Viral Hikers Reveal How They Use the Bathroom While Trekking from Mexico to Canada — and It's Not How You Think

Mar. 15, 2025

Thruhikers Renee Miller and Tim Beissinger.Photo:Thruhikers/Instagram

Thruhikers/Instagram

Hiking influencers Renee Miller and Tim Beissinger offered a particularly intimate peek into their daily routine while walking across North America.

Miller and Beissinger have documented their hiking journey from Mexico to Canada on social media, where they share content under the usernameThruhikers. They’ve twice completed the expansive walk known as the Continental Divide Trail, which saw the duo trekking an average of 20 miles per day, every day for about five months. In August, the pair published a book titledThruhikers: A Guide to Life on the Trail.

The Unplanned Podcast/YouTube

When Beissinger clarified that he “prefers” to use a stick to wipe, his host Matt erupted with questions, asking whether or not “wiping with a stick” hurts or makes someone bleed.

“It sounds gross,” Beissinger admitted, though he continued to explain why a stick is better than other possible tissue substitutes. “Leaves don’t work. They’re shiny and waxy, and it really stinks to use a leaf.”

His wife added, “And if they break, then it gets on your hand. Yeah, leaves are not a good idea.”

Thruhikers Renee Miller and Tim Beissinger.Thruhikers/Instagram

He continued to tout the stick as a “surprisingly good” option, and Miller noted that they “follow up the stick or the rock with some water.” She says they have an attachment that makes water bottles “like a bidet, and it squirts out,” though they use their drinking water for that specific function.

“I personally think it’s easier to go in the woods than on a toilet,” Miller concluded.

source: people.com