[pct-l] Cat Holes a la Colin Fletcher, 1968 in The Complete Walker

[rick@rickhubbard.org (Rick Hubbard)]

Greetings!

A friend who heard I'm soon to hike the PCT, dropped by a dog-eared 1968
book titled The Complete Walker by that long ago guru of hiking, Colin
Fletcher. (A tad dated you say, what can he possibly offer?)

Here's what Colin has to say about backcountry "sanitation" in his chapter
about "Housekeeping and Other Matters".

"Cat sanitation means doing what a cat does, though more efficiently:
scraping a hole and covering up the feces afterward. The hole need not be
deep; but it must be a hole, at least four or five inches deep, rather than
a mere scratch on the surface......... I always carry a book of matches in
the double plastic bags that hold my roll of toilet paper. I tear one match
off ready beforehand and leave it protruding from the book, so that I need
the book very little; and when I have finished I burn all the used paper
(unless there is a fire hazard). The flames not only destroy the paper but
char the feces and discourage flies. Afterward I carefully refill the hole.
Unless the water situation is critical, I have a piece of soap and an opened
canteen waiting in camp for immediate hand washing."

Cheers!

Rick Hubbard a/k/a "Newsman"
P.O. Box 1444
Stowe, VT 05672
Phone: 802-253-8544
Fax:     802-253-2942
E-mail: rick@rickhubbard.org <mailto:rick@rickhubbard.org>
Web site: www.rickhubbard.org <http://www.rickhubbard.org/>