Leave No Trace Camping- Latrines and Catholes

Many of the places we camp are blessed with sanitation facilities; however that is not always the case. Getting rid of waste outdoors takes some thought for both health and environmental reasons.

A cathole is a single use toilet that you make yourself.  Find a spot at least 200 feet from water, campsites, and trails.  Dig a hole 6-8 inches deep.  Make sure it is still in the topsoil so that organisms in the topsoil will be available to break down your waste.  Either bury the toilet paper in the cathole, or put it into a resealable bag and carry it out with the rest of your trash.  Fill the cathole with soil (organic organisms) and replace any groundcover  (leaves.....).  Push a stick into the filled up hole to warn others against digging in the same spot.  We are trying to avoid damaging the existing plants, changing the terrain, or negatively impacting the chemistry of an area  (too much urea kills).

A latrine is a group toilet.  The location should also be away from water, campsites and trails.  Dig a shallow trench 3-4 feet long but no deeper than the topsoil.  Remove and save the soil and groundcover.  After each use, sprinkle a layer of soil into the trench to keep away flies and to hold down odors.  When you break up camp, return the rest of the soil to the latrine and replace the ground cover.



Sources:
Camping, BSA 2002 printing

Poison Ivy look alikes

Three views of poison ivy

Poison Ivy - probably the most famous poisonous plant of all.  Even Batman fights it (her).

"Leaves of three, leave it be" is the jingle we have heard universally to help us identify this plant non grata.





BUT, those of you who have been practicing your observational skills, have noticed other plants that have, or seem to have "leaves of three" that are not Poison Ivy.

Wild Raspberry

The one that I have seen adults often confuse is actually wild raspberry.  When the light is low, the wild raspberry becomes very vine like as it sends out tendrils to reproduce.These leaves are lighter in color and not as waxy as the poison ivy leaves.  The margins (outside circumference) of the leaf are also more jagged.



Another plant that can be mistaken for poison ivy to the uninformed is Virginia Creeper.  Virginia Creeper is an aggressive vine that can grow 6 feet in a short amount of time.  It often twines under leaf debris.  While the normal arrangement of leaflets is 5 arranged in a circle (palmate),  the smallest two leaflets are sometimes missing.  Again close observation of the shape of the leaves will help cast doubt on its poisonousness, but the way I end up confirming its intent is to scout around for other stems on the vine that have 5 leaflets.

The big blurry plant is wild strawberry

Finally, wild strawberry is another "leaves of three" plant.  In this case, the leaves while similar in overall shape, are different enough that this plant should not often be confused with poison ivy.  The margins are uniformly lobed.  The big yellow or white flowers and later small red strawberry fruit will help your identification also.


Practice smart outdoorsmanship:  If in doubt "leaves" it alone.

You might try looking online for more information on poison ivy
 kids site for poison ivy

What is the big deal with plant identification?

Gee, it seems as if all the early ranks require you to identify plants. Why is this a skill that is important?

1.  It improves your observational skills which can be used in many settings (including understanding people)

2. It improves your ability to discriminate between slight differences.  This can be important training for problem solving, art, technical pursuits, and logic.

3. It could keep you from suffering from Poison Ivy--and your friends from hearing you complain.

4. It could help you figure out where you are or locate water.

4. It could keep you from going hungry if you didn't pack enough.

5. It could keep you from picking up wood that would not burn well, or not provide heat.

6. In the case of cattail, it could allow you to keep warmer on a winter hike.


Although the requirements do not specify when to identify the plants, take the challenge and see if you can identify plants when they are dormant during winter.  You never know when you might need the various properties the plants can offer year round.

Some useful winter plants:
Willows- grow near water - twigs and inner bark are edible but bitter - makes poor firewood
Cattails - grows near water - fluff can be used for insulation, roots and shoots are edible (supposedly they are calorie dense which is good if you have no food during the winter)
Queen's Anne Lace - roots are edible
Yew - great firewood, burns slowly but with great heat
Ash - great firewood, burns when green
Holly - good firewood, burns when green.