Where do we go?

There are no "facilities" at Raccoon Creek yet, so we tried a sawdust toilet. It was as easy to set up as it sounds, and it was as odor-free as promised.

Earlier in the week we stopped at a local saw mill for a trash barrel full of sawdust, an easily found, and usually free, local by-product in our hardwood forest area. A scoop for the sawdust was made from a plastic milk bottle with its bottom cut off.

A seat was made from an old wooden chair with its padded seat removed. A five-gallon bucket, like paint or drywall joint compound comes in, was placed under the opening with an initial scoop of sawdust covering the bottom. The seat was set on a piece of plywood leveled with a few small logs. A roll of paper on a stick completed the setup. All of that was wrapped in, and covered by, a tarp strung inside four trees.

There were signs to the facility ("His" and "Hers", though there was only one seat) and a stretch of rope leading from the road to help find it after dark.

Users were told to cover their "contributions" with just enough sawdust to hide them, and we were ready to go -- no pun intended.

Funny, no one volunteered to dispose of the bucket contents when we left, so yours truly took the job. In fact, the task was not as disgusting as it sounds. The bucket contents were thoroughly covered by and mixed in with the sawdust and there was still no odor. After dumping the contents on the compost pile, the bucket was rinsed with water and the water poured on the pile. Then it was covered with more sawdust. (Straw or grass would be better, but none was available. We'll have some next time.) A scoop of sawdust in the bucket makes it ready for the next visit.

Everyone agreed the system worked very well, but we also agreed we should build a more substantial structure to house it until permanent buildings are constructed. A tarp might not be all that pleasant if it were pouring rain. We will plan a work day at Raccoon Creek for June 25th. Maybe we can construct something then.