After a long day of doing
daily tasks, it is nice to be able to go home and take a nice shower to clean
off and start afresh. A shower is a rare commodity to come by on any trail. If
one does not keep good hygiene on the trail, he or she could get sick. Some
popular tips hikers give when it comes to hygiene are to carry pee rag to wipe
and then rinse the rag to be reused; this allows for the hiker to not have to
carry around used toilet paper that cannot be used again. The rag is stored on the outside of the pack
to air dry (Jollies). A shower is not the only obstacle hikers must adjust to,
for women the adjustment it a bit more complicated. Hopefully I made it obvious
enough that I am talking about menstrual cycles. The trail for a thru-hiker takes
months. A woman normally has a period once a month. So when a women is hiking
the trail, what is she supposed to do? Hikers around the world suggest to bring
wet wipes, use tampons instead of pads, use Diva Cups, and or take a pill that
stops the period altogether (“This One Is For The Girls”). Also, to be
environmentally friendly, it is better to use non-applicator tampons. If
applicators are used that is just one more piece of trash somewhere that will
never decompose. If a woman doesn’t want to use tampons or runs out, they can
always be replaced with sea sponges. Moon pads are pads made out of thick
flannel, which can be reused and doesn’t create more trash ("Guest
Contributor: Dealing With Your Period on the Trail").
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