How to Shit in the Woods: An Environmentally Sound Approach to a Lost Art | 
 enlarge | Author: Kathleen Meyer
Publisher: Ten Speed Press
Category: Book
List Price: $9.95
Buy Used: $0.01
You Save: $9.94 (100%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  18 reviews
Sales Rank: 41326
Media: Paperback
Edition: 2
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 128
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5 x 0.5
ISBN: 0898156270
Dewey Decimal Number: 613.4
EAN: 9780898156270
ASIN: 0898156270
Publication Date: August 1994
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Re-print, some wear on book from reading, spine creases, we guarantee all purchases and ship all items via USPS mail.
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Book Description
An Environmentally Sound Approach to a Lost Art Our once-pristine wildlands are threatened by ever increasing problems of pollution. Since its first publication in 1989, How to Shit in the Woods has been adopted by outdoor enthusiasts everywhere as part of the solution. In this updated edition, outdoorswoman Kathleen Meyer reviews the newly available portable potties, with special attention to individual trekkers in an all-new chapter, "Plight of the Solo Poop Packer." Other topics include: the growing array of travelers' field water-disinfecting systems, Giardia contamination and the now infamous critter Cryptosporidium, crotch-accessible clothing for women, and a fresh batch of "worst experience" stories, all peppered with irreverent musings. For the purist, there are more wise t.p.-less techniques from the Old World. Written with an effervescent sense of humor, this is a book for anyone who wants to enjoy the outdoors responsibly.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 13 more reviews...
 Required reading if you have to "go" outdoors! May 13, 2007
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
To the uninitiated, the art of having a dump in the woods probably seems no more complicated than "squat, squint, squeeze and squeegee"! But, alas, as the world shrinks and the use of the world's limited wilderness terrain by outdoor adventurers increases to the limit of the land's ability to withstand the stress of that use, it's just not that simple. When considerations such as ecology, weather, temperature, privacy, courtesy, hygiene, biodegradation, density of camping use in an area, terrain and so on are factored into the decision as to where and how to complete the necessary feat, all is not as simple as it would seem. The methods one should choose are as varied as the terrains one might choose to visit and the times of year in which those choices are made.
"How to Shit in the Woods" is a book that should be read by EVERY person who would choose to venture into the out of doors - whether you want to spend a weekend at the local campground or you're a hardcore toughened backwoodsman heading out into the bush for a week long solo canoe trip in Canada's northern boreal forest!
Be prepared for lots of silly toilet humour, hilarious anecdotes concerning toilet misadventures, lots of tongue-in-cheek jokes, a good number of belly laughs and a very earthy delivery to be sure - but the message ultimately is entirely serious and well worth the read! There is very little humorous when it concerns encountering the leavings of someone who trod the trail in front of you.
Highly recommended for campers of all stripes, sexes, ages and experience levels.
It's a body function get over it! March 19, 2007
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
A well written book about a subject that people normally don't think about till they are out in the middle of nowhere and it's too late to find a restroom that is miles away. The title may be offensive to some but, the books provides excellent information
 Yawn - don't bother January 24, 2007
5 out of 9 found this review helpful
This is a serious subject, and I hoped the book would contain some good info and be a useful and light-hearted read for the inexperienced campers I often escort into the country. Sadly, the useful info in this book would barely fill a magazine article - which is where it should have been. The bulk of it is a painfully inept attempt at humour, over-complicated and pompous storytelling and self-apology. There is simply too much tedious waffle diluting the interesting stuff to make the book useful to anyone as a quick reference, and it simply isn't funny enough to warrant it's size (which, given its smallness, is saying something). At best it is mildly amusing in parts - and at worst it is a painfully protracted waste of paper. Perhaps it is intended to be used for wiping yourself after practising some of the poorly described techniques within?
A Masterpiece of English Literature December 7, 2005
17 out of 17 found this review helpful
Ok, it's not a masterpiece of English literature. What is there to analyze here? This is like arguing the merits of Benny Hill. For 8 bucks, buy this book. It has a few practical tips about where and how to deficate in the woods (hence the title). Great. The introduction is a tears-in-your-eyes funny anecdote on that topic that is probably worth the price. Then, you have a conversation piece for your bookshelf that will be appreciated by almost everyone. And, the author goes to some length to argue that this title is NOT vulgar (the book includes a useful lexicon for the word that is also worth the price). And, you'll have something to think about the next time you take a hurried necessary behind a tree or abandon a diaper in the Wal-Mart parking lot! Enough analysis already.
Finally ... a great help for the novice woodsman December 12, 2004
26 out of 26 found this review helpful
Few experiences do more to mar the outdoorsy afternoon or the 8 day backpack trek than stepping over a log and discovering your expensive waffle-stompers are filled with the leavings of another hiker. The problem is as old as mankind. At least, it's as old as mankind after he began noticing what was between his toes.
The Bible addressed the problem, probably in the first surviving form, by demanding that people walk away from others with a spear or spade, dig a hole, and cover it. That method works well where the traffic is light. It works less well on heavily traveled forest trails.
Meyer offers 102 pages of suggestions, anecdotes and solutions for novices who want to experience the woods, don't want to create a problem, recognize it's a necessary body function and must be addressed.
I'd recommend it for everyone who plans a trip into the outdoors and isn't already familiar with how to deal with the function in a way that's not objectionable to those who follow. I'd make it required reading for those who go to the areas I'm likely to visit.
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