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I am always surprised when I see my camping peers walk into the woods for their privacy time, and they bring along their toilet paper. Good grief, what kind of wilderness experience is that? Mankind has been pooping in the woods since we climbed down out of the trees, and in historical time, toilet paper (TP) is a pretty recent invention. And, a huge percentage of our comrades on this planet have never even seen TP. It is a delightful convenience we've created, but it has separated us from what should be a very simple bit of outdoor know-how. I work as an instructor for an outdoor school, and one of the very liberating skills I teach is using natural toilet paper.

ARTICLE OUTLINE

  • Introduction
  • What’s Problematic about Toilet Paper?
  • What to Use?
    • CHART: Material Ratings
    • Snow
    • River Rocks
    • Wooly Lamb's Ear
    • Old Man's Beard
    • Grass
  • Size Matters
  • Time Required
  • Plan Ahead and Prepare
  • What to Do with the Used Material?
  • Hygiene
  • Hygiene Tools
  • Clean your Butt!

# WORDS: 1900

# DRAWINGS: 7

# CHARTS: 1

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