Taking Care of Business (Latrines in the BWCAW)

During a 1981 camping trip with three of my high school friends, I encountered a perplexing latrine situation. This was back in the days of the sturdy wooden latrine with the heavy lid. On this particular campsite, the latrine hole was several feet deep and had standing "water" in the bottom. Unfortunately, and I am not making this up, it also had a merganser duck swimming in the bottom. Being late in the day, we were not in the mood to give up the campsite, but it was obvious something would need to be done in the interest of the duck's safety and, potentially, our safety. It was apparent the duck was unable to free itself so I conducted a rescue mission with a length of rope with a noose. After a few attempts, I was running toward the lake dangling an angry, filthy duck. I tossed the duck into the lake with the noose still around its neck and I clinging onto the clean end of the rope. After an epic tug of war, the now somewhat cleaner duck tired. I was able to remove the noose from its neck and it swam off appearing to be in good health.

The story of the quacker in the crapper wasn't over yet though. You can read the full account at http://www.tomuehling.com/stories/merganser/

Since then I have always made the latrine check a high priority when evaluating a campsite. It's not that I expect to find a duck swimming in there. It simply seems prudent to know that the latrine can be located and is in useable condition before going through the effort of setting up camp. While some people advise "do not look down, ever" I do give the inside a quick peek to confirm the absence of critters.

The wooden boxes common during that 1981 trip gave way to smaller can styles, some with a lid and others without. During an August 2012 trip, I discovered a newer plastic box style, with lid, at a site on Horse Lake. My fellow campers and I were delighted to have something more substantial to sit upon. After searching some discussions at bwca.com, I found sightings of the newer model going back to 2010. I also discovered that not everyone agrees with my assessment (might be a pun there) that a more substantial sitting area is better. According to the US Forest Service, the plastic box latrine is a newer style that is ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant. The previous style could fail or break -- not a pretty picture.

These newer "jumbo thrones" undoubtedly require more effort to transport. My contact at the US Forest Service explained that "our wilderness crews transport some of the latrines during the summer months and, yes, they carry them across the portages to their locations. We also have a winter program that utilizes a dog team with musher to transport some latrines, but terrain limits some areas from this option."

Obviously, a latrine on a popular campsite is going to need relocation periodically. I have often marveled that anyone could find a location to dig without hitting large rocks and roots. My contact noted "The life of the latrine hole really depends on soil types and soil depth at each location. Some need to be moved every couple of years and some will remain in place for up to 10 years. The crews hope for a sandy location as these seem to last the longest and are obviously the easiest to dig."

Whether you call it a latrine, crapper, throne, or turd trap, it is nice to have a central location where business is done. There is of course a code of conduct established among most campers. The rule among my camping buddies is that the toilet paper is to be left in a specifc location beneath the camp tarp. If it is not there, anyone else needing relief can assume the facility is in use.

Over the years, campers have positioned logs and large stones around the fire grate. The logs provide seating for those evening fires and the large stones serve as a wind block and often provide some counter space for setting pots and food-prep bags. Campers, on rare occasion, add amenities to the latrine area. During a 2015 trip to Shell Lake, we enjoyed the presence of a pole to assist in standing up. It appeared to be carved from a piece of jackpine and I was amazed to think of the amount of effort someone had put into fashioning it (see photo with insert). I can imagine someone sitting in camp during a rainy day or two carving out this design. To that annonymous artisan, your effort is appreciated.

A few serious notes about latrines in the BWCAW:

The campsite number is written on the latrine. If you need to report a problem with a campsite, or you need to seek help for someone at a campsite, get the number off of the latrine.
Do not throw trash or leftover food into the latrine. I think I've read that a bear will tip a latrine to get food scraps. It also adds to the pile and shortens the life of that latrine hole.