Catholes and trowel en route?

[Ajay Nangalia]

As someone who has not done his first trek yet, I had a question - at the campsites, I understand that toilet tents are set up.. however, if one needs to poop while actually on trek, do we use a trowel to make a cat hole and do our thing?  What's the practice on these himalayan treks?

[Vinita]

Hi Ajay. On the trek route you could just go off the trail a bit and do the job. One need not dig. Just make sure you are not near a water source so that here is no contamination. Remember to go off route only after informing a trek mate and have a trek mate keep an eye on you. In forests which are bear infested its good to be talking amongst yourself as bears tend to stay away from people so making sounds keep them away. 

[Asdulla]

In start it may feel awkward to go and do the thing in open, but if you are not comfortable with the toilet tents provided at campsite you can just go little off trail.. find a decent bush, rocks or trees. Just ensure to check the surrounding for any kind of animal, insect or reptile presence or trail before you start 😅.

You may also visit near to your campsite at night, dig a small hole and cover it once you are done. But remember not too far as nights can be risky.

Avoid doing it anywhere close to water streams, reason these waters are usually used by many trekkers and even animals.

You can carry a water bottle along with some toilet roll or tissues. During winters water can be chilling cold.  I would recommend you to carry toilet wipes & intimate wash/spray for travel (you can easily get few options on amazon & Flipkart) before hand while packing for trek. I personally use them, they are easy to use, compact, keep you clean & hygiene and eco friendly too.

 

[Dr Sree]

8 hours ago, Asdulla said:

In start it may feel awkward to go and do the thing in open, but if you are not comfortable with the toilet tents provided at campsite you can just go little off trail.. find a decent bush, rocks or trees. Just ensure to check the surrounding for any kind of animal, insect or reptile presence or trail before you start 😅.

You may also visit near to your campsite at night, dig a small hole and cover it once you are done. But remember not too far as nights can be risky.

Avoid doing it anywhere close to water streams, reason these waters are usually used by many trekkers and even animals.

You can carry a water bottle along with some toilet roll or tissues. During winters water can be chilling cold.  I would recommend you to carry toilet wipes & intimate wash/spray for travel (you can easily get few options on amazon & Flipkart) before hand while packing for trek. I personally use them, they are easy to use, compact, keep you clean & hygiene and eco friendly too.

 

This is a very good suggestion.... However I'd like to add one thing here: please take only TOILET PAPER on your trek whether you are going for a local one, for few hours, or a Himalayan trek for a few days.

Absolutely NO wet wipes, even the ones mentioned as biodegradable. This is because wet wipes in general are non biodegradable, and even the biodegradable ones need very specific conditions to decompose in the mountains. These conditions may not always be available or met. Toilet paper is just paper, so it can be composted along with the human waste 🙂

 

thanks

 

 

[Priya]

As part of the leave-no-trace ethos, it's highly recommended to dig a cathole, at least 60 m away from water sources and of course away from the main trail. Trust me, the smell of someone else's poop next to the trail on a hot summer day as you walk along is EXTREMELY offputting. 🤢

Just remember to dig approx. 1 trowel length deep by 1 trowel length wide when making the cathole, and try to find an area with soft soil, free from rocks. It makes decomposing easier. 😊