HUMAN FECES

[billiebob]

How do you manage it.

With the overlanding, boon docking season here I'll share one of the reasons locals HATE people camping off grid, away from a proper campground.

I run my dog on the beach, yesterday a Ford Transit thing was parked where I often do so we kept going. Hes gone today so the dog runs, I walk and what do we discover 20' from where he camped.....

HUMAN FECES

Too freaking lazy to dig an 8" deep hole and cover it up, Nope, lets just dump a load and leave.

For anyone wondering why the locals hate you.
This is top of the list.

Get a brain, quit being a lazy, inconsiderate peice of crap and quit dumping a load in the forest.
No, HUMAN FECES is not the same as deer droppings.

So the question is......
How do you manage yer HUMAN FECES ?

 

[billiebob]

I'll start,

first I note where the roadside pull out outhouses are.
Second I use the restaurant and gas station facilities I stop at.
I might stop for a beer specifically so I can use the bars washroom before retiring.
Then, come morning I plan a trip back to the outhouse even if it is 5 miles way. Brew a coffee, have breakfast, go for a drive.

PS, no I have no onboard facilities in my SquareDrop Trailer. Altho I'm considering a bag, 5 gallon pail thing. So far at 65 I can control the urge. And if I have an emergency.... lol..... I do have a shovel.

 

[Shovel]

I'm a resolute believer that any society which doesn't have more benches than bums is the most vulgar synonym of this thread's title. As of typing this I believe that definition includes all of them worldwide. They're all that word.

We're not talking about benches specifically here but there are a few things that every human has to do whether they want to or not. Nobody has a choice. You need to eat and drink and breathe and sleep and make excrement, or die.

So we as a society need to pick either everyone who doesn't have their own plumbing gets bodied or else we work together to provide those needs, including ample public bathrooms. It really is that simple and I'm way not interested in a lively debate on the topic.

Sometimes you provide things to other people for yourself. Maybe you buy your spouse a new grill so you can enjoy the burgers off it. Maybe you buy your kid a car so you can have yours back or some nice tight fitting headphones so you don't have to hear their tunes. Maybe we build and maintain ample public restrooms throughout America because then we can all use them when we need to, and so can all the people who might otherwise leave us special surprises to step in. That means when I vote and when I have the opportunity to be heard I lean in that direction persistently.

That's a longer term solution. Shorter term and more individually I put my on-the-road deuces into plumbing any time I get the chance. Before it becomes urgent if I can make it happen - just like topping up a 3/4 full fuel tank at the last fuel stop before a dry stretch. You know the old rhyme here I sit, broken hearted... ?
I also carry a shovel to the surprise of nobody so if I need to bury someone something I already have the right tool for the job. Putting in a little planning effort means that really only happens when I'm on a multi day hike, or when there's a surprise change in scheduled events.

It seems like the last 16 months or so have produced a ton of freshly recruited, often quite involuntary car and van dwellers in the USA and I suppose a lot of them are just doing the best they can for now.. if only there was some sort of program that could simultaneously address the problems of unemployment and not enough public facilities. Maybe like a construction corps of some sort, made up of civilians...

 

[billiebob]

yes, wow, so true. Literally a year ago BC closed washrooms..... everywhere. I literally picked up a plate with what I thought was a bad buritto a mile from home and no, it was a plate of ********, dumped on the centerline of the highway. 100% we do stupid ********, literally and we pay. But in the normal scheme of things, ignoring the craziness of the pandemic, How many retards with full facilities are dumping the bush. How many full on motorhomes dump the holding tank in a stream or ditch.

In Canada I have never in 65 years NEEDED to dump in the bush. Including 15 years of mountaineering above treeline. There are always oprions unless to are too freaking lazy or ........ if the government does silly things like close washrooms in a pandemic.

But I'm not looking for reasons to fail. The question is how do you manage HUMAN FECES. Even the closure of public washrooms last year was no excuse for campers since we also said avoid unneccesary travel. A huge hit to commercial trucking but zero effect or overlanding.... since it was banned.

Yes, we could provide more facilities but in the spirit of expedition travel is that not kinda self defeating ????? Like are we not aiming to be independent? So how in the spirit of being disconnected, do you manage HUMAN FECES for a week or more?

 

[charlieaarons]

Serious question:
What is worse, feces that biodegrade to nothing in 2 weeks when left on the surface at ~ room temperature*, or used toilet paper that can stay around for several months?
That’s why in my backpacking days in both Sierra Nevada and Brooks Range, I carried strike anywhere matches and/small butane lighter.
*I have done experiments on my own property.

 

[AbleGuy]

Here’s one workable solution to the one source of the problem being pursued in Portland....free sewer tank pump out service for homeless folks living in campers along the roadsides, etc.

Portland to provide sanitation pump-out services for homeless people living in RVs

The program will provide sanitation pump-out services for people experiencing homelessness and currently living in RVs parked along city streets.

www.oregonlive.com

 

[s.e.charles]

i think if someone can drive away from it, it's not their problem.

watch how many "people" on youtube live in subcompact suvs - "the vanlife" - and don't have more facility than a roll of bumwad paper.

that ********'s going somewhere.

 

[pith helmet]

“I'm way not interested in a lively debate on the topic.”

“Maybe we build and maintain ample public restrooms throughout America because then we can all use them when we need to, and so can all the people who might otherwise leave us special surprises to step in.“

Well, I’m afraid you’ve already stepped in it, so to speak.

This assumes me that many of the people we are talking about wouldn’t destroy the facilities and **** in front of the door. Some people are just animals.

 

[Grassland]

We have 8-12 people living in a bus shelter on a main road near me.
They've been living there for months. AFAIK all have addictions and mental health issues and most refuse to go to shelters.
Downtown I do some work, and I've almost stepped in people poop right on the sidewalk. These people are so drunk or high or brain damaged they can't walk properly and fight invisible people. If there were a restroom, and they managed their way in it, it is likely they wouldn't manage to defecate in the toilet. The restroom would mostly be used as a shelter from our delightful -33 winter weather, and as a place to do drugs.

I'd love to see some Soviet style work camps. Subsidized food, housing, and healthcare, but you fix the roads and clean the streets and parks.

 

[Herbie]

Serious question:
What is worse, feces that biodegrade to nothing in 2 weeks when left on the surface at ~ room temperature*, or used toilet paper that can stay around for several months?
That’s why in my backpacking days in both Sierra Nevada and Brooks Range, I carried strike anywhere matches and/small butane lighter.
*I have done experiments on my own property.

Your property is not representative of all environments. In the desert, feces left on the surface will desiccate and hang around for months or longer, assuming that it does not attract animal attention. It is all too common when free-hiking Anza Borrego to come round a patch of rocks and find little grey mounds with just a bit of TP festooning the nearby cacti. The TP is obviously bad too.

Out here, the rule is pack out your TP, and bury or pack out your feces. This is the main reason we like a porta-potty: The "handling" is the same whether we're in the desert, the mountains, a state park, BLM land, or spending a night on a friend's property. Pack it all out.

 

[ExpoMike]

Sadly we now live in a world of people who are all about "ME" and "it's someone else's problem". I just do not understand how people think it's okay to just poop anywhere and do nothing about it. Really, did your parents teach you to just poop in your living room and leave it? I would hope not. Too many people are f'n lazy, inconsiderate and as waste of this planet's resources.

As for our solution, our last two rigs were setup to use a PETT toilet and WAG bags to pack it out. Very simple and easy. No messy chemicals or liquids. No extra water to be used or black water to dump. Sure the WAG bags were a little costly but we bought in bulk which got the price down. We felt it was part of the cost of our travels, no different than the cost of food, gas or anything else for the trip. Our new build will still be using WAG bags but will use a different toilet setup.

 

[Porkchopexpress]

A very high percentage of homeless use a controlled substance. You can philosophize correlation vs causation but it's definitely more difficult to climb out of poverty when you are stoned or drunk.

 

[BritKLR]

It's a reflection of our world/society today.

While the greater percentage of violators maybe the transient population, I'd add that another significant violator is the outdoor athlete. We live in an area where a great deal of high altitude training occurs.......when was the last time you've seen the professional, semi-pro, collegiate, hardcore hobbyist outdoor athlete carry a wag bag, shovel or even TP? Have you ever been at 10,000 feet and come around the bend to see a high alt athlete dumping in the middle of the trail, jump up and just keep going up to the continental divide?
Before I gated the bottom of our property it was a common dumping spot for the outdoor athlete finishing the 18 mile Boulder Canyon route.
Ever seen a pro/semi-pro/serious hobbyist event once they clear the crowds and are in the unpopulated, rural portions of the trail?..........looks like a cattle feed lot.

That behavior reflects societies views of the outdoors....a giant toilet.

 

[4000lbsOfGoat]

So how in the spirit of being disconnected, do you manage HUMAN FECES for a week or more?

I also have no toilet facilities in my squaredrop...

I use a Thunderbox Outback Toilet. It's the cats nuts!
Line it with a compostable bag (bottom of the bag torn open), set it up over top of a hole and you're good to go for at least a few days. Just add a little dirt on top after each use. You're really only limited by how deep you can get the hole. I think about 4 days is the longest I've gotten out of a single hole (being used daily by 2 people). When the hole is full, just dig a new one. When you're ready to move on, just bury the bag.

In a pinch, if hole-digging is not an option it can be used with a non-torn bag to hold the business.

 

[Verkstad]

if the government does silly things like close washrooms in a pandemic.

My buddy runs a local state park tells me they closed all but two restrooms and all the showers. Primarily to reduce exposure to the guy who cleans them.

Here’s one workable solution to the one source of the problem being pursued in Portland....free sewer tank pump out service for homeless folks living in campers along the roadsides, etc.

Maybe workable for a few and perhaps they appreciate it.
The number of people living in campers with functioning toilet systems is tiny fraction compared to the overall of Portlands freerange poopers.
Another form of PR firing the good vibes tax money gun at a problem which has nothing to do with ’ExPo Guy type of camping.