Frankly, I’m not going to scroll through 45 pages of the bivvy thread to find the answer so;

My wife read Dave’s bivvy feature in the magazine and her reaction was positive ‘but he never mentions going to the loo’.

So, is the rule;

1) you don’t go, it’s probably only for a couple of days and it’ll feel great when you do get home.

2) go in a bag and take it home with you (leave nothing behind)

3) dig a hole – how deep etc?

and do you lose loo roll, wet wipes or leaves?

Ta.

Dig a hole in a discreet area, unload, cover… if you have a dog with you, tie him up!!!

Away from watercourses. If the ground lends itself to it and I’m not disturbing anything I sometimes cover the refilled hole with a heavy stone to prevent dogs or foxes trying to dig up the poo.

Lightweight plastic poo hole digging trowels available from Bob at bacpackinglight.co.uk

Hi,

Under ‘Leave No Trace’ principles, you would be advised to do either (2) as above if possible. This is the principal that most people use in the Cairngorms these days because of the large amount of people camping and bivvying in the park. Poo on the floor and pickup with bio-degradeable (corn starch) dog poo bags so that they can be flushed down the loo on your return, use a plastic tub or an old dry bag to carry them in. Secondly, dig a hole around 8″ square and deep, a small trowel gives you the rough dimensions, poo in this, and re-cover. It has been found that if you try and stir the poo up with the soil it will decompose quicker prior to covering. Do think about where the nearest water course is, poo at least 75m away. Toilet paper, bag it and take it away. Don’t burn it, think of the potential consequences and don’t leave for animals to come and chew on.

Paul.

One of life’s great joys!
Find your spot, well away from any water, dig hole, make your deposit, burn paper, fill in hole.
With a big group or in a heavily used area bag it, store it it a BDH and dispose of at home.
My top tip- have a pee elsewhere before you start, makes the whole job cleaner and more pleasant

MCofS advice
http://www.mcofs.org.uk/assets/access/where-to-go-leaflet.asp.pdf

don’t burn paper – that used to be the advice but in recent years has caused several large fires so paper is now a “carry out” item

My top tip- have a pee elsewhere before you start, makes the whole job cleaner and more pleasant

Very good idea.

I do it in a supermarket bag, (make sure it hasnt got any holes in it) hold the handles front to back, its all contained.

This is the most interesting part of bivvying, this here thread. I never knew the world of bivvying is like the world of road cycling. All these little rules no one ever talks about but must be obeyed.

Fair point TJ

It’s only a turd not radioactive waste, just take a dump in the bushes and let nature have its way…..

don’t burn paper – that used to be the advice but in recent years has caused several large fires so paper is now a “carry out” item

A friends Dad started a forest fire in france by being a “good boy scout” 😀

perhaps you should read the MCofS advice hilldodger.

One turd is a turd in the bushes, but they can accumulate faster than nature can deal with them. Same as with dog turds I spose.

toys19 – Member
A friends Dad started a forest fire in france by being a “good boy scout”

I’d say France is fair game.

if you have a dog with you, tie him up!!!

It sounds like you’ve found this out from experience! Funniest mental image I’ve had in a few days.. prob says too much about my sense of humor..

one wonders what’s changed about pooing in the woods that warranted issuing a ‘2nd Edition Revised’?

I certainly don’t go equipped for excavation work when out cycling so on the odd occasion I’ve been caught a bit short, I just dumped somewhere well out of the way and left it

one wonders what’s changed about pooing in the woods that warranted issuing a ‘2nd Edition Revised’?

Recent developments to the philosophy surrounding “The Bear Question”

TandemJeremy – Member
perhaps you should read the MCofS advice hilldodger.

read and ignored 😆
my turds are free range and will remain that way 😉

[/quote]It sounds like you’ve found this out from experience!

Yep, wasn’t funny at the time! We both look back now and laugh.

Yep, wasn’t funny at the time! We both look back now and laugh.

through gritted, brown, teeth no doubt for one of you 😉

why is your wife bothered? women dont poo, right?

women dont poo, right?

I think, in part, she was surprised that an article would go to the lengths of telling you whether to use the plastic or Ti version of a particular eating implement but ignore the whole ‘bodily functions’ area of camping out.

Also, as regular campers at sites with no facilities we’re probably more aware of the whole need to ‘make arrangements’ than people who only stay places with shower blocks…

Hilldodger – its the truth – refusing to work within the code of practice and choosing to ignore the evidence based approach is pretty poor behaviour.

TandemJeremy – Member
Hilldodger – its the truth – refusing to work within the code of practice and choosing to ignore the evidence based approach is pretty poor behaviour.

Poor behaviour in your opinion, but does that warrant an abusive insult ?
And do you follow every ‘code of practice’ published ?
Maybe put some shutters up at that glass house of yours before you start casting judgement and insults on people you have not met and do not know.
Enjoy your day 😀

I thought it was reasonably witty given the context.

And yes it does deserve the insult anyway. There are good reasons for the code of conduct. You could be fouling water supplies and causing disease as well as leaving unpleasant gifts for others – thats a pretty shitty thing to do

I thought it was reasonably witty given the context.

It would have been if it was meant as a joke.

And yes it does deserve the insult anyway.

Does that make you a shit for calling him a shit? and no it wasn’t deserved.

phil.w – Member

And yes it does deserve the insult anyway.
Does that make you a shit for calling him a shit?

Don’t bother phil, he’s obviously ‘on a roll’ today, best not feed him anymore 🙄

Why does such a stringent code of practice need to be followed for having a poo?
People suggest dog poo is incredibly dangerous and offensive, yet at the FoD cycle centre there is a “get a stick and flick” rule for dog poo. They just want you to flick the dog poo in the bushes off the path and let nature take its course, FC guidelines.
Why are the rules so different for people?

Why are the rules so different for people?

Probably depends what you eat.

I thought it was reasonably witty given the context.

I call “teh Edinburgh defence” and win £5.

What can happen if you burn the paper…

There’s a little black speck about 1/8th of the way across the image just below what appears to be a path. That’s a mate of mine….

The original ‘ring of fire’

Why does such a stringent code of practice need to be followed for having a poo?

it doesn’t

AFAIK that is just a code of conduct some random red sock ‘mountain man’ has come up with

It’s because it’s more likely to catch a disease from the same species. Get into some of the more popular “wild” camping sites (e.g. Glen Etive, some spots in the Lake District) and they are little more than an open sewer. Having a code of conduct which is simple to remember and carry out helps prevent this.

The code of conduct for Scotland is in response to real issues. Along with the right to roam and the right to wild camp comes responsibilities.

In some of the more popular bivvy spots the actual soil type is changing due to the amount of human waste and there have been issues with e coli pollution of water supplies

There is also the unpleasntness of discovering someone innapropriatly deposited turd. I have had this happen. I have seen a beautiful campsite ringed by rocks with turds under them and paper sticking out from under them all within a few feet of a water supply

so there are reasons for the code and folk should adhere to the principles

TandemJeremy – Member
so there are reasons for the code using common sense and folk should adhere to the principles try it sometime

If you act responsibly and use common sense there’s no need for a code, if you act irresponsibly you won’t follow the code anyway.

Outside, especially if you’re sharing the bivvie…

hilldodger – Member

It’s only a turd not radioactive waste, just take a dump in the bushes and let nature have its way….. \

hilldodger – Member

“TandemJeremy – Member
perhaps you should read the MCofS advice hilldodger.”

read and ignored
my turds are free range and will remain that way

🙄

the code defines what is responsible. you don’t think you need to obey the code and indeed refuse to so so. So you are irresponsible in your behaviour in the countryside. Nice.