Ultralight hiking gear..$2000 Ultralight hiking clothes..$400 Wiping your butt with rocks...priceless.

5 minutes later: random guy looking for sticks for tinder.

Good info, thanks Andrew. Brings back memories, pleasant and otherwise. Pleasant was the perfect fallen-tree-forked-branch seat I found that overlooked a meadow in BC. Midway through my process of elimination a bull moose walked out of the opposite tree line. I had a tag and a rifle and had been hunting hard for four days without seeing one, but this guy got a pass as I sat motionless and bare-assed for at least 15 minutes until he wandered back into the foliage. No meat that trip but the moment was worth it. Not so pleasant was the midnight pee I attempted from the saddle on Grand Teton into the gully on the Idaho side. An icy, upward blast of spindrift-laden wind managed to return most of my liquid offering onto my chest, face and hair. Dripping with urine and humiliation, I scrubbed myself off as best I could with snow and returned to my tent once again reminded that Mother Nature can be a cruel mistress.

4 squares of paper a day??? Id have shit all over me... Josh

A few chuckles during the video, then side splitting laughter reading the comments!

Did he say "polish the rear view mirror"? LMFAO

Is it just a coincidence that the video I watched right before this one was the beans/rice/frito's recipe?

Pretty good for what it covers; here are other considerations. Often you are with someone. So in selecting your site, privacy is also a consideration. If there is a designated area, you can have an agreement, like leaving a hiking stick along the access path to signify the area is “occupied”. For many, squatting is an unnatural position. Putting some rocks under your heels or using the natural ground slope will help with balance. If packing out toilet paper is a goal, it’s nice to use a brown paper bag - rather than a clear zip lock bag - to put it in. The brown paper bag will go in a zip lock bag because you know it’s going to rain. Finally, Metamuscil is your friend. Some diets leave you with … paste. It can require a lot of TP. With fiber supplements, the stuff comes out firm and clean; hardly any clean up. Finally plus one - learn at home. Play with fiber supplements before you go (on your trip). check your balance squatting. Remember the privacy thing because at least the first few times you may want to take your pants all the way off. And note the direction water will flow relative to your shoes. I am wondering about just using hand sanitizer after the water clean up. Everything has to go somewhere and just putting purifier on your hands doesn’t make any residue disappear.

I hesitate to disagree with someone as expert as Mr Skurka, but in many types of country you just can't create a decent cat-hole with the heel of a trail shoe. I'd urge people to carry a trowel of some kind so you can practice Leave No Trace principles. You don't need to carry a monster like he shows here. There are a number of very lightweight options on the market these days, or you can adapt a snow stake for a multi-use solution. Also, while it's simple common-sense to cleanse your hands afterwards, people should be aware that the big risk on the trail is cross-infection from other hikers who aren't being so careful. So beware of any food that may have been touched by others, and clean your hands after any handshakes or other physical contact.

I'm laughing out loud 😂. It's not a subject that's openly talked about by many, but it is something we all do. May as well talk about. Thanks Andrew for sharing.

Pine cones or sticks? My butt hurts just from thinking about that

Very necessary video, thanks for broaching the subject! However, I'd like to add something and hopefully it helps someone. I'm a big fan of hand sanitizer, it definitely has it's place in civilized life as well as the backwoods, however, it's not perfect. You talk about your back country bidet where you pour water on yourself and use your other hand to basically scrub your butt and then "cleaning" your hands with hand sanitizer. Alchohol or alcohol based hand sanitizers kill a lot of the "ickies" but not all of them, and certainly not 99.9% like manufacturers like to claim. E. coli, for example, is NOT killed by alcohol hand sanitizer which is reason enough not to depend on hand sanitizer alone. If it's all you have then definitely use it but use it correctly and use the right one. First off, non alcohol based hand sanitizers are useless money wasters, don't buy them, they don't work. Alcohol hand sanitizer must be at LEAST 60% alcohol content and preferably 70% or higher. Then you have to use enough so that your skin stays wet with it for at least 30 seconds, again preferably longer. If your hands are dirty, as in have dirt/grime/visible dirty stuff no amount of alcohol hand sanitizer will kill the ickies that hide in that dirt. Hands should ALWAYS be correctly washed with soap and water before using hand sanitizer when possible (to get rid of the dirt and the ickies that hide in it). In the case of using alcohol hand sanitizer after going to the bathroom in the woods you should still wash your hands with soap and water as soon as possible after using the sanitizer if possible. Basically, alcohol based hand sanitizer is great stuff but it's not perfect and it definitely does NOT work as well as old fashioned hand washing with soap and water. Always wash with soap and water whenever possible whether you've used hand sanitizer or not. Don't believe the hype hand sanitizers spew, great sanitizer is good but it's not as good as they claim. You may wonder why I leave such a reply...well I'll tell you. I use alcohol based sanitizers daily, it's become a ritual since working as an EMT and constantly being exposed to the ickies so we have it all over the house and I carry a bottle in my purse. Unfortunately, it didn't help when I was contaminated by a contractor who didn't wash his hands enough while working on our bathroom. Long story short I ended up in an ambulance on the way to the ER in so much pain I was praying to die. After all the tests and questions the docs finally figured out it was caused by being exposed to fecal matter because the contractor didn't wash his hands after going or on his hands from working on the sewer pipe. Either way, he passed it on to me, probably when I was signing paperwork and shaking hands at the end of the day. I always use hand sanitizer after shaking someones hand just because so many people don't wash their hands. Anywho, the final result was around 45 days of living hell and a total of 3 months before I was back to normal. The docs called it "a really, really nasty type of gastroenteritis" that caused my intestines to swell up along with horrible abdominal pain accompanied by uncontrollable nausea/vomiting/diarrhea. I lived on Gatorade and water for the first month. The second month I managed to eat small amounts of food occasionally with the Gatorade and water. The third month I was able to eat more but still suffered from severe abdominal pain afterwards. It wasn't until just after the third month that I could finally say I felt back to normal. I'm only writing this because this video, while informative, gives the impression that hand sanitizer alone is good enough to clean your hands after contact with fecal material and that is absolutely incorrect. In situations where there is no way at all to wash with soap and water, then, yes, hand sanitizer is definitely the best alternative but that is the only time. The sanitizer isn't perfect and washing with soap and water should always be performed when at all possible. Trust me, you do not want to go through what I did. Had I washed my hands with soap and water instead of just using hand sanitizer I would never have ended up in the ER but I believed the advertising and felt safe. I've since researched the facts and learned otherwise. Hopefully it helps someone.

A topic that not many hiking videos address. Good to know for the novice hiker.

I can’t spare a square. I don’t have a square to spare.

If it is winter you can use a snowball. Cleans you up really well and is better that coffee!

You had me right up to the point when you said to wash your hands.

I love learning all this outdoor crap.

Had me right up to "clean hand /dirty hand..."

I wonder how many people watched this while pooping..

Very important issue, seldom taught well (if at all) - well done! Supporting the comment of "brandi wynter" below I always use a tiny bit of bio-degradable soap + water to wash my hands afterwards. Sanitizer is meant & work best to disinfect a clean surface, however its cleaning abilities are really limited. ATB Gereon

Pine cones, on my balloon knot? I don't think so! Moist towelettes, and pack em out. Thank you very much.

I like to poop early on a trip. Gets the senses tuned to the woods--breaks the ice, or the soil.

He feels light he feels good in fact he feels really good now

“I like to budget four squares of toilet paper a day.” “Half a dozen sticks, rocks, and some pine cones, I could just keep going.” “Wasn’t that satisfying?” This dude has some awesome one liners.

Great vid!!

Great tips, and hilarious!

im never shaking skurkas hand :-\

Good info. Thanks for sharing.

I literally had to take a dump after watching this....

YOU...Did a unique SERVICE (i think many people wouldn't/couldn't do this; but you did! KUDOS to you!!). 👍🤔😃👣

I'm honestly amazed with how many times he said poop and didn't Crack a humorous grin

So happy with this really explaining video. Will test it in a shower one day 🙈

There is also the "crab" position I learned from a video of a trail days demo on what to do, including the existence of WAG bags

I had to rewind that rock and sticks business and hear it again I thought i was tripping... Hahahaha×5000

I love taking a dump in the woods. I have no problem leaving toilet paper in the hole. It will break down and be gone in no time.

" WHAT!!!!!!!!! NO SEA SHELLS ".

how does this not have more likes?

It's all very well looking around etc., but what if you have the 'sudden runs' ?

Great video! Thanks for an informative video on a subject that is normally ignored.

For me, the wiping aspect is arguably the most important stage yet pretty much not covered very well here or other videos. The idea of wiping with rocks and leaves sounds good, sure. However, I was recently in India for three months, and after two weeks of using their less-than-smooth toilet paper, the accumulated scratching gave me the worst butt itch and made walking around (I wasn't hiking) a serious problem. So if you're hiking for weeks, how is accumulated wiping with rocks and leaves going to be any different? And I don't care how allegedly smooth they may be since that Indian toilet paper didn't seem all that rough, at first.

Me: if i have to poop in the desert I'll just cover it with sand cat style

WAITWAIT, WAIT..WAIT!! Is he instructing me to wipe my ass with twigs? 3:08 .. someone please clarify.

That was great and thank you. Information about a proper cat-hole and sanitary procedure is critical. It should be the first thing one learns about native camping. Leave No Trace, But keep yourself happy and hygienic. We all gotta drop the deuce at some point .. knowing where is just as important as knowing how. Don't be embarrassed! Get out in the Wonder knowing you did your business correctly. Everything else falls in to place. The amazement of the stars, the comforting sound of flowing water, the rhythm of the waves, the sounds of birds all around. The grand vista that you will explain with awe to anyone who will listen. For The Love. Camp!

3:28 "all these rocks and pinecones can go straight in the hole" :-D

November 2019 Anyone? THIS ONE IS UNique

The orangutan hang🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 holy shit I'm dying

Well done

Muy interesante. Saludos desde España!

keep the spray cap on the water bottle and use less water and with more pressure to get better cleaned, use this from the get go.

You might hesitate doing a high five when meeting Andrew.

Watched this video for the comment section. (Pardon the pun) I enjoyed the comic relief 😆

I ate a grilled cheese while watching this.

Travel baby wipes > backcountry bidet

“the Skurka scrub” hahaha

Hand sanitizer doesn't clean anything off your hand, it just hopefully kills off some bacteria.

rocks and pinecones 😳😂 it is an excellent video though guess we just pick and choose what parts to take and which things to leave behind some great lines heavy lifting polish the rearview mirror Wasn’t that satisfying? so funny! 😊

A place with a view and the base of an older tree works wonders!! A place to lean up against and about 8" of duffy goodness!

Will use the bidet technique. Around mile 14 I start to get the chafe.

I have Crohn’s disease and ibs , I’m attempting the Appalachian trail March 17 , are there any videos on which leaves Might be found , and which might be able to be used a lot , and not irritate .. just curious if there are some stead fast plants known along the way .. Thnaks for sharing ..

You use the bottle with water to wash your behind. Should I put soapy water in it, to make it my cleaning behind bottle?

While using sticks, spin while pulling, maximizing square inches of the stick. This takes practice, start by spinning maximum 90 degrees.

Have you heard of Multi-Purpose Wipes by Wysi Wipe? They're these small compact biodegradable towelettes that are about the size of nickel. Add a tiny amount of water and they expand letting you unfold them. Not heavy and you can carry enough that you don't need to get your hands dirty. Worst case scenario, you can pee on them to open them up if you really had to.

I'm taking a trip into the Arctics this summer. How'd you poop (properly) in the tundra and moraine where I assume anything will decompose pretty slowly?

Usually, when I need to poop outside I have a ligher to burn toilet paper ... I need more time because before starting I "prepare" the field to avoid that flames start a fire into the woods.

Different brands of tp also breakdown very differently. RV, marine, often claim to dissolve quickly. Cottonelle also boasts of this.

4 PIECES!!! You've never eaten freeze-dried chili....holy shit!!!! Seriously though I'm a heavy tp user, I burn the paper and bury the poop...too many bears and things where I live for packing out the poop....

Once I went biking deep in the woods early one morning, and something threw a large rock at me. I heard the thud and felt the vibration from a few feet away. So I stopped and got off my bike to investigate, and all the sudden I felt that mornings coffee and breakfast, and had to go and had to go quickly. Though I instantly felt like I was being watched, I hoped whatever threw that rock didn't mind, but I felt like it thought maybe I was also kind of marking my territory or something, so another rock splashed in the creek by me, and then I heard 2 wood knocks coming from about 50 yards on the other side of the creek. After I finished and used some tp I brought with me, I used a little hand sanitizer, walked out towards the creek, and with open arms, said thank you and also some Native American words and then got on my bike and left. True story.

He made the whole video without laughing.

Oh god just imagining using a pinecone on my hemmorhoid....😣

Thank you. Now I Know how to poop

Jeremy from Jersey just subscribed

Great video! Your a great teacher!

and you only need 2 sheets if you use both sides

“Straight into the hole” hahahahaha

Which poison ivy leaves do you use?

“Polish the rear view mirror.” 😂

Great video. Happy pooping, everyone.

Any outdoor alternatives to toilet paper in case you run out? Would wiping with a leaf work, provided that it's not, say, poison ivy?

I find it interesting the differences between hiking culture and canoe culture. Canoe culture would generally involve a much more generous toilet paper allowance but also a much deeper hole. I've also never heard of doing anything but burying it. Then we travel a bit heavily by hiking standards and the areas are generally lower traffic and rich environmentally. You're also always close to a water source. So camp suds or biodegradable soup are easier to use.

Did he just take the poop stick and crushed it in hands?

I found this video very moving

I love learning about this woods shit. Do you think bears also shit there as well?

Can you please say something about how do you make sure that you are not digging into a wild animal hole, like a snake, scorpion or so? or in a dangerous larger wild animal area where they might sneak on you while doing your business?

They must have a different variety of pinecones out that way. Ours basically have thorns on each node.

how do you deal with mosquitoes? second, what about those wispywipes?

Gonna have a bunch of newbs walking around with baboon butt telling folks to use sticks,rocks, and pine cones. Pine cones really not on my worst day .

Is this The Onion outdoors site? Sticks, rocks, one square of TP?????

Should've used a squirting water bottle. Saves and uses your water wisely than pouring it. I also use soap around the hand that will be "dirty" before touching and scouring the bum with water. Save a little of water at the end and wash your hand. Then add soap to said hand and wash again.

I never thought about using the shit stir stick as a literal flag of shit to mark the used shitter with. Handleing it excessively and breaking it is new to me as well.

"I got like half a dozen sticks here, I got some rocks, I could use some leaves and some pinecones, and all of that can go straight into the hole!"

PINE CONES??? AAARRRRHHHHH!!!!!

I wouldn't mark my spot and hope someone else digs there.

"Just to polish the rearview mirror."

Lol yeahhh I'm not using rocks and pine cones. Couple feet of TP, a wet wipe or two depending, and you're good to go.

I thought, when you mentioned "collecting materials", that you would be referring to collecting the pine cones that seemed abundant. LOL We in the SouthWest of our country have to be weary of snakes, especially rattlers, before you squat. For some reason, they (it) don't like it much when it is raining, heavily; ... I guess --> no sense of humor.

Pinecones?? To wipe?? 🤣 Mmmm Poo stew!! 🤣

I just find a suitable tree I can lean my back into for support and go and then cover it up.

I think you can burn used toilet paper right on site. Would it be environmentally-friendly?

Just burn that square of paper real quick and drop it on the pile. Watch that it's burned out then cover or pee on it. If you're out far enough nobody is ever going to find that anyway. Every other animal just craps right on top of ground where ever they are.

whether the un clean hand goes from the front, or the back, keeping the water bottle lid partially closed, to decrease the water flow, will give you better control and get more out of your water allowance used. If you want to be really clean, have a designated lid, with a needle pierced hole, on a small pop bottle. spray the water on your hand' by squeezing the bottle, and wipe your anus. repeat as needed till the hand comes out clean In this method, for a very clean bum, you wont need more than a cup of water worth. you will be amazed how economical it is (without compromising on sanitation). For Luxury sake, , you can alternate with a second, similar pop bottle, with soap water, and 2 paper squares for drying at the end. wash you hands thoroughly with soap. (hopefully your left nails are trimmed short). You can replace the pierced lids with whole ones, and keep the pierced ones for next time. (Other wise use the partially open lids suggested in the beginning.)