[pct-l] question for females...

[Kathryn Doiron]

I've been playing with the Diva cup recently and it really is a great
option.  Put it does require a bit of a learning curve to make sure it
is seated correctly and removed in a non-messy fashion.

When I hiked the AT, I took tampons as well but in the end, my period
naturally went away from the stress of the hike.  It is also perfectly
natural and was great.  Contrary to popular belief, women didn't
normally have periods every month of their menstrating life (due to
child birth and child rearing), so discontinuing several periods is
not detrimental, nor unhealthy, nor de-womanizing (I don't know where
women get these ideas).  One thing to keep in mind is if a woman stops
menstrating because of stress, this doesn't mean there is no ovulation
going on, so pregnancy can be a concern.

kathryn

On Fri, Mar 19, 2010 at 6:05 PM, Kris Wallace <fiddlekris at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> 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
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