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  1. #1
    Registered User Snow>TP's Avatar
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    :banana Shovel: Essential or Unnecessary?

    I've been backpacking for a fair amount of time and have had my share of poops in the woods. Lets call it a point of pride.

    My question is for the thru hike is the shovel generally carried or do most people try to use their boot/rock?

    The best way to avoid water contamination is to dig your cat holes 6 inches deep and well OVER 100 feet from water. Not always easy but the point is the noble hiker will always try. 6 inches isnt always easy to do when youre prairie doggin or 'touching cloth' as the kids say and especially hard with your boot.

    SO to have a shovel or clench to the next privy?

  2. #2
    Registered User Elder's Avatar
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    The #1 Item dropped at Neels Gap....
    Orange Plastic Poop Trowel!!
    Pirate makes wind chimes to sell to the tourists.
    "You don't have to think fast if you move slow" Red Green

  3. #3
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    no shovel necessary

  4. #4

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    The beauty of simplicity....

    or;

    More fear = More gear.

  5. #5
    Registered User Grampie's Avatar
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    Don't bring one. After North Carolina you will never see a thru-hiker with one.
    Grampie-N->2001

  6. #6

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    Those little orange plastic shovels were a frequent unwelcome addition to hikers boxes down south when I was sectioning in the area. A practical reason for not carrying one is that after use a few times in rocky terrain they get scratched and "residue" gets in the cracks and its almost impossible to remove without running water which defeat the purpose of keeping waste away from potential water sources. The alternative is to leave the now aromatic shovel hanging from your pack but that will get old pretty quick.


    Realistically, the vast majority of terrain encountered on the trail is rocky with some soil mixed in. Its rare that you will ever be able to dig a 6" hole with shovel without encountering a rock. There are also primitive digging tools all over the place which are called dead branches. They dig just as well as a shovel and can be buried after the fact if contaminated. In many places, the hiker finds an appropriate partially buried rock, flips it over and does their buisness and flips the rock back in place.

  7. #7

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    No..............
    Don't Die Before You've Had A Chance To Live!

  8. #8
    Registered User seasparrow's Avatar
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    Use your steel toed boots.mine lasted the whole trail.A lil bit of polish each day help keep your boot lookin nice.

  9. #9

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    Use your digging implement, whether it be a trowel or not, to make a hole to go in, not to manipulate your s**t. This avoids the aromatic and bacteria laden trowel problem. The red plastic trowels break easily when subjected to actual use in real backcountry. I personally always bring a really light titanium trowel. Not at all heavy, cuts through small roots easily, and nearly indestructible. A guy named QiWiz sells them. Really nice. He has a post about them in the Selling Used Gear Forum. ; )
    Find the LIGHT STUFF at QiWiz.net

    The lightest cathole trowels, wood burning stoves, windscreens, spatulas,
    cooking options, titanium and aluminum pots, and buck saws on the planet



  10. #10
    Registered User Hoofit's Avatar
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    Isn't that is where the term, "Shi() - kickers came from"!?

  11. #11

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    snow-stake.jpgWhy not go multi-function?

    "Sno" tent stake

    They do make a shorter one.

    RainMan

    .
    [I]ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are: ... Defile not therefore the land which ye shall inhabit....[/I]. Numbers 35

    [url]www.MeetUp.com/NashvilleBackpacker[/url]

    .

  12. #12
    Registered User Doctari's Avatar
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    Only time I carry a "Poop Trowel" is during Ramp season. Tried using my tent stake, & possibly my Groundhogs would do the trick, but the shepherds hook ones didn't. So now I add the Orange plastic trowel during ramp season. Still haven't tried my groundhogs.
    Still don't use the Trowel when "taking care of business" my boot does just as well.
    Curse you Perry the Platypus!

  13. #13
    Registered User RevLee's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rain Man View Post
    snow-stake.jpgWhy not go multi-function?

    "Sno" tent stake

    They do make a shorter one.

    RainMan

    .
    That's exactly what I use. It's big enough to get a good grip, strong enough to dig, wide enough to actually move some soil, plus it's a spare stake if you lose one or the ground has a really soft spot.
    The mountains are calling and I must go.
    - John Muir

    http://postholer.com/revlee

  14. #14
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    Have had the same orange one for at least 20 years. It seldom stays home. I'm a bit of an explorer and use it to dig up rocks, or roots or plants or critters.
    Or sometimes use it to destroy and spread those nasty fire rings that others leave in prime tent spots.
    Get a lot more use out of it it than the swiss army knives and leatherman tools I have given away.
    The trouble I have with campfires are the folks that carry a bottle in one hand and a Bible in the other.
    You never know which one is talking.

  15. #15
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    Last I looked LNT rules say bury your poop 6-8 inches. Being a good dubie I always try to give it my best shot so to speak. But as others have said it is not so easy except in desert sand to just kick a hole in the ground. Save it for the privy.
    Everything is in Walking Distance

  16. #16
    lemon b's Avatar
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    lol depends on your bowels and whose around.

  17. #17
    Hiker bigcranky's Avatar
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    Aluminum snow stake is what I use, too. It's light, digs well, and I use it as a tent stake when I need a spare.
    Ken B
    'Big Cranky'
    Our Long Trail journal

  18. #18
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    Unless you intend to plant flower bulbs along the way, no.

  19. #19
    Nalgene Ninja flemdawg1's Avatar
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    I carry hiking poles and use it for cathole digging, and I also use for keeping my balance as I walk off trail to do my bizness. (sometimes hard to maintain balance when stiff after a few days of tough hiking)

  20. #20
    ME-GA 2000 NotYet's Avatar
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    My "i-pood" is very light and makes it easy to dig a 6" cat-hole. I always have it with me on a hike, and to be honest, I'd prefer other hikers to bury their waste in a way that it doesn't end up exposed....makes the hiking experience much more pleasant. I NEVER use the shovel to cover the waste! Instead use a stick...keeps the waste separated from the shovel!!!


    This piece of gear isn't about fear so much as it's about courtesy. The bootheel (or trail-runner heel) technique can work in an emergency, but holes dug with a bootheel are often way too shallow. I've come across some pretty nasty bathroom spots in the woods! I consider the weight of the shovel to be well worth it!!!!

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