Going to the bathroom outdoors: catholes, pack-out bags and Japan's portable toilets

Nobody likes to talk about it, but how you deal with human waste outdoors decides whether the next visitor finds a clean stream or a fouled campsite. The answer is not the same everywhere: some places want a cathole, some require you to carry everything out, and Japan's popular mountains have built a whole system around portable toilets. Here is what U.S. park guidance and Japanese national park sources say.

The order of preference

1. Use a toilet if there is one. The NPS's Leave No Trace page starts with "Utilize toilet facilities whenever possible." Go before you leave the trailhead (our suggestion).
2. Where catholes are allowed, dig one properly.
3. Where they are not, or the ground does not suit them, pack it out in a waste bag.

Catholes, done right

The NPS's page on the Leave No Trace principles says to "deposit solid human waste in catholes dug 6 to 8 inches deep, at least 200 feet from water, camp and trails," to cover and disguise the cathole when finished, and to "pack out toilet paper and hygiene products."

200 feet is about 60 meters, or roughly 70 to 80 adult steps (our calculation). Carry a small trowel, and a zip-top bag for used paper (our suggestions).

When you must pack it out

Some places do not allow catholes at all. Zion National Park, for example, states: "Human waste, toilet paper, and hygiene products must be carried out of all Wilderness areas and narrow canyons. Wilderness permit groups must carry a minimum of one human waste disposal bag per person while in the wilderness." For climbers it says to "tube, bag, or otherwise pack human waste and carry it out with you."

Pack-out rules tend to appear where a cathole would not work well, such as narrow canyons, bare rock, snow or very busy areas (our view). Check the rules for the specific park or forest before you go (our suggestion). Waste bags with a gelling agent are sold at outdoor stores; follow the product's instructions and the disposal rules at the trailhead or at home.

How Japan handles it

Japan's busiest mountains rely on portable toilets (keitai toire), and the reasons are practical:

• Yakushima. The Yakushima World Heritage Center says toilets in the island's mountains are few, and their waste is carried out by hand, 20 to 40 kg a day. Hikers are asked to bring portable toilets, use the private toilet booths placed along the trails, and drop the used bags in collection boxes at the trailheads. You may not use a booth without your own portable toilet.
• Daisetsuzan, Hokkaido. Japan's Ministry of the Environment notes that there are almost no toilets in Hokkaido's mountains. The few huts with toilets have them pumped out and flown down by helicopter, so trash in a toilet can break the pump, and used paper is to be packed out. Where there is no booth, the ministry suggests screening yourself with a poncho or umbrella, or having friends hold the trail for a moment, and warns not to step off the trail into vegetation to hide. In the eastern Daisetsuzan area, about 70% of hikers who signed trail registers carried a portable toilet, up from 65% the year before; 99% of those staying overnight at Minaminuma, a camping spot below Mount Tomuraushi, did.
• Oze. The Oze Preservation Foundation asks visitors to keep the mountain toilets clean and notes that donation boxes at the entrances help cover the large cost of maintaining them (Japanese currency only).

If you hike in Japan, carry one or two portable toilets even on a day hike, plus an odor-proof bag (our suggestion). They are sold at outdoor stores in Japan. Japanese disaster-preparedness guides also recommend stocking the same kind of bags for when water and sewage are cut off.

What to carry (our suggestions)

• Toilet paper in a zip-top bag, and an empty bag for used paper
• A small trowel where catholes are allowed
• Waste bags where packing out is required, or for emergencies
• Hand sanitizer
• A poncho or umbrella for privacy on open, busy trails

Related: The Ten Essentials and a trip plan, Treating water in the backcountry (why keeping waste away from water matters), and Hiking in Japan.

Our Japanese edition has the step-by-step guide to Japan's portable toilet booths: 山と野外のトイレ.