Inspired by Necessity

You can learn anything on YouTube! I am planning another trip north with 9 women and we've decided to investigate Philip Edward Island which sits in Georgian Bay near Killarney, Ontario. This trip is unique in two ways. First we will be using only kayaks and second, we will be camping on Crown land. This is government land and it is free to camp on. We love that there are no camping fees, however, this means that there are no designated and maintained campsites which also means there are no thunder boxes.

Since we are women, this is a concern. In order to alleviate that concern, I began a Google Search to find a solution to this problem. I found several different options; some were quite humorous and others simply would not work for us. All is not lost, however, since I found a YouTube video tutorial on how to make a hammock toilet. I thought, "Wow, that sounds comfortable!"

I proceeded to gather the materials I needed to construct such a thing. I first had to learn to make "Whoopie Slings". These are are cords that can lengthen and shorten and are what suspends the hammock between two trees. Having done this I set to constructing the hammock.

I used Ripstop Nylon which is waterproof and durable and made a narrow hem all the way around the 2 foot by 4 foot piece. 

Then I sewed a casing for the Whoopie Slings to go through to suspend the hammock.

Next, I found a pie plate to use as a template for the hole in the middle of the hammock making sure that it was a good size for our needs.

I marked the hole and cut it out then singed the edge of the opening with a lighter to prevent it from ripping.

I then sewed a strip of 1 inch nylon webbing over the edge of the hole for another layer of strength. The orange cord are the Whoopie Slings which I then fed through the casings on each side of the hammock.

And Voila! Our hammock toilet! Now I'm assuming a hole needs to be dug underneath it and we may want to set up a bit of a screen for privacy. If it works, we're set! If not, well, we may come home with some humorous tales of this trip!  But honestly, the guy doing the tutorial actually uses such a thing so it must work.