Leaking loo closes Sperry Wilderness Campground in Glacier; but crews get it fixed

A popular backcountry campground in Glacier National Park was closed due to a leaky loo for a few days but reopened on Friday.

The Sperry backcountry campground in Glacier has a specialized outhouse toilet that was installed back in 2018 that separates the solids from the urine.

“The toilet developed a leak on the urine side of things that has saturated the floor inside the outhouse.  Fixing the leak and replacing the floor will likely take several weeks. It will be closed until the repairs can be made,” Park spokeswoman Gina Icenoggle said Wednesday.

But the repairs were made by Friday, the Park later announced.

In 2018 park trail crews installed the Toilet Tech Solutions potty that separates the solid waste from the urine. In order to accomplish that, the toilet uses a conveyor belt. Once a person does his or her business, they then have to push a pedal several times that runs a ratchet that turns the conveyor belt. The solids end up in one hole, the urine drains into another.

The idea behind the toilet is twofold: For one, it’s said to greatly reduce odors. Secondly, the solid waste will compost better, according to Toilet Tech.

Sperry, which is perched above Sperry Chalet on the Gunsight Pass Trail, is one of the most popular backcountry campgrounds in Glacier and sees a lot of campers every season.

The same model toilet is installed at the Hole in the Wall backcountry campground in Glacier's North Fork region.

The Gunsight Lake backcountry campground is closed due to a native fish project on Gunsight Lake. It will not reopen this season, so having Sperry open is important for backcountry travelers.

Gunsight Lake typically ranks as the top five sites in all of Glacier.

This story was updated from its original version.