Have you ever been admiring nature’s beauty when all of the sudden nature calls? Not near a bathroom or anywhere close to civilization for pit stopping at your favorite gas station.

On the trail . . . far from a toilet.

It’s easy to go potty in the outdoors, but it’s not always easy to clean it up. Here’s my guide to following Leave No Trace principles and leaving nature as clean as you found it while still answering nature’s call in the great outdoors.

Leave No Trace Tips

There are 7 Leave No Trace principles. Principle 1 and Principle 3 both apply to using the bathroom when you’re on the trail. Princple 1 is Plan Ahead and Prepare. Planning ahead not only helps ensure you and your friends enjoy the outdoors safely, but it also helps you minimize your impact to the land.

Principle 3 is Dispose of Waste Properly. Anything you pack in must be packed out. That might seem like common sense, but there are things people don’t often think about when it comes to this. This includes toilet paper.

Here are some ways to apply Leave No Trace principles to potty time:

  1. Know the requirements for the area you are in. But when in doubt, follow the next 5 tips.
  2. Pack out all toilet / tissue paper ALWAYS.
  3. Don’t pee or poo within 200 feet of water (if you can help it).
  4. If in a canyon and close to water, pack out all solid human waste via a wag bag.
  5. If burying human waste, dig a cat hole at least 6-8 inches deep.
  6. In the desert, do not bury human waste. Rather, pack it out in a wag bag as it will not biodegrade as easily due to lack of organic soil to help it breakdown.

Leave No Trace Tools of the Trade

These are the tools of the trade you’ll need for when nature calls in nature. Below I’ll talk about each tool and when best to use it.

Toilet Paper + 2 Ziploc Bag

Toilet paper is a tool that does . . . double duty. Useful for runny noses, pee, and poo, the toilet paper roll is a familiar and useful tool. But it’s also TRASH and should NEVER be left in the outdoors. I pack my toilet paper in a Ziploc sandwich baggy to protect it from getting wet. I also have another Ziploc bag for when I need to pack USED toilet paper out. If you get weirded out by the sight of used toilet paper, you can cover one Ziploc bag with duct tape.

Kula Cloth

The Kula Cloth is a pee cloth with antimicrobial and anti-odor properties. The Kula Cloth has two sides. The plain black side is used for patting dry after you pee. The other side of the cloth is waterproof, so you don’t have to worry about anything soaking through to your hand. The Kula Cloth is designed with snaps to keep the hygiene side clean and protected. It also makes the Kula Cloth easily accessible when attached to the outside of your pack.

I love bringing this along everywhere! It comes in handy when you’re traveling and the toilet paper runs out of your stall. And, it hugely cuts down on the amount of toilet paper you have to pack on a hiking or backpacking trip. It’s always way better than drip drying, which never gets you dry. And you can reuse the Kula Cloth for days in a row, and it doesn’t get stinky.

You can find the Wine Hiking Society Kula Cloth design in our online shop.

The pStyle

I’ve tried a couple different versions of pee funnels, and my favorite by far is the pStyle. It’s small, easy to use, and works great to wipe away drips that other pee funnels miss. I’ve used the pStyle in a number of “tight” (wink wink) places. It’s perfect for trails with little privacy / cover or grueling days when your legs are just too tired to squat. Plus, you don’t have to pull down your pants to use it!

Here are some tips for using the pStyle:

  1. Try it at home in your toilet or shower the first time so you can see how it works. It is really easy, but practice always helps.
  2. Buy a case for it. The case allows the pStyle to air out. It also comes with a loop to hang it on your pack. Plus, the case is washable.
  3. Don’t pee uphill! This is an odd one, but even as a veteran pStyle user, I’ve made this mistake before. Even on a slight uphill, you might not notice but your pelvic tilt is different. If anything, try to pee downhill to make sure you get the pStyle angled DOWN. That way, your pee runs down away from your shoes too.

For backpacking trips, I like to bring wipes and wipe it out at the end of the day. (Wipes go in the waste Ziploc.) But, that’s just my personal preference. It’s not necessary, especially if you buy the breathable case.

Another special plug and perk of this group: Use WINE10 for 10% off a pStyle and pStyle case. Pick from lots of colors and designs!

Wag Bags

I can’t stress how useful wag bags are to have in your backpack for all trips. They are perfect for packing out solid human waste in terrain where it is required (slot canyons, etc.) and recommended (desert, etc.). On top of that, they are necessary for when the terrain is too challenging to dig a hole (too rocky). Trust me. When you gotta go, you gotta go. Finding the perfect place to dig a hole can be challenging at times.

This picture of Wine Hiking Society co-founder Angelique is a perfect example. She was on her way down from King’s Peak here in Utah when she had to go . . . like, bad. As you can see, there wasn’t a place to dig a hole. Luckily, she had a wag bag.

Wag bags typically come with a little bit of toilet paper and a wet wipe for your hands. There’s also poo powder in the bag to neutralize the odor. They make it so easy to pack out your poop and dispose of it when you get to a garbage. It contains the stink AND you throw it away when you get to bins.

Lightweight Trowel

If you are hiking or backpacking where you’re allowed to dig a cat hole, you’ll want a lightweight trowel. Look for one that is small but still has the 6 inch length requirement for holes so you have a measuring tool.

Sometimes digging a cat hole can be difficult if the ground is hard or if there are a lot of roots. Here’s a pro tip for digging a cat hole: find a large rock that you can pull out of the ground. The ground under the buried rock is typically softer.

Plan Ahead to Leave No Trace

In summary, it’s really not a bad idea to have a lot of these items with you even when just traveling or in the car if you’re going for a shorter hike. Knowing how to dispose of solid waste is never so important as it is on a backpacking trip when it’s LIKELY to come up as an issue, but being prepared on day hikes is also extremely important.

I’ve even used the tools at trailheads when the bathrooms were beyond disgusting, out of toilet paper, or nonexistent. Please comment below if you have any questions about how to leave no trace when nature calls. As a frequent pee-er, backpacker, and hiker, I know how it is to hear nature’s call and panic at my unpreparedness.