Crapping in a Canyon

From CanyonWiki

The question is not so much how (peristalsis, sphincter tone, etc. etc.), but where you do your business.

The most accepted method of dealing with your stool is the traditional "cat hole." From the Leave No Trace website, a cat hole should be 200 feet from water, trail or camp, 6-8 inches deep and 4-6 inches in diameter. After use, one should cover up the cat hole and disguise it with natural elements. Optimally these should be an arid space with good sun. Toilet paper should be spartanly used and only plain, white, unfragranced paper when needed. One can also use "natural toilet paper" e.g. stones, a little water in the fingers, a non-poisonous leaf, or snow, but be sure to wash your hands afterwards. And yes, it is better to pack out the TP in a little zip-lock baggy than to bury it.

This is fine and all when hiking in the high desert and a canyoneer can find themselves 200 feet from the trail and water with good sun exposure. When hiking a narrow slot carved through bedrock, digging a cat hole may be difficult and exiting the watercourse impossible. In these cases, where a bowel movement is almost certain to contaminate the canyon or linger in a pothole, the recommended option is to pack out the poop. This has become the standard of poop management on glaciers, where decomposition is unlikely, and on big walls where cat holes are scarce. It is not nearly as gross as it is sounds and it is much less disgusting than swimming though a pothole where someone's in-the-water-course-but-buried-in-a-little-sand cat-hole'd stool is now floating.

There are varied solutions. I've used the WAG bag and was pleased enough (how pleased can you be?). It uses an opaque outer bag so you don't have to see the poop packed next to the jerky. There is also the Restop 2, which can be obtained free through the ACA. Or the self-reliant canyoneer can make their own system. A homemade kit can be made using two large zip lock baggies. Put one inside the other. Add a little cat litter to the inside bag. Open the bags wide when doing your business. Seal each individually. It's not as bad as it seems. Just the texture of the bag is a little unnerving.