What to do If You Need to Poo While Hiking the Hudson Valley

You never know when duty calls, or in this case...doody.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is sharing some helpful tips to hikers who may need to go to the bathroom on a trail...with no restrooms around.

As you might imagine, it's quite an uncomfortable situation to be in. Thankfully the DEC has a step-by-step breakdown on how to do so correctly. Apparently, there are rules when going number 2 on your favorite trail.

How to Poop in The Woods a Step-by-Step Guideline

The first and most important step, according to the DEC, is taking 70 big steps off the trail. They explain that this will take the hiker away from "trails, roads, campsites, bodies of water, and waterways."

Step 2 is pretty simple, "Pick a Location." The DEC adds that you're going to want to pick a location with "minimal vegitation" sharing that they like to pick a location near a tree for "added balance."

The DEC says to remove "duff"  pefore you start digging at your location. Duff is the leaves, pine needles and sticks on the ground.

From there take out your bathroom kit which should include toilet paper, hand santizer, descreet bag, resusable cloth and a trowle.

Then comes Step 3: Dig Your Cathole. Your cathole should be 6 inches wide and 6 inches deep. Step 4 is pretty self explanitory: Go in The Hole. The DEC gives you a few options on how to best get to business, whether it be squatting, leaning against the tree or holding on to the tree. There's that added balence they mentioned earlier.

Used toilet paper can be put in the hole,  or put into a bag that can be carried out with you, which brings us to Step 5: Cover The Hole. Refill the hole with what you took out of it when you made it originally, then bring back the "duff" to cover the whole even further.

Need a visual? Not of the bathroom part but the actually process of finding your location? Take a look below:

We encourage you to take care of your business before you hit the trails, but in the unlikely chance that you'll have to go #2 while hiking, these could be some pretty cool places to pop a squat: