Up Shit Creek: A Collection of Horrifyingly True Wilderness Toilet Misadventures

by Joe Lindsay

We all know HOW TO SHIT IN THE WOODS—but do we dare? After reading this uproarious collection of "fecal misadventures" from a veteran river-rafting guide and yarn spinner extraordinaire, you may think twice before venturing out into the great beyond...or even down the hall to your nice safe water closet.

Genres: Nonfiction, Outdoors

96 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1997

Reviews

[Lisa Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Until I read this book, I didn't give much thought as to any dilemmas regarding relieving oneself while out camping, since I am not a camper. I learned what a "groover" is and the housekeeping that is required. I must say the stories were gross, but throughout the book I kept wondering a couple of things: 1) why would you put the groover on top of your load or, worse yet, on your truck cab where you're most likely to be covered with poo should an accident happen, and 2) why not just leave room in the truck bed and put it in last so as to avoid problems with it? It made no sense to me to teeter it on top of a truck load of camping gear! I suppose there's more to this that I don't know. Nevertheless, it was a pretty good book, although actual campers would probably appreciate it more.

[Todd Jenkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

As much as I tried to resist rating this book here, I simply cannot avoid it. We picked up this book last week while tent-camping in Big Bear, and we had an endless stream of gut-busting laughs at the horrific tales of poo that lie within. The author is/was a veteran river guide who decided to collect a number of stories about mishaps with groovers (portable toilets used for camping and river-rafting expeditions). We censored some of the language for our kids as we read it aloud at bedtime each night of our camping excursion. Everyone got a huge kick out of this book. However, I would NOT recommend it to anyone who is the least bit sensitive about bodily functions, scatological language, and such. It ain't for everyone. But if you've ever had to "release the kraken" in the middle of nowhere, I guarantee you'll get a kick out of this book.

[Kevin Movius · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious story of life as a groover, the guy in charge of solid waste on whitewater rafting trips. "Take only photographs, leave only footprints" means someone has to do the dirty work. I read this on a plane and was doubled over with laughter the whole time. Not for the faint of heart.

[Ben Hiatt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is literally a laugh out loud book it is well written, short and sweet.

[Abbey Piatt Price · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a GOLDEN shitting book. Maybe top of all time. Why not read funny shitting stories while shitting?? What a good time. Let me leave you with a quote, “Shit smells bad. That’s a reality I think we sometimes lose touch with in our busy lives. Most of the time, we are simply not connected to ourselves, our families, our communities, or to our bodies and their functions. Our turds are a part of us, and creating them is a very human and natural aspect of our being. Perhaps we should take a little time to acknowledge our pieces of poo before flushing them away.”

[Linda Galway · Rating 3 out of 5]

Expected it to be more humorous

[Kris Kizer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some interesting information in this book

[Blake Scicli · Rating 5 out of 5]

What can I say? It's a book about unfortunately hilarious situations involving raft guides coming into intimate contact with other people's #2's. It's funny, certainly factual, and well written.

[Kelly Whitt · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is mostly for people who are paddle guides or have done a tour. A handful of tales of how the shit buckets can go awry.

[Gary · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sometimes a story sounds so good when told to a group of friends around the campfire. Most of the time, those stories are best left there, to be enjoyed in pleasant memory. Up Shit Creek is one of those books, best left at the campfire, or probably in the campfire after reading part of it.

For more, but not much more, see my blog

[Mike · Rating 2 out of 5]

acknowledgments...
to kathy for encouraging me to explore the world of wilderness poop.
to stricker, my hep agent
to dr. fullbright for helping me with some crappy research

notes:
groover..toilet used for wilderness river trips
cowboy coffee:
boiling water & throwing in ground coffee, which is sunk to the bottom by:
...swinging the pot back and forth by its wire handle
...banging the side of the pot with pliers
...adding egg shells
...sprinkling cold water into the mixture

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

well, its always good to have a little poop humor in your day. plus this one includes little ditties about the scenery, rapids, and raft guide comraderie. makes me nostalgic for the river-- groovers and all

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Disgusting!! And Hilarious!! But you can smell it while you read it. Really disgusting!

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the funniest, albeit grossest, books I've ever read!

[Paul Busch · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a "light" read on a "heavy" topic. For those who have experienced "groovers" on multi-day river trips, these stories are sobering and hilarious.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title gives it away: toilet humor (pun fully intended) at its finest. If you have that type of sense of humor as I do, you will enjoy this super quick and hysterical read.

[Katerina Leong · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is gross but funny. The best use of it is to read the stories loud around a campfire.