How to Shit in the Woods: An Environmentally Sound Approach to a Lost Art

Cute title, funny pic on cover, and well-written with much necessary but tastefully subtle humour. However, I am now convinced (if I wasn't, before) that it is highly unlikely that I will ever go camping again. Much as I love sleeping under the stars with only the music of the crickets in my ears, I am just too attached to my *conveniences* to be a responsible camper, especially these days, when concern for the health of the planet is so very important. I wish I had as much confidence in most campers, though, as I do in the author.

She wrote this book back in 1989, with a revised edition coming out in 1994, still eons ago, in terms of what we know about the damage to our environment today. I wonder what she would write today. This books discusses, in a very readable way, a topic that no one ever really wants to discuss, but one which every human on the planet knows intimately: the cycle of bodily elimination, specifically, if you are camping or hiking. Even more specifically, how and where to do it, and what to do WITH it after the fact, so as not to contaminate the water supply or the general environment. It isn't pretty, and isn't even very convenient but if you are planning to hike or camp (and eat) for more than a few hours, this is knowledge that is so essential, it's almost scary.

Meyer has done extensive homework, and has lots of personal anecdotes, as well. She wrote this before the internet was a household word, and as such, lists names, addresses and phone numbers of companies that manufacture and sell items she mentions (and the prices of those items!). That made me chuckle.

But seriously, there was a terrible tragedy here in Ontario around 10 years ago in Walkerton, where the water supply to the town had been contaminated and not properly treated and many people died and many more were seriously ill, and some remain so to today.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/walkerton/

You would think that would be a wake-up call but I wonder, do serious hikers and trekkers really know about the stuff I read in this book, and follow these practices? I shudder to think that they don't.

She started the book with a discourse on how she finally decided to go with the word *shit* in the first place -- not an easy decision, apparently -- and ends it with a thoroughly amusing 3 and a half page glossary of the Definition of Shit.

Apart from the cringe factor, I actually quite enjoyed this book. Even if you never go camping, if you have any interest in the health of this planet, this is probably one of the more readable books you will find anywhere on the topic. I know there has recently been a more current edition, though, since this one is more than 20 years old and I'd love to see how she has updated it. Sadly, the condition of the planet and our environment has deteriorated greatly, despite her best intentions to try to educate and prevent that very point. ( )

A book about what it means to go camping completely without the use of ammenities ( )

Extremely useful information. ( )

A terribly funny book... ( )