It’s a Dirty Job: Partnering for Privy Construction | Appalachian Trail Conservancy

The Replacement of Moose Mountain Privy in 2021 Provides a Study in Cooperative Trail Management

Save for tales of a few urgent experiences, many Appalachian Trail (A.T.) hikers often overlook some of the most important structures on the entire footpath: privies.

Privies don’t just provide a convenient place to answer nature’s call: they are a critical part of Trail infrastructure that protects the surrounding landscape and other visitors from raw sewage. Many places along the A.T. see so much use that there is simply not enough space for even the best-dug cat holes to work effectively, or for visitors to find unused space (or because soils are shallow/water tables are high). Concentrating human waste in one place helps prevent the area around shelters and campsites from turning into a giant camper litterbox.

Yet as with most structures along the A.T., continual maintenance and, occasionally, a complete replacement is essential to ensure the privies are functioning properly. This was the case with the Moose Mountain Privy in New Hampshire (NOBO mile 1,763.1). Originally built in 2003, this privy was showing its age after 17 years of use: the floor was beginning to deteriorate, the base logs were rotting, and the seat was broken. More importantly, the single crib* it was built on for containing human waste was full, defeating the purpose of a moldering privy (and leading to the litterbox scenario described above). The old Moose Mountain privy was also built in an “open-air” style, meaning it had no walls. Hikers shared their visit to the privy with the wind, rain, and whoever happened to be around.

After five years of planning and coordination, Moose Mountain Privy was replaced by the Dartmouth Outing Club (DOC) in 2021. The process for completing this single, essential project helps highlight what it takes to maintain a 2,190-mile footpath and how the Trail’s unique Cooperative Management System works on the ground.