Liz Vollmer, Chris Mayer, Kate Hill, "Auntie Beans"
 | If you have your period use tampons not pads. |
| Pads are made to hold moisture which is just going to chill you faster and be very uncomfortable. |
| Tampons can be burned in a campfire, bring small paper bags to put used tampons in, then place in the fire. |
| Tampons and applicators can also be packed out, small colored plastic bags work well for disposal. |
| Keep your personal parts clean. |
| Dress properly in layers to avoid overheating. |
| Sweat, combined with poor hygiene make good homes for fungi (yeast infections). |
| Baby wipes work well for personal hygiene (if keep warm, in your pocket) |
| For in the middle of the night everyone male or female will have "Pee Bottles,"' for women either a wide mouth bottle works (although splash-back problems can occur), or a simple kitchen funnel can allow for a small mouth bottle to be used. |
| Tampons, can be packed in freezer bags--the extra heavy ziplocs-- and double-bagged until you get home. An aspirin in the inner bag cuts down any odor, and the double-bagging put it away entirely. |
| For on-the-trail hygiene, pack a packet of unscented baby butt wipes in a fanny pack--they come 10 to a package in resealable plastic envelopes, not just in those hard little blue tubs. Ten is enough for about 3-4 days, but YMMV <G>. I throw the used ones into the mesh bag in my pack with my used tee shirts and underwear (assuming I actually get a chance to CHANGE tee shirts and underwear <yuk>) and they dry out odorlessly, oddly enough. Then I casually dispose of them in the nearest trash receptacle and they just look like kleenex. They do not decompose/biodegrade, as they are designed to stay moist a long time (in their packets) without disintegrating, so are not appropriate for burying in LNT areas. |