View Full Version : Getting up at night to pee!!
OK, I'll admit, I'm an older man. That means it's a rare night that I don't get up in the middle of the night to pee (even with medication.. although it does help!!).
If I'm in a shelter, is this going to be a problem? I'll try to be quiet, but I know I'll make some noise.
Where to go? To the privy or into the woods? Just beind the shelter.. LOL Maybe I should just stay in my tent.
Studlintsean
03-27-2014, 12:46
I think that it is one of the risks you accept while sleeping in the shelter (being woken up by others tossing and turning, snoring, getting up to pee, etc.). Use your red light to minimize the light blinding and don't pee by the water source and I think its not an issue. I usually try to walk a few feet behind the shelter (but most of the time I am in my tent and go right outside of it). Watch for the wind direction
I sleep in a tent and use a pee bottle, usually a Gatorade 20 ounce, which is sufficient overnight assuming I pee immediately before going to sleep. I'm not sure what the etiquette of pee bottles are inside a shelter ... probably best to go to the privy I would imagine.
magic_game03
03-27-2014, 13:06
Many privies have a note that recommends that you DO NOT pee in the privy if you can help it for a few reasons. First and foremost the heavy moisture content (water) prevents the aeration of the composting privy which needs air/oxygen for proper breakdown of the fecal matter. Also the heavy weight of the pee pushes down on the stool pile and pushes out the oxygen that is already in there making it a large clump of un-composting fecal matter. In fact the duff that you see in composting privies is for this very purpose. The duff is often a very dry material that holds a lot of oxygen and also acts as a small layer that allows for the aeration of the stool pile. Wow, never thought i'd talk so much crap-talk in such a scientific way.
Anyway, you should pee in the woods. Even around shelters most guys will just head off into the woods a few dozen meters and soak a tree.(most females understandably will use the privy)
Slo-go'en
03-27-2014, 13:15
If I don't have to get up and pee, I haven't been drinking enough water. Chances are, you won't be the only one doing this. Often one person will start and everyone else will shortly follow.
Get up as quietly as you can, stumble over to the end of the shelter cleaning and empty your bladder. Use red light and try not to shine it in anyones eyes. Of course, this is easier said then done if your packed into the shelter like sardines and it's raining out.
magic_game03
03-27-2014, 13:15
Oh, and to answer the first part of your post. Don't worry about it being the middle of the night, just go pee. This is actually a very funny topic for most people who have put down a lot of miles on the AT because of the chain reaction effect that occurs. First person up in the middle of the night will usually set off a chain reaction that goes on for about half an hours. Each hiker in turn, through a symbiotic understanding, will get up and go use the bathroom, then the next one, and the next one, and so on till everyone is done. This happens all the time and I mean all the time. The great part is that it's like a second 'good nite' for everyone. There seems to be a general sense among the group when the last person is done. And once again everyone is at peace and falls asleep again.
gollwoods
03-27-2014, 13:17
Where to go? To the privy or into the woods? Just beind the shelter.. LOL Maybe I should just stay in my tent.
depends
I took my 11 year old daughter on a 2 week section hike with me this past summer. It was her first trip on the AT. I guess I should have prepared her by sharing shelter etiquette with her.
I remember hearing her getting up in the middle of the night. The rustling sounds of leaves as she walked behind the shelter literally to pee and everyone waking up to red lights because they had thought it was raining. All I could do is Facepalm while my daughter half awake stumbled back into the shelter.
She earned her trail name that night. "Rain" and to make matters worse it rained the rest of the trip lol
Starchild
03-27-2014, 13:33
I've heard used and have used a pee bottle in shelters on occasion. Normally there is a compelling reason for this, such as very low temperature, driving rain or even position inside a shelter where getting up would be disruptive and perhaps have you step on, fall on top of a few people to get out. But the standard practice seems to be go behind the shelter a bit and take care of it and get back into bed - well bag. Many shelters have a roof overhang that will allow this in raining conditions. Just do what you got to do.
Thanks everyone! Learned something about the privy, didn't realize you were not supposed to pee in the privy! The bottle idea sounds good.. I'm kinda lazy.
Starchild
03-27-2014, 14:26
Just to add, ever since childhood, and earlier, I never was able to make it thru the night w/o peeing. I do recall being terrorfied that the monsters under my bed would get me - yet every night I needed to do that.
I mention this because since my AT thru is the only time I can recall being able to sleep thru the night without getting up to pee. Now it is quite regular to sleep thru the night. Perhaps this can help others.
Using a bottle makes it easier for me to go back to sleep.
Hot Flash
03-27-2014, 14:34
I'd never use a pee bottle. It only takes the lid coming off one time or the bottle getting stepped on or punctured to make you wish you'd peed in the woods instead.
JeffBliss
03-27-2014, 14:46
Oh, and to answer the first part of your post. Don't worry about it being the middle of the night, just go pee. This is actually a very funny topic for most people who have put down a lot of miles on the AT because of the chain reaction effect that occurs. First person up in the middle of the night will usually set off a chain reaction that goes on for about half an hours. Each hiker in turn, through a symbiotic understanding, will get up and go use the bathroom, then the next one, and the next one, and so on till everyone is done. This happens all the time and I mean all the time. The great part is that it's like a second 'good nite' for everyone. There seems to be a general sense among the group when the last person is done. And once again everyone is at peace and falls asleep again.
Your post reminded me of a funny story:
I was camping overnight at Schroon Lake in Upstate New York with a buddy and his girlfriend and all three of us shared a tent. It was about 3 in the morning and I had to pee so damn bad but I was doing my best to ignore it since they were sound asleep next to me. After about 20 minutes I had enough and I unzipped the tent to relieve myself. I get back to see my buddy coming out after me and I apologized for waking him up. Turns out he was holding it in the whole time too and used my getting up as the perfect opportunity to go.
The real kicker here? When my buddy got back his girl got up to pee too... she was also holding it.
I look forward to the synchronization of urine cycles on the trail. :)
flemdawg1
03-27-2014, 14:48
I usually get up at least once a night for relief. Where to go depends on who is in the shelter, and what the tenting situation is in the area. If in mixed company and all adult, I just go around to the back. If all males, nearest tree (more than 10 feet away). I usually postion myself in the shelter to be able to get up and out while disturbing the least number of people. (sleep head out, on bottom level, near the center post or wall.)
tsgosnell
03-27-2014, 15:02
Very fortunate to have a hiking buddy that has to get up as often as I do :rolleyes:
saltysack
03-27-2014, 18:42
I sleep in a tent and use a pee bottle, usually a Gatorade 20 ounce, which is sufficient overnight assuming I pee immediately before going to sleep. I'm not sure what the etiquette of pee bottles are inside a shelter ... probably best to go to the privy I would imagine.
I'm afraid to carry a dedicated piss bottle ....might grab wrong bottle in middle of night! Also few extra oz...not that I'm a gram weenie as I do carry butt wipes!
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saltysack
03-27-2014, 18:47
I sleep in a tent and use a pee bottle, usually a Gatorade 20 ounce, which is sufficient overnight assuming I pee immediately before going to sleep. I'm not sure what the etiquette of pee bottles are inside a shelter ... probably best to go to the privy I would imagine.
I'm afraid to carry a dedicated p bottle ....might grab wrong bottle in middle of night! Also few extra oz...not that I'm a gram weenie as I do carry butt wipes!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I'm afraid to carry a dedicated piss bottle ....might grab wrong bottle in middle of night! Also few extra oz...not that I'm a gram weenie as I do carry butt wipes!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
key is is to make the pee bottle totally different from water bottle. I use a Gatorade bottle as a pee bottle and smart water for water. Even in a sleepy delirium, I can tell the difference!
Prime Time
03-27-2014, 19:11
At 60 I understand this all too well. I go almost every night. If in a shelter, I set up everything to minimize any disturbance. My crocks were right at the foot of my sleeping bag, headlight right were I could easily reach it, and I memorized my route before turning in. I almost never turned on my headlight until I was out of the shelter and turned it off after stealing a glance at where my bag was when returning, and always used my red light anywhere near the shelter. I would walk about 50 to 100 feet and generally would get a great star show if there was one to be had. I would say on average at least half of the people in the shelter would get up and "step out" at night.
This is actually a very funny topic for most people who have put down a lot of miles on the AT because of the chain reaction effect that occurs.
Particularly so in the Smokies shelters of old, with a creaky swinging gate in the chain-link fence in front of the shelter. Maybe that's still a thing.
johnnybgood
03-27-2014, 19:29
I have a gatorade bottle for exteme weather conditions , otherwise I make a trip outside a few feet away .
Can't speak for shelter pee protocol.
On my very first night that I backpacked I had to pee in the middle of the night. I stepped out of the shelter and wondered how far away from it I should go. I then asked myself, "how far would a guy go." Answer: "the first tree" and that is what I always did - behind the shelter of course.
Bastions of swarming mice, flotillas of virus transmission, flotsam of human excrement, laboratories of sleep apnea and sleep deprivation, the allure of AT shelter inhabitance continues to mystify.
saltysack
03-27-2014, 21:23
Bastions of swarming mice, flotillas of virus transmission, flotsam of human excrement, laboratories of sleep apnea and sleep deprivation, the allure of AT shelter inhabitance continues to mystify.
Couldn't have said it better!! I just don't understand who would prefer to stay there!!
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steve0423
03-27-2014, 21:46
This is precisely why I like a tent with two doors. Have gotten to a point where I can just roll over on my side and don’t even need to get completely out of my bag.
Damn Yankee
03-27-2014, 21:54
And you can use it to warm up your sleeping bag
Mr Jellybread
03-27-2014, 21:56
Though there is potential for leakage, pee bottle. Also works to keep you warm in the wee hours.
Mr Jellybread
03-27-2014, 21:57
Oh...I'm too slow.
skinnbones
03-27-2014, 22:00
I'm in agreement with RN. I plan to tent the entire trail and will have my tent pee bottle available.
Drybones
03-27-2014, 22:01
OK, I'll admit, I'm an older man. That means it's a rare night that I don't get up in the middle of the night to pee (even with medication.. although it does help!!).
If I'm in a shelter, is this going to be a problem? I'll try to be quiet, but I know I'll make some noise.
Where to go? To the privy or into the woods? Just beind the shelter.. LOL Maybe I should just stay in my tent.
Stay in the tent, but if you stay in a shelter your's wont be the only sleeping bag zipper heard at night.
I'd never use a pee bottle. It only takes the lid coming off one time or the bottle getting stepped on or punctured to make you wish you'd peed in the woods instead.
I'd have a soda water bottle fly down a road at 30 mph for hundreds of yards and I still use that bottle. A Gatorade bottle feels even tougher. Now I'm going to have to test one. So far the only problem I had with a lid was when I misthreaded it AND tipped it over. Now I'm very careful about how I put the lid on, and usually put it outside my tent so there's less mess to be had if it tips over and leaks.
Have you ever had a soda bottle or Gatorade bottle fail? All I hear are unfounded fears or testaments to their astounding toughness.
I'll definitely post if I my Gatorade bottle test results in failure.
Furlough
03-28-2014, 06:43
I'd never use a pee bottle. It only takes the lid coming off one time or the bottle getting stepped on or punctured to make you wish you'd peed in the woods instead.
Keep the Gatorade Pee bottle in a zip lock bag. Serves 2 purposes: doubles spillage protection and ensures distinction between non-bagged water bottles.
Furlough
WingedMonkey
03-28-2014, 08:39
(most females understandably will use the privy)
One of the smart women I met thru-hiking would set out after dinner and place a flat (somewhat) rock where she planned to pee during the night.
Said that was how she was sure the area was already clear of stuff that might poke her in the night visit.
Would just use her light to find the rock.
Though there is potential for leakage, pee bottle. Also works to keep you warm in the wee hours.
Wow, I'm definitely not brave enough for that "dual use" idea although I've never had a Gatorade bottle fail!
The Old Boot
03-28-2014, 09:34
For all of those older folks who feel that they have to get up too often during the night to pee, take a serious look at pumpkin seed oil. Seriously!!
Both my mom at 87 and myself are having wonderful success with it. After just 3 months on it, I can now get 6 hours uninterrupted sleep as compared to 2 to 2 1/2 hours before.
Mom had been prescribed just about every UT drug on the market, one landed her in the ER with it's side effects. The pumpkin seed oil has done more for her than any of the prescription drugs without the side effects.
takethisbread
03-28-2014, 09:54
key is is to make the pee bottle totally different from water bottle. I use a Gatorade bottle as a pee bottle and smart water for water. Even in a sleepy delirium, I can tell the difference!
technique I use
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perdidochas
03-28-2014, 10:02
Many privies have a note that recommends that you DO NOT pee in the privy if you can help it for a few reasons. First and foremost the heavy moisture content (water) prevents the aeration of the composting privy which needs air/oxygen for proper breakdown of the fecal matter. Also the heavy weight of the pee pushes down on the stool pile and pushes out the oxygen that is already in there making it a large clump of un-composting fecal matter. In fact the duff that you see in composting privies is for this very purpose. The duff is often a very dry material that holds a lot of oxygen and also acts as a small layer that allows for the aeration of the stool pile. Wow, never thought i'd talk so much crap-talk in such a scientific way.
Anyway, you should pee in the woods. Even around shelters most guys will just head off into the woods a few dozen meters and soak a tree.(most females understandably will use the privy)
Little LNT note. They recommend that you not pee on a tree, but that you pee on ground or on rock. Urine is high salt, and peeing on tree can attract deer to chew on a tree unlike their normal behavior. I honestly don't think it matters much in the Appalachians--plenty of rain, but from what I've read about the PCT, it can be more of a problem in arid areas.
Damn Yankee
03-28-2014, 10:08
I am a firm believer in not *****ting where you eat(or sleep) there is just something wrong with peeing anywhere near a shelter. Once the weather gets warm, I would imagine it would stink, possible germs or viruses and the aforementioned salty animal attractant. Maybe it's just me. Also, while in Iraq, we slept in what were affectionately called coffins and pee bottles were acceptable but, in a shelter? I'm not sure about that.
Giuseppe
03-28-2014, 13:04
Although I can understand not wanting to get out of a warm bag on a cold-rainy-snowy night, man up for your fellow shelter users and don't use a pee bottle. Hiked with a great guy that had the misfortune of being on the bottom tier of a two tier shelter and getting a yellow shower from a tipped over pee bottle. One of the few people that could deal with this without becoming totally unglued, bless him for his kind and forgiving nature. Guiseppe
saltysack
03-28-2014, 13:14
Although I can understand not wanting to get out of a warm bag on a cold-rainy-snowy night, man up for your fellow shelter users and don't use a pee bottle. Hiked with a great guy that had the misfortune of being on the bottom tier of a two tier shelter and getting a yellow shower from a tipped over pee bottle. One of the few people that could deal with this without becoming totally unglued, bless him for his kind and forgiving nature. Guiseppe
Golden shower on the AT!!! Ha think ill pass on the pee bottle!
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JumpMaster Blaster
03-28-2014, 14:53
I am a firm believer in not *****ting where you eat(or sleep) there is just something wrong with peeing anywhere near a shelter. Once the weather gets warm, I would imagine it would stink, possible germs or viruses and the aforementioned salty animal attractant. Maybe it's just me. Also, while in Iraq, we slept in what were affectionately called coffins and pee bottles were acceptable but, in a shelter? I'm not sure about that.
Ahh, yes, Iraq. Gatorade bottles were a girl's best friend there. Until I discovered the "Go Girl'. :cool: Best invention for women in the field ever.
JumpMaster Blaster
03-28-2014, 14:54
Although I can understand not wanting to get out of a warm bag on a cold-rainy-snowy night, man up for your fellow shelter users and don't use a pee bottle. Hiked with a great guy that had the misfortune of being on the bottom tier of a two tier shelter and getting a yellow shower from a tipped over pee bottle. One of the few people that could deal with this without becoming totally unglued, bless him for his kind and forgiving nature. Guiseppe
I would have become more than unglued...I would have torn apart at the seams (the guy too).