Hygiene中文
Backcountry Toilets and Hygiene: Cat Holes, Periods, Hands, Feet, Rubbish
Hygiene on a multi-day trip is not fastidiousness. It is how you avoid illness, blisters and a sleeping bag that smells like the trail.
In short
Three rules cover most of it: stay away from water, carry it out, keep your hands clean. Dig a cat hole 6–8 in (15–20 cm) deep at least 200 ft (60 m) from water, camp and trails. Toilet paper, wipes and sanitary products are carried out, never buried — animals dig them up. Where there is no soil, use a sealed bag or WAG bag. Wash hands before cooking and after the toilet.
The unglamorous half of wilderness skill. Get it wrong and you lose a day to gastroenteritis, a week to a blister, or a night's sleep to the smell of your own sleeping bag.
Toilets
- Use a toilet where one exists. Otherwise choose a spot at least 200 ft (60 m) from water, camp and trails, with organic soil and out of sight.
- Cat hole: 6–8 in (15–20 cm) deep, 4–6 in (10–15 cm) across. Stir, refill with the original soil, and disguise with leaf litter.
- Toilet paper, wipes and sanitary products all go in a bag and out with you. Do not bury them, and do not burn them — in dry country that is how fires start.
- Rock, snow, desert, permafrost or near water: do not dig. Use a sealed bag or a WAG bag.
- Groups and multi-day trips: spread the cat holes. Never reuse the same spot.
Hands and body
- Wash hands with soap and water after the toilet, before cooking and before treating a wound. No water: alcohol gel, but soap and water first when hands are visibly dirty.
- Washing up and brushing teeth: carry water 200 ft (60 m) away from the source, use a little biodegradable soap, strain out food scraps, and scatter the water. Never wash in the stream.
- Keep the sleeping bag clean: a dedicated set of dry "sleep clothes", and never take the day's sweaty or muddy layers into the bag.
Periods
- Count the days in advance and carry enough products plus a sealed bag. Used products are carried out, not buried.
- Hand hygiene matters more here, not less. Wipes are useful — and they are also carried out.
- Bring pain relief and a hot water bottle if that is your routine. If cramps will affect your pace, tell your partner or leader early rather than absorbing it.
Feet
- Dry socks and aired feet at camp every evening. Dry between the toes.
- Treat a hot spot the moment you feel it. Do not wait for a blister.
- Do not casually pop blisters. Keep the roof intact, clean and cover, and lighten the load the next day.
Rubbish
- Everything out except footprints: fruit peel, tea bags, wipes, tape, broken gear.
- Food scraps attract animals. Cook away from camp and water, and bag leftovers.
- "Biodegradable" is not a disposal method at altitude or in desert. It simply takes decades.
Common mistakes
- Burying toilet paper in the cat hole — animals dig it up within a day.
- Brushing teeth or washing dishes at the water source.
- Dropping "compostable" wipes, which do not compost in cold or dry ground.
- Feeling unable to carry out sanitary products, and burying them instead.
Source
https://www.nps.gov/articles/leave-no-trace-seven-principles.htmSource and verification date as published.