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My family has a former hunting cabin on a hillside over looking a small pond. It is basically unimproved other then having grid electricity (not sure how, but it's been there since the family bought it over 60 years ago). It's a walk in from a dirt road a few hundred yards away. I would like to spend some more time there but certain members of the family have issue with some rustic features like a outhouse.
Wondering if anyone has any suggestions for ways to fix the following roughness.
Out house
Shallow well requires walking in jugs of drinking water.
Back many decades ago the house had an incinerating toilet but that is long gone. It also briefly had a composting toilet that never worked quite right. Anyone have other suggestions? Full septic is likely impossible as the house is essentially built on a rock outcropping and no access for heavy equipment. One of the other cabins nearby used to have a tank and have it pumped once a month in season but we don't have access for a pump truck.
On the water it sometimes is clean enough to drink It's from a natural spring but it has also tested a little off before so we always use bottled water for drinking and use the spring for washing dishes etc. Some of the neighbors have deeper wells that are fine but again no access for a well drilling truck. And it is tough drilling. Some one mentioned there maybe UV treatment's available for the water we have now.
The other issue is walking in but there is no real solution for that at the moment so I'm hoping 2 out of 3 may mean spending more then a couple weekends a year there.
A combination of 1 micron ceramic filters and carbon filtration should make that spring water safe to drink. If there is sufficient water and water pressure, reverse osmosis would also work.
The woman who lived in a little old house on my property prior to my buying it used an invalid's toilet lined with shopping bags and then toted the bags to the outhouse. Having a five gallon bucket and sawdust would be more eco-friendly and reduce the number of trips to dump.
I do think composting toilets have come a long way.
I also think the objections of some of your family members might be helped by making the outhouse area nice. Easy to get to, light, clean, decorated, with water to wash up with might help them embrace the idea more than a rough, dark, stinky outhouse will. They don't have to be awful.
If the cabin is infrequently used, a simple holding septic tank might do. The contents would slowly evaporate in unused periods, and it could be decades before the tank needs to be pumped (which might be difficult in that location) or simply filled in for another.
The small town I lived in recently had an old, old business on a small lot. When it changed hands to some friends, I was surprised to learn it had neither sewer (which the old part of town lacked) nor a septic system - just a concrete holding tank that needed to be pumped once every year or two. So it's a working concept.
A new composting toilet would be the real solution, though. Expensive, but I don't see any cheap solutions except the poop-in-a-bag one.
Composting toilet would be way better than plastic bags. There are newer, different models that might work better?
Maybe a rainfall capture system with filtration to help with lugging gallons around?
We have a porta potty we dump into the out house from time to time. (it's for night time so people don't hurt themselves climbing up the rock stairs to the outhouse. )
There is plenty of water so maybe filtration is the best bet.
I have been looking at some newer composting toilets with remote tanks. Since it's built on a hill there is plenty of room under the house for a tank. I think the issue with the other composting toilet was getting overwhelmed when 6-8 people would show up for a long weekend.
If the cabin is infrequently used, a simple holding septic tank might do. The contents would slowly evaporate in unused periods, and it could be decades before the tank needs to be pumped (which might be difficult in that location) or simply filled in for another.
The small town I lived in recently had an old, old business on a small lot. When it changed hands to some friends, I was surprised to learn it had neither sewer (which the old part of town lacked) nor a septic system - just a concrete holding tank that needed to be pumped once every year or two. So it's a working concept.
A new composting toilet would be the real solution, though. Expensive, but I don't see any cheap solutions except the poop-in-a-bag one.
If we had access for the truck I would for sure put in a tank. The camp is used quite a bit in the summer but usually only one or two weekends in the winter. One other cabin that's closer to the road did that.
I think composting with a remote tank may be best.
Can you get in with a golf cart or ORV of some kind perhaps? Better than walking in?
You can get a ATV or golf cart in but it tends to tear up the walking trail if there has been any rain (very steep hills). it has also been a point of contention at other cabins in the area as most of them require crossing several property lines along the right of way (I think we cross thru 3 properties technically for instance) . We have discussed crossing using another right of way and have the OK of the property owner in that direction while it's much closer it would involve cutting a new road /trail around several boulders and a steep hill. I actually wanted to map a possible trail for that earlier this week but ran out of daylight.
You can get a ATV or golf cart in but it tends to tear up the walking trail if there has been any rain (very steep hills). it has also been a point of contention at other cabins in the area as most of them require crossing several property lines along the right of way (I think we cross thru 3 properties technically for instance) . We have discussed crossing using another right of way and have the OK of the property owner in that direction while it's much closer it would involve cutting a new road /trail around several boulders and a steep hill. I actually wanted to map a possible trail for that earlier this week but ran out of daylight.
See a lawyer about what it would take to obtain an easement across your neighbors' properties - it sounds as if your own property is land-locked. Without an easement, it would be very difficult to sell, if you should ever want to sell it, and your neighbors could simply fence off their own land and keep you and anyone else from crossing it without said easement. You need to get your neighbors' permission to cross their land, and get it in writing and make it legal asap, if your property is land-locked.
Also, your neighbors have the right to object to ATVs on their land, regardless of potential easements. So think about other means of taking supplies to the cabin. Perhaps using backpacks and/or a small lightweight wheelbarrow or small wagon would make it easier to tote supplies in without damaging the trail.
You mentioned the outhouse being uphill from your cabin - this may not be ideal. Downhill is generally considered better, unless that would put it closer to any flowing water, like a creek. Fifty feet from any waterway is usually safe. How close is the outhouse to the spring?
Have you considered getting a rain barrel or a small cistern to supplement the water supply? How do you dispose of dirty water? Again, it needs to be thrown out fifty feet away from any running water (naturally running, that is).
Rather than washing dishes, perhaps biodegradable paper plates and cups might work better, with lightweight plastic items you could take home to wash. How do you dispose of garbage?
I have a similar cabin, with fewer niceties (no electricity or outhouse), and do a lot of hauling in and out. It is strictly a three-season place, though - I might check on it on a warmish winter day, but spend little time there during the winter.
How do you heat your cabin? Electricity? Wood stove or fireplace? Mine is unheated - wish it had a fireplace or woodstove...
My cabin has a makeshift toilet arrangement inside, and I haul out what needs to be hauled out. Hand sanitizer is kept nearby.
Oh, yeah, do you have trouble with mice or other invasive critters? I do - have to keep toilet paper, towels and paper napkins in metal containers to keep them from being turned into mouse nests, and I don't leave food around. Bottled water and other drinks are okay, though.
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