[pct-l] question for females...

[Kris Wallace]

>> Alex wrote:
>> My girlfriend and I are thinking about hiking the pct soon (a year or
two) and
>> she is worried about having her period on the trail.
>> I'm wondering if any female thru hikers have any advice or suggestions
>> related to this topic?

Hi Alex, tell your girlfriend not to worry.  It's just blood after all, not
toxic waste.  When I thruhiked the AT, I used tampons (read on, this is NOT
what I recommend!).  I didn't carry the entire load I'd need for one period
but instead waited until the date got closer and then stocked up (sometimes
from a bounce box I'd sent).  I kept the unused ones in a ziplock bag inside
my clothes stuff sack to ensure they'd stay dry.  I packed out all used ones
in a ziplock bag (with my used toilet paper) which I put inside either
another ziplock bag or a grocery bag with the rest of my trash, and all of
this I'd hang up with my food bag each night.  This all worked fine until
the time I started my period early and though I carried at least a few
tampons at all times, I ran out when I was still a day's hike from town!
 Now I did say not to worry -- but do plan enough to not let this happen!
 It was not fun, though I laugh about it now.  As you can imagine, things
quickly got messy, and soon all of my clothing was involved in the mess.
 Before long, my soaked underwear chafed my upper legs and boy did that
hurt, but I had no choice but to keep hiking!  When I finally got to a road,
I tied my rain jacket around my waist and hitched into town.  It was a
painful, miserable, embarrassing day, and I think from then on I probably
carried at least half a cycle's worth of tampons at all times, then got more
when the date approached.  Of course, on the AT this is ok but for the more
remote PCT you may want to carry a whole cycle's worth at all times.  Or...

There is a wonderful thing called a Diva Cup (google it).  No more buying
tampons, no more running out of tampons, and no more packing out used
tampons!  I will just carry my (ultralight) Diva Cup, catch the blood as it
flows, and find a suitable place to empty it as needed. -- A suitable place
would be to dig a little cathole 6 to 8 inches deep at least 200 feet from
water, camp, and trails. If you aren't careful removing it or don't empty
the cup in time, things could get a little messy. If that happens and I have
enough water on me, I'll just clean up. If I need to conserve water, maybe
I'd want to carry little wet towelettes with me during my periods, or maybe
a little bottle of hand sanitizer would be enough.  I recommend getting used
to a Diva Cup before a hike so you can practice using it without spills.
You don't need to clean it each time you empty it -- just stick it back in.
At the end of my cycle, I'd wash it with a little Dr. Bronner's.  It makes
so much more economic and environmental sense than tampons -- for all of
life, not just hiking.

Another option is to stop your period with the Nuva Ring.  I wouldn't be
into that because it doesn't seem natural to me, and the periods don't bug
me enough to warrant taking drugs, but some people love that kind of thing.

Hope this helps, and sorry to the rest for re-posting this stuff -- I
would've sent an off-list email instead, if I'd seen one for Alex.  I think
this is kind of a fun topic though.  :-)

cheers,
Kris