Toilet paper

Important camping equipment for all but the most hardened naturists. As far as going to the bathroom outdoors - buy a copy of Kathleen Meyer's How To Shit In The Woods. Read it. Follow her advice - ignore your friend's advice.

Make up a toilet kit. If you live in a boreal forest area, that means:

• A small trowel/shovel for digging cat holes
• A roll of toilet paper in double zip-lock bags
• A small container of hand sanitizer (see Personal hygiene)
• A small stuff sack to hold it all.

You might consider a small drybag instead of a stuff sack if you don't trust the waterproofness of double zip-lock bags.

The bag to contain it all should be a bright colour that isn't like any other gear bag. If you share this with a paddling partner, you can hang it at your campsite in a convenient spot and it will be visible. This bag can go into a kneetube/shelf or day hatch so that it is ready for a panic landing (when ya gotta go...).

In some, if not all, wilderness areas, 'Leave No Trace' camping is appropriate. Most people can handle most of the principles of Leave No Trace camping fairly easily. One area that does give some people pause is human waste disposal. The Maine Island Trail website offers good LNT information: Maine Island Trail LNT