene products
Optional: Mark your poop spot with a stone grave marker or a stick indicating that something died there and move on. I’m only partially joking here. If it seems like your spot is an ideal location for going Number 2, it’s a courtesy for anyone else who is looking for a nice spot to dig their hole. How horrified would you be to dig up someone else’s poop when you’re desperately seeking relief yourself?
***These are general guidelines. Some locations, like alpine areas and large bodies of water, ask hikers to follow different guidelines for where to go to the bathroom.
It’s normal to poop, but a poop kit and list of guidelines only goes so far to reassure someone who’s new to dropping their drawers on a hike. When I hike with beginners, I address the issue right off the bat, especially when someone shares this specific concern. We talk about it BEFORE it happens. I review exactly what you need and exactly what you do. I explain that the others will guard the trail and give them privacy. Mostly, we keep the topic light-hearted and fun, because, just like the title of the beloved children’s book says, “Everybody Poops”.
The Poop Problem Persists
Even as an experienced woods goer, I still have reservations when I’m adventuring in unfamiliar environments. When my hiker friends and I started thinking and talking about international trekking and adventure travel, I discovered that I was not alone in my concern. In fact, many of them would not even consider such a trip for this very reason. We are primarily a group of middle-aged women who know that we will experience gut issues in one form or another. because of stress, or the processed mid-western American diet, or fear of a change in diet, or what we know about our bodies’ reaction to altitude, or simply a different morning routine. Even those with healthy gut biomes will go 2-4 times a day!
If you’re hiking 6-8 hours on any given day, you will need to find a place, possibly several places, along the trek to relieve yourself. Would I even be able to squat after or during a 10-15 mile hike? What if I can’t find a secluded spot to do the deed? It’s one thing to meander a not-so-traversed path in the woods and do your business with God’s four-footed creatures, but what do you do when you are on a heavily-traveled trail where hundreds of other hikers are traversing the same path? At this point my brain was in overdrive because I needed practical solutions.
Pooping in Wide Open Spaces
When the urge comes and there’s not a tree anywhere you could get to fast enough to help camouflage the dirty deed, you’ve got to go back to basics. The advice I give to beginning hikers is the same advice I followed on a recent trip to hike in the Alps. Talk about exposed trails! Because we frequently hiked above tree line, there were few tucked away spots for me to take a squat without being in plain view.
With my poop kit ready and my fellow hikers guarding the trail from both directions, I let the sun warm my cheeks while I relieved myself. There’s really nothing more I could do . . . except not go on the hike. I had faith that my friends would stall the other hikers on trail until I completed my mission. There was never an issue and I wouldn’t have missed those views for the world! PRO TIP: Our guide carried an umbrella and it occurred to me, after our trip, that if I carried one, it could double as a pooper shield in exposed terrain. Now my poop kit includes an umbrella if I’m going to be in exposed areas!
Know Your Body and Stick to What it Likes
The best way to reduce your anxiety is by knowing your body and how it performs best. One of the most stressful things a frequent pooper endures is an irregular toilet schedule. Keeping to a typical routine, as much as possible, will make your outdoor bowel movements more predictable. When you're going to tackle a long trek or any all-day outdoor event, your routine will be disrupted in a big way. In addition, you may be experiencing altitude sickness and jet lag which puts your body systems on a roller coaster that you can’t exit. When I started taking on bigger outdoor challenges, I had to figure out how to accommodate my sensitive digestive tract and her needs.
Half Marathon Horror
I once trained to complete a half marathon. I thought I was covering all my bases with my training. I had a challenging, but doable exercise regime and I had my nutrition dialed in perfectly for my body. What I had not prepared for was the 30 degree difference in temperature. It had been in the 60s during my training runs but on race day, the temperature soared into the 90s! We’d been receiving warnings about the heat and were encouraged to take precautions.
I never drink sports drinks. Ever. But on this day, I decided that I would drink an entire bottle of Gatorade because of the heat. Big mistake. Add to that the change in altitude and my digestive system was at DEFCON 1. . . . let’s just say that race day wasn’t pretty. I believe I visited every porta-potty on the race route.
The day of a big hike or event is not the day to try a new food or drink, especially if you have a sensitive system. Experiment on training days and when you know you’ll have easy access to toilets.
Andes Angst
On my first adventure vacation I hiked the Andes and the views were glorious! Less spectacular was the way my stomach reacted. Our guide had suggested that we not eat before setting out on our first day. He explained that digestion would be slower for us at high altitude and eating would likely cause stomach troubles. You know I listened. . . and I didn’t eat breakfast.
It turns out that this advice did not work for my system. After a long drive up a mountain to start the trek at 14,000 feet on a completely empty stomach, I already knew I was doomed. My strength and energy was low at the start and I felt completely ill. Bad went to worse and at that point, my stomach felt too wrecked to eat anything for energy. Further compounding my digestive woes was the fact that I ignored the advice to stay on top of my hydration. I suffered through that hike and got to the end only to dry heave for many minutes at the parking lot. Not exactly a poop story, I know but it’s connected, I promise.
My sensitive digestion, which causes my poop angst, contributed to this particular situation. Although the advice to not eat may work for most, it did not work for me. I questioned the advice at the time, but I didn’t speak up and voice my concerns to my guide. So now, I know that when I hike in high altitudes I need to eat breakfast early, no more than a few hours before a hike, snack frequently on carbs, and stay hydrated.
What Works for Me
When adventure hiking or doing any kind of endurance activity, I prepare for a disruption to my typical routine. I plan for it. I do what I can to get into a routine as soon as possible. If the elevation of my destination is significantly higher than where I live (like the Alps or the Andes), then I arrive at my starting altitude a couple of days early to acclimate and get extra sleep. I focus on getting up at the time my hikes will begin and I hydrate even more than usual. I find good coffee and a breakfast that is most similar to what I would normally eat in an effort to spur along my “morning constitutional” before the day’s event begins.
Then there are also over the counter pharmaceuticals. I try to avoid them as much as possible but they do have their place. Imodium became a joke between my walking partner and me after that extremely hot half marathon I mentioned earlier. She waited outside the porta potty way too long that day and knowing my aversion to drugs, started carrying the drug for me when we walked. I was grateful on multiple occasions for her thoughtfulness.
Figure Out What Works for You
Gut-conscious friends, figure out what will help you minimize your tummy woes when adventuring outdoors. First and foremost, speak to your doctor. I am not a medical professional, dietician, or anything of the like. I would suggest that only you know your own body. Learn your own body and keep a homeostasis situation as much as possible.
The inevitable is bound to happen unless by some miracle you find yourself all bound up! (The puns are endless, aren’t they?) After doing everything you can to calm your digestive and nervous system, you simply need to be prepared to poop in the great outdoors. Let this sink in. I promise no one will care what you're doing or even how long it takes. In fact your hiking buddies want you to have a great experience and will likely be willing to stand lookout and steer the curious sort in another direction. You thank them by returning the favor.
Don’t Let Bathroom Troubles Stand in the Way of You and the Outdoors
Even though I snickered my way through my thoughts, humor in healthy doses seems to put even the most unpleasant topics in perspective. I have found that being open and honest about your needs while hiking is the best remedy for uncomfortable situations. Let your fellow hikers know how you are feeling and what you are needing. They can help provide the privacy you need, so don’t hold back. Let it out. Don’t let an overactive pooper keep you from the adventure you desire. I would imagine, whether you realize it or not, there’s a movement that’s bound to happen. Oops! There I go making jokes again.
Happy Trails!

Guest author: Becky L.
We’re excited to feature a guest blog post from one of our Authentica clients! Having experienced incredible adventures with us, including the Tour du Mont Blanc and the breathtaking landscapes of Peru, she continues to embrace her love for the great outdoors. With her adventurous spirit and witty humor, she knows how to make even the toughest days in the mountains more fun.
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