I stood there looking at my feet. It wasn’t a pleasant location to be standing looking at one’s feet, but there I was nonetheless. Just beyond my feet was a stain. Based on where I was standing, it was pretty obvious what the stain was. My brain was struggling not to understand the what but the why.You see this particular stain that was right above where my feet were happened to be directly under a urinal in an outhouse. Someone had clearly just peed on the floor. Unfortunately this isn’t an uncommon occurrence. It’s almost guarantee that you enter a public restroom and you’re going to see shit or piss everywhere.
Having spent most of the past two weeks living the hobolife, I have frequented outhouses and public restrooms many times. Many more times than I would have preferred, but that’s just part of what it is. The particular outhouse in question was not anything out of the ordinary, quite frankly it was so much the norm that if you would have seen the stain on the floor you probably would be questioning why I am even telling you about it. And that’s the point.
I don’t know about you all, but it’s not very often, and by “not very often” I mean it never happens, that I just can’t get to the toilet quick enough to not just pee all over the floor. I get that a toilet left unatteneded, even a private one, will eventually get kind of nasty. There are things that fall, drip, etc and accumulate around a toilet that require the area to be cleansed on occasion. This is normal. Peeing on the floor is not.
There’s only two reasons why that stain that was right above my feet that I was staring at not being able to comprehend, was there. (How’d you like that sentence?) 1. The dude causing said stain purposefully whipped it out and instead of using the conveniently located urinal, just took a piss on the floor. 2. Said dude, just couldn’t quite get to the urinal in time after removing his goods from his pants and he had to pee so bad that it just kinda went as soon as it was free.
As I mentioned, I’ve never experienced the latter. And I’m kinda old.
So the only reason that stain was there, was the fact that some dude decided it would be ok, or cool or whatever to piss on the floor.
I know, I know. I’ve already posted this.
This was a fantastic camping site. It was at the base of the first water fall in Coyote Gulch. The shade from the canyon walls completely engulfed it by 4:30 and didn’t allow the sun to return until around 9 the next morning. It was open, flat and there were plenty of ways to get away from camp. You know, get away from camp and take care of your business.
Unfortunately or fortunately depending on your perspective, about ten feet from where our tent sat and you can’t see in the above photosphere, someone had taken a shit and left their toilet paper was everywhere. Even if they had camped on the other side of this little beach, they were still way too close to camp and/or water to be digging a pit.
There has been a recent trend for land managers to require backcountry users to pack out their toilet paper. You can imagine the grumbling that happens when this type of rule is explained when picking up a backcountry permit. The person behind the counter explains the reason, tells a story about having to pack out 15 pounds of disgusting paper covered in shit and then explains how easy it is to just put it in a plastic bag and pack it out.
I get it, you don’t want to pack out your shit. You think it’s gross and you just won’t stoop to have a small bag of used bumflatta in your backpack. Trust me I get it.
In the past 2 weeks, I’ve probably walked up onto 75+ shit holes. Toilet paper is strewn everywhere, you can see where the shit was dug out and now this pristine place is basically the outhouse that some dude decided to take a dooky on the floor. I look around and think really? This is where you took a shit and you decided to leave everything.
This is what I came to see…
Thanks for ruining it.
At this point, I hope you know where I’m going with this. Human waste can be gross. It’s even grosser when it’s not yours and it’s within ten feet of the most amazing place you’ve ever stood. I get it. I’ve grumbled. I’ve been that guy that knows he won’t be back that way soon and digs the required hole and leaves everything I brought in. I throw no stones. But at this point, I feel like we just need to figure our shit out. If you are in a public bathroom, use it like it was your own so the next hobo can do the same and doesn’t have to stand and wonder why. If you are in the backcountry enjoying the solitude and beauty of undisturbed wilderness, pack your shit out. It’s simple. It’s really not that gross. And all in all, everyone will be happier.
P. L. and R.
