{"id":35408,"date":"2025-03-04T15:34:01","date_gmt":"2025-03-04T23:34:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/community.nrs.com\/duct-tape\/?p=35408"},"modified":"2025-02-17T15:35:00","modified_gmt":"2025-02-17T23:35:00","slug":"the-toilet-paper-diaries-lesson-three-whitewater-brownwater-managing-human-waste-in-the-backcountry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/community.nrs.com\/duct-tape\/2025\/03\/04\/the-toilet-paper-diaries-lesson-three-whitewater-brownwater-managing-human-waste-in-the-backcountry\/","title":{"rendered":"The Toilet Paper Diaries Lesson Three: Whitewater, Brownwater\u2014Managing Human Waste in the Backcountry."},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome to the\u00a0Toilet Paper Diaries<\/em><\/strong>, a series of lessons about\u2026poop.<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Your professors are paddlers and their lectures combine their education, experiences, and professional insights, providing practical advice for whitewater enthusiasts.<\/p>\n

These lessons cover three essential feces-focused skills: minimizing environmental impact (water management), connecting with nature (identifying wildlife through scat), and staying safe and healthy (understanding water treatment). All foster a better understanding of aquatic ecosystems where paddlers play, strategies to stay healthy on the water, and mitigating negative impacts on nature.<\/p>\n

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How to Deal With (Human) Waste<\/h2>\n

From long days on the water teaching college kids, to spending 24 hours a day guiding clients in remote locations, nature frequently “calls.” How you answer depends on many factors, but it starts with being prepared and deciding if you should pack it out.Waste management will depend on the specific paddling trip (duration, type of vessel, number of people), and the environment you are paddling through.<\/p>\n

Meet the Professor <\/strong><\/h2>\n

Meet Matt Cuccaro. A teacher of all things whitewater and a professional guide, his lecture hall is anywhere where rivers flow. \u201cAll my life I have loved exploring the outdoors, especially by canoe,\u201d says Matt. Canoe tripping as a teenage grew into a love of whitewater. \u201cNow, in my middle age, vessel does not matter so much; whether a canoe, raft, sea kayak, C1 or K1\u2026 I would just consider myself a paddler.\u201d<\/p>\n

Home is the Ottawa Valley, both the town of Renfrew, Ontario and Pontiac on the Quebec side. \u201cOut my window the grand panorama of the Bonnechere River Valley stretches in front of me. But in the summer the view could also be of any lake or river.\u201d<\/p>\n

Matt recently joined the Black Feather family<\/a>, the prestigious Canadian guiding outfit known best for their arctic expedition packages. \u201cMy day job is to facilitate experiences that allow people to grow, and to share the things I love. As a paddling guide and outdoor skills instructor, my job is also focused on teaching, encouraging and demonstrating environmental stewardship through best practices in those wild spaces I love.\u201d<\/p>\n