Emptying Your Ostomy Outdoors: Strategies for the Wilderness

I want to start this blog post off by reminiscing about a time that I was NOT prepared for carting my poop out of the backcountry. If you’ve read my Pika Glacier post, you might remember a bit of this story.

In 2018, I went on a trip to the Pika Glacier in the Alaska Range with my boyfriend. It was supposed to be a 6 day ski trip, but turned into a 10 day storm adventure where we spent our time shoveling as 12 feet of snow covered our world. Backing up a bit…when you check in with the park rangers and fill out your paperwork prior to departure, they ask how many Clean Mountain Cans you want for packing out your poop. For some silly reason I said we just needed one. Long story short, for a person with an ostomy, one can is not enough for 10 days worth of poop! After realizing the CMC was filling up, I ended up filling a giant garbage bag with my poop throughout the trip. That frozen poop bag was then stowed in a 27 gallon tote bin that we originally had for our food (which we ran out of), and was securely flown off of the glacier with us at the end of the trip. The moral of that story is that thinking about waste management ahead of time can save you a lot of effort and anxiety related to pooping in the outdoors.

For some reason, talking about poop is a natural topic of conversation in the outdoor community. At least, I think it is. Regardless, it’s a natural topic of conversation for me, so the topic has permeated my outdoor community.

What is not always a topic of conversation is how you dispose of your poop in the outdoors, especially with an ostomy. Do you follow Leave No Trace ethics and dig a cathole or carry out your waste? Or, do you panic because you have to empty your bag immediately, and you don’t have a shovel, and the ground is too hard to dig a hole? Or do you just decide it’s easier to bury your poop under a pile of rocks? Or is it winter, so you have no idea what to do?

For those with ostomies, I want to make this situation easier, so that you don’t have to panic as much or feel unprepared when going on an adventure. And ultimately, being prepared will keep the earth from becoming more contaminated.

I’ve tried many systems over the years, and every adventure/situation seems to demand a different system. My youtube video below discusses a few options for disposal systems that I use. I also go into more detail in text below (blue texts links to external pages for more information).

Cathole: Bringing a small trowel on both day adventures and overnight trips to dig a cathole works well for any individual. It’s a nice option because you don’t have to pack out as much waste. However, with an ostomy, you will have to dig more catholes. Sometimes I find this problematic if I have to empty my ostomy bag immediately and didn’t pre-dig a hole.

WAG Bag: I found these Cleanwaste GO bags at REI a few years ago. I use them year round on all sorts of trips. I tend to bring at least one on each trip in addition to any other system I’m using. On longer trips, I’ll carry about 3 bags. This is a nice lightweight option. Again, you are limited by the size of the bag, especially if it is a multi-day adventure, which is why I tend to alternate between using these and digging catholes. If I’m using one of these bags, I will also store it inside a Loksak Opsak bag to decrease the odor.

Plastic Mason Jar: I’ve recently been trying out this new system for a more enclosed/durable waste disposal container. I add some kitty litter to a small bag and then empty my ostomy into the bag which is inside the container. I have only used this system on day trips, so I still need to test it out on a longer trip. I’ve also used this on roadtrips when there hasn’t been a bathroom available. I tend to store this container inside a Loksak Opsak bag to decrease odor as well.

The 3 options above are my go-to waste disposal systems for outdoor adventures. I’ve also used a variety of garbage bags, zip lock bags, Clean Mountain Cans, tote containers, Ostosolutions caps, dry bags (as outer layers to keep odor out), and any other container I’ve had handy in an emergency. Again, every situation may demand a different system. But as you experiment, you will find what works for you. I’d be curious to hear about other’s solutions and systems, so let me know what you discover!