Best practices for dealing with human waste in the great outdoors

I went on a multi-day boating trip down the Orange River between South Africa and Namibia. They told us very explicitly how and where to defecate. Sufficiently far from the river, and we were to take three things: a spade, toilet paper and a lighter. Dig hole, shit in hole, wipe, burn the toilet paper, fill in the hole.

Why burn the toilet paper ?

In super dry climates, things don't break down the way you would expect it to elsewhere. It's the same reason why many interesting archeological findings like clothing items often come out of Africa. They've just been sitting there in the desert for thousands of years, it's too dry for anything besides sun damage to happen.

The paper takes more time to degrade into soil. Ashes basically are soil.

Apparently even if buried the paper would just sit there until the next flood then they'd find it all caught up in the trees downstream. Burning is a sure way to leave no trace.

I went hiking in the Fish River canyon "just" upstream from where your river boating excursion took place.

5 days, 90km and zero facilities. Pristine nature despite it being very popular. Same story as yours: non negotiable items in your already overweight pack is a shovel, TP and a lighter/matches. You had to burn the TP and bury your logs.

Only difference is in the canyon you cant really get far away from the river.

I rather enjoyed the burning ritual afterwards. Somehow it felt like it cleansed my soul, after slogging 25km over round loose stones and soft sand carrying 20kg on my back. It was the little things that made that experience beautiful.