Dartmouth OuT O' DOORS

Privy to Posterity

When a photo of the outhouse at the DOC's Cloudland shelter—a hexagonal oak structure with a 360° screen window—appeared in a February 1987National Geographic article on the Appalachian Trail, it was a proud moment for the club. The organization's dedication to (some would say obsession with) crafting interesting places to answer nature's call had gained recognition from one of the world's most respected publications. But the DOC recently relocated its section of the Vermont Appalachian Trail into a government-protected corridor that doesn't pass through the Cloudland site in Woodstock Would the exalted Cloudland privy be forgotten in the woods like some overgrown jungle temple? Not if the privy's builder and designer, the indefatiguable Bob Averill '72. could have anything to do with it.

On October 12 Averill oversaw a Columbus Day parade of a different sort: DOC students and alumni earning the refurbished oak privy through a mile of Vermont woodland to its; new home by the DOC Thistle Hill Shelter. Dubbed the 'Panache Privy Porters" by Averill, the DOC devout transported the structure like a royal throng: they attached 12-foot two-by-fours to parallel sides, strapped on pillows with duct tape, and hoisted the load on their shoulders. If you, wish you'd witnessed the spectacle, you may have your chance. A cameraman front PBS was along to film the event for a documentary on New England out houses. Quipped Averill about th e potty porters, "This segment should be a good example of privy transport, techniques and current college linguistics related to shoulder bruising and back bending."