Camping Toilets
How to Dig a Cathole Without Violating Leave No Trace
Sep
A secluded view is not the same thing as a suitable place to bury waste.
A campsite can feel wonderfully remote—until a narrow creek, thin soil, or a crowded trail corridor makes a cathole the wrong choice. Privacy is only one part of the decision. The ground must have enough biologically active soil to break down waste, be well away from water and drainage channels, and sit where digging will not expose roots, fragile plants, or rock.
Land-manager rules come first. Some high-use backcountry zones, alpine areas, deserts, slot canyons, beaches, and river corridors require visitors to pack out human waste, often with an approved waste-containment system. Others prohibit camping or digging in sensitive locations altogether. A person who arrives prepared can switch methods without improvising: carry a trowel and a sealable waste kit, then use the method the site and regulations support.
- Check current agency rules for the specific trailhead, permit area, or campground—not merely the wider park.
- Do not treat distance from other campers as evidence that soil, water protection, or vegetation conditions are adequate.
Check the rules before choosing a cathole
A cathole is a method of last resort, not an automatic backcountry entitlement. Land managers may require vault toilets, designated privies, or portable toilet systems in places where concentrated use, shallow soil, fragile vegetation, or proximity to water makes burial unreliable.
Before departure, consult the managing agency’s current backcountry rules and any permit conditions. This matters especially in river corridors, popular campsites, alpine basins, deserts, caves, and snow-covered terrain. A route can cross multiple jurisdictions, each with different disposal requirements; check when catholes are prohibited for the specific destination rather than relying on rules from another trail.
When a pack-out system is required, carry enough approved waste bags for the group and trip length, plus a durable outer container if the system calls for one. Do not improvise by burying bagged waste: plastic slows breakdown and can be uncovered by erosion or animals.
If posted rules, a ranger briefing, or permit language requires a toilet or pack-out system, follow that direction even where soil appears suitable for a cathole.
When Packing Out Is the More Responsible Choice
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Absorbent, undisturbed soil
A cathole is more plausible in deep, organic mineral soil that can be dug without tearing up fragile ground cover. Thin alpine soils, desert crust, slickrock, sand, snow, and saturated ground provide little treatment and recover slowly.
Cathole may fitDeep soil away from vulnerable surfacesChoose pack-out insteadThin, dry, frozen, rocky, or waterlogged ground -
Enough separation to protect water and camps
Where local guidance permits burial, select a site well away from water, camps, trails, drainage channels, and places people are likely to use. A legal distance alone does not make a site suitable if runoff or shallow groundwater can carry contamination.
Cathole may fitStable ground with meaningful separationChoose pack-out insteadDrainages, shorelines, seeps, and busy corridors -
Low cumulative use
One properly placed cathole has a different footprint from dozens in the same basin. Near trailheads, popular camps, climbing areas, and repeat-use sites, pack-out waste bags for sensitive areas usually prevent the accumulating evidence and contamination that scattered burial creates.
Cathole may fitTruly dispersed, low-use backcountryChoose pack-out insteadPopular zones where many parties bury waste -
A realistic retrieval plan
Pack-out is often the lower-impact option when digging would damage the site, when soil conditions are uncertain, or when a group cannot spread out responsibly. Carry a durable containment system before departure rather than treating burial as the default.
Cathole may fitContainment carried for marginal conditionsChoose pack-out insteadAssuming a legal cathole is automatically low impact
Choose ground that can recover
Begin from the places that need the strongest protection. Move at least 200 feet (about 70 adult paces) from lakes, streams, springs, wetlands, camp kitchens, tents, and trails. This Leave No Trace benchmark creates a buffer against direct contamination and gives other visitors privacy; local rules may require a greater distance.
Next, read the slope. Select level or gently sloping, well-drained ground—not a gully, dry wash, streambank, shoreline shelf, or depression. Rain can carry waste downhill through shallow soil, across exposed rock, or into water long after the hole is covered. A site that looks dry at midday may still be a runoff route during a storm.
Check whether the soil is deep enough to dig without cutting roots or striking bedrock. Favor durable, previously undisturbed ground over fragile meadows, cryptobiotic soil, dense roots, and loose sand that will collapse. These decisions belong among core bushcraft camp skills, because terrain reading prevents damage before digging begins.
Groups should not designate a single “bathroom area.” Repeated use creates an informal latrine: trampled vegetation, obvious paths, concentrated waste, and a problem inherited by the next camp. Each person should disperse sites across suitable terrain, or switch to pack-out when enough space cannot be found.
Pack out every hygiene item
Toilet paper, wipes, menstrual products, applicators, and disposable gloves do not belong in a cathole. They persist longer than waste, can be uncovered by animals or erosion, and turn an otherwise low-impact site into visible litter. Burning paper is unreliable and can create wildfire risk; “biodegradable” wipes still do not break down predictably in backcountry soil.
Carry a dedicated waste bag before leaving the trailhead: a sturdy zip bag or commercial waste-disposal pouch, plus a second outer bag. After use, place paper directly inside, seal it, and keep it separate from food and clean gear. An opaque outer bag reduces visual clutter and accidental handling.
Hand hygiene matters beyond the bathroom stop. Use soap and water where appropriate and permitted, or alcohol-based sanitizer on dry hands; avoid letting wash water enter streams or lakes. A compact kit is part of sound camping hygiene essentials, alongside clean water storage and a way to manage trash.
Keep the waste bag, paper, sanitizer, and a small trowel together in an easy-to-reach pouch. A clearly marked bag prevents a rushed trip from becoming an improvised sanitation problem.
Dig, Use, and Restore a Cathole With Minimal Trace
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1. Confirm that the site can support burial
Use a cathole only after confirming that local rules allow it and that the previously established water buffer can be maintained. Seek deep, loose mineral soil with visible organic matter—often beneath leaf litter or in a forest duff-and-soil layer—where moisture, roots, insects, and microbes indicate active decomposition. Do not scrape away intact vegetation to reach it.
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2. Reject ground where waste will not break down safely
Stop before digging if the soil is thin over rock, saturated, frozen, heavily compacted, mostly sand or gravel, or likely to flood. Alpine zones, deserts, snow-covered ground, cryptobiotic soil, shorelines, dry washes, and concentrated campsites are poor candidates. If a hole of adequate depth cannot be made without damaging roots or vegetation, switch to an approved waste-bag system rather than forcing a marginal cathole.
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3. Make a small, deep hole
With a trowel, dig a hole about 6–8 inches deep and roughly 4–6 inches across. This depth places waste in the biologically active soil layer while reducing the chance that animals, runoff, or later visitors will expose it. Keep the excavated soil beside the hole on a durable surface, not scattered through plants.
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4. Use the hole without adding trash
Deposit human waste directly into the cathole. Toilet paper, wipes—including products labeled biodegradable—menstrual products, and hygiene items do not belong in the hole; seal them in a waste bag and pack them out. A small amount of local soil can be added after use, but no chemicals, soap, or fire treatment is needed.
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5. Refill and erase the obvious signs
Completely backfill with the original soil, breaking up clumps and lightly disguising the disturbed surface with natural leaf litter, needles, or loose material already present nearby. Do not build a marker, mound, or rock cairn. Clean hands with sanitizer or soap and water used well away from waterways; the restored spot should not invite the next visitor to reuse it.
When any part of this sequence cannot be done responsibly—especially adequate depth, dry active soil, or separation from water and camp—packing out waste is the lower-impact response.
Seal it, then carry it out
A cathole is not a trash can. Toilet paper, wipes, tampons, pads, applicators, liners, condoms, gloves, and hygiene packaging should never enter it, even when the product is labeled biodegradable, compostable, or flushable. Those labels describe controlled disposal systems or limited material behavior—not rapid, invisible breakdown in a backcountry hole.
Use a simple double-bag method: place used materials in an opaque inner bag, press out excess air, then seal that bag inside a durable outer zip bag or dedicated waste pouch. Keep it separate from food and mark it clearly. A small amount of baking soda or an odor-control insert can help on longer trips, but secure containment matters more than fragrance.
This standard also applies when handling menstrual waste according to Leave No Trace. Carrying every hygiene item out prevents animals from uncovering it, avoids persistent visual litter, and leaves the site looking as though no one used it.
Include opaque bags, a spare outer bag, hand sanitizer, and a small trowel in the same pouch. A prepared system removes the temptation to bury an item.
Make the Decision at the Site, Not by Habit
- Confirm the land manager’s current waste rule before departure; a route’s reputation is not a permit condition.
- Carry a waste kit even when burial appears likely, since shallow soil, snow, rock, high use, or nearby water can change the decision.
- Before digging, recheck the 200-foot separation from water, camp, trails, and other use areas, then choose absorbent, organic soil rather than a drainage path.
A sound routine has two checkpoints. Before the trip, confirm the managing agency’s rules and bring a trowel, sealable waste bags, toilet paper or a reusable alternative, and hand-cleaning supplies. The pack-out option should remain available rather than serving as an afterthought.
At the site, read the ground again: locate water and drainage, measure the required separation, assess soil depth and use pressure, and abandon burial when conditions are poor. If a cathole is appropriate, cover and disguise it completely, inspect the area for dropped paper or packaging, and leave with every hygiene item. Burial is a conditional tool, not a default backcountry ritual.
