Pee Etiquette question

[Tuck]

When my wife Susan (aka Squirrel) has a bathroom break on the trail she goes into the woods (but can still be seen from the trail) and I stand guard looking up and down the trail for approaching hikers. When someone comes along I tell them my wife is on a bathroom break and they usually wait. What is the etiquette for nature calls on the trail? Thanks. Tuck

 

[TCD]

For pee that seems reasonable; it's about what we do. We don't care what anyone sees, but others may care, so its only fair to let them know. If you wanted to be "uber-considerate" you could go far enough off trail for people to be able to walk by without waiting, but I don't anyone minds a brief stop - chance to chat for a minute and meet new people.

Now poop, of course, is a different matter. For that, we use the same rule as for camping - 150' (200' in fed wilderness) from a road, trail or body of water.

 

[IQuest]

That sounds like a good plan. I myself would stop briefly but I also feel that no one should have to stop if they don't want to. If you don't want to be seen, ho further off trail. However, I can't stand used toilet paper that can be seen from the trail. Please bury or take it with you.

 

[sierra]

I think if you dont want to be seen, you should go where you cant be seen. This topic does bring up another question. I agree water sources are important to protect, but if I'm on a trail that follows a stream for a long way, I tend not to worry about it, I mean I have to go, I go. Do other's "hold it" no matter how long it takes to get by the water?

 

[HH1]

Hi Tuck,

I'm unaware of your BB protocol. Everyone I hike with heads off into the woods until they cannot be seen from the trail. That way you can dispense with the flagman role. In certain situations - a cloudy day in nondescript woods in level terrain - there is a slight chance, after finishing a break, you lose the trail. To avoid this, before you head off the trail, haul out your compass, set a bearing perpendicular to the trail and follow it for a few minutes until you find a comfortable, out-of-sight location. Afterward, just back bear out.

 

[John in NH]

Are you saying you make other hikers wait or that they volunteer to wait?

I once had a group make me wait to pass them on a heavily used trail (I think 19 mile brook) while someone was peeing on the side of the trail for literally 10 minutes. When I tried to get by after a few minutes, one of the guys reached forward to restrain me. I couldn't believe it! I always thought this was an oddball incident, against prevailing etiquette.

I don't think you can/should force other people to wait. The trails are open to all, so I would say if a person feels uncomfortable potentially being seen peeing go far enough off the trail to avoid that or don't go hiking in the first place. I don't really head far off trail, but I don't really care--its the woods afterall.

 

[bikehikeskifish]

Pretty please do your poop well off trail and bury it per protocol. My dog won't appreciate this advice but I do.

I would personally wait a minute or two but longer than that I would proceed, maybe with my hands cupped over my eyes. Maybe longer in winter where going way off trail is asking a lot.

Most regular hikers I know wouldn't be offended walking by or being walked by.

Tim

 

[blacknblue]

How far I go off-trail to pee depends on several factors, such as the busyness of the trail, visibility, terrain, etc. Being a guy, of course, makes things easier. But either way, I think the rule of thumb is: if you don't want to be seen, then don't be seen. In the vast majority of circumstances, it's quite possible to just wander off-trail a bit to be discreet and without having to make passing hikers stop and avert their eyes. I've played lookout for my wife before, but it's rare that it is necessary.

 

[TJsName]

Blocking the trail is generally rude if it is avoidable. There are few reasons that someone can't get far enough off trail to be obscure. There are big rocks and large tress/ blow downs that planning your pee break is easy. Late winter is a different story though, as getting far off trail can be a considerable task, but still the use of natual barriers makes it easier.

I generally don't pee right next to water sources, but not always a full 200 feet away. Poop is the much larger concern with that regard, so bury it and do it away from water sources, please!

 

[Tom_Murphy]

Early in my solo backpacking career, I got turned around after leaving the trail for a bathroom break. Sheer, debilitating, panic.

I do wonder if this is what happened to the woman on the AT in Maine last year.

To avoid that happening again, I walk a straightish line, dropping my pack along the way with but in sight to my final destination. Afterwards I have two points, me and my pack, that define a path back [vector] to the trail.

 

[TJsName]

Early in my solo backpacking career, I got turned around after leaving the trail for a bathroom break. Sheer, debilitating, panic.

I do wonder if this is what happened to the woman on the AT in Maine last year.

To avoid that happening again, I walk a straightish line, dropping my pack along the way with but in sight to my final destination. Afterwards I have two points, me and my pack, that define a path back [vector] to the trail.

This tends not to be an issue in winter. Which is also why you should be careful not to follow random side paths in winter if it isn't obvious there will be a view.

 

[pocahontas]

As embarrassing as it is to talk about...when I know I'll soon need to go, I'm then in 'mission-mode' while I'm hiking along & I start to look for a large tree or large rock into the woods away from the trail to be able to fit behind~ so I am not noticed from the trail.

 

[hikerbrian]

Can't say I've ever experienced a "lookout" person suggesting I wait while one of their party answers a nature call. If anything, I'd think this would be exceptionally awkward for the person relieving themselves - who wants to rush through their business, knowing when you get back to the trail there might be a group of people waiting for you, "wondering" what you were just doing.

If someone has to go, they move off the trail a distance commensurate with their level of comfort at being seen. Everyone has to go eventually, it's not a big deal. If someone told me to wait on a trail so someone could pee, honestly I'd think they were nuts. Like, certifiably insane.

 

[Billy]

Once, my wife and I are on a lightly used trail (Carrigan Notch Trail or Desolation Trail, something like that) and she has to go. I tell her "there isn't much traffic, you don't have to go out of eye-sight, just step off the trail 10-15 feet, I'll stand guard for you, etc". So she makes the mistake of taking my advice. At the most inconvenient time (for her) I look a ways down the trail, mutter "uh-oh" just loud enough for her to hear me, and then I say to a non-existant hiker coming down the trail, "Morning, mind waiting just a sec? My wife's just off the trail taking care of business..." As I'm saying all this I'm using my peripheral vision to watch her fly into Def-Con-5 panic mode.....lots of thrashing and scrambling about.

Guys, if you want to use this, remember it's all in the delivery. You HAVE to sound natural talking to the "approaching hiker". Also, unless you're lucky enough to have married someone very gullible, this will only work one time.

 

[Jay H]

I normally put on my bear suit and I hide, waiting for oncoming hikers.. Then I jump out and charge them until they turn around and run in the opposite direction.. Problem solved.

Jay

 

[jniehof]

Guys, if you want to use this, remember it's all in the delivery. You HAVE to sound natural talking to the "approaching hiker". Also, unless you're lucky enough to have married someone very gullible, this will only work one time.

I don't know...I imagine it would work on the next wife, which you'll be looking for quite shortly.

I do think there's a difference between "please wait, there's someone relieving themselves" and "go ahead, but there is someone relieving themselves." The line for me is: "if people don't want to see it, can they avoid it?" I did have a fun time on Saddleback (#66, on the way to the Horn for 67) where I was letting fly slightly off-trail in a five-foot visibility fog, and heard a couple come up...let's just say I had to wash those pants pretty thoroughly. (Nothing beats triathlon for that, though. When you've soaked a suit with piss, pond water, salt, rain water, and road spray....phew!)

Re: water: A little away is probably fine for most of the Whites. Recent research indicates urine isn't quite sterile, but it's still Not That Bad. Out West (Rio Grande in particular, applies to GC as well), it's better to pee right in the water, since the volume is huge and the banks don't see much moisture.

 

[TJsName]

...let's just say I had to wash those pants pretty thoroughly.

Well at least you didn't have to worry about the black flies after that.

 

[Mike P.]

Regarding the easy, quicker stops.....

I generally hike with kids these days, most of the time boys & while they aren't next to each other, I did have to tell one it was better to stand next to Bob than the edge of the cliff! We've done just day hikes & in many cases, a stop just before we hike and a hut or privy at a campsite have done well. (At Goodenow's summit we were able to have the girls wander far enough off the summit to have complete privacy, we also told the boys, they'd push the car back home - to CT - if they wandered that way)

On busier trails, I'll usually tell the boy to zip up or talk loud enough to oncoming traffic so the "woodswalker" knows someone is coming.

Thinking while not rude, asking someone to stop because your partner who doesn't which to be seen is close enough to be seen, infringes on rule #1, "hike your own hike." You're asking them to stop.

While Murphy's law would seem to indicate, someone will come by at the most inopportune time, we tend to have stops when we can see far enough ahead and behind to know we have a couple of private minutes. I think I've been surprised just once, almost 20 years ago on Abraham in VT. (I also stay off Tucks, and have been on the busier peaks mid-week or on Monadnock midweek and evening.)

 

[TJsName]

I think I've been surprised just once, almost 20 years ago on Abraham in VT.

Oh yeah, that reminds me - be mindful of switchbacks. You might be 200 feet from where you left the trail, but you might not be 200 feet from the trail. Many years ago I had to do some 'urgent personal trail maintenance' on Liberty Spring. Little did I know it was right below a very sharp right turn in the trail! When I popped-up from behind my well placed rock, I got a 'how do ya do' from a young couple about 50 feet away. Thankfully the rock was large enough to save face!

 

[IQuest]

Don't forget to leash your dog if you drop your drawers for #2. Things could get interesting if they take off with your pants around your ankles.