Date: 2009-05-15
From: US220, Daleville, VA

To: Wilson Creek Shelter, VA
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Cell OK (Fluctuates between full bars and no bars)OG notesAfter reading C6s entry below I've decided that I don't have anything to add.C6 notesWarning...I believe in trying to be very open and honest with my journal, so my notes below may be uncomfortable for some. I'm sharing my thoughts because they could be helpful to someone who would like to hike.As we were hiking today I thought of something that some may wonder about...the female cycle and hiking. I can't offer much information on the logistics of it while hiking, however, because I'm fully in Menopause and have been for 10 years (I went through perimenopause early). I do know that there are signs in many of the shelters telling women to not put feminine hygiene products in the privies. (It also says some volunteer would have to dig out trash and carry it out if people put things in the privy that won't decompose. Yikes! Not a job I would want to do!!!) I've seen many young ladies with waterproof bags in their hands when they head to the privy. You can't see through the waterproof stuff sack, so I would imagine it holds the items they need, toilet paper, and a zip lock bag for trash. I'm thankful I don't have to deal with that, nor do I have to deal with hot flashes. Our privy bag is a zip lock bag with toilet paper, baby wipes, and hand sanitizer. For about 6 months before we started hiking I put aside our rolls of toilet paper when they were about half gone. We have a partial roll of toilet paper in every box our daughter mails to us from home with our new supplies. Should that not be enough, we can always buy one roll of toilet paper. So far, the partial rolls have been enough. Many weeks ago a tampon came in very handy to start a campfire on a very cold and wet evening. One girl donated the tampon that someone saturated with fuel and lit on fire under the wet tinder. It worked very well as a fire starter.Here's another tidbit about being feminine on the AT. It's such a nuisance to have to take off your back pack and squat to pee. You're not supposed to pee in most of the privies because they are "mouldering privies," and urine inhibits the growth and action of the bacteria that make mouldering privies work best. So the alternative is to find as private a place as possible to squat and pee. I've become VERY limber from all the squatting! Finding a private place can be a challenge. It's getting much easier now that the leaves are out and low lying bushes and ferns are growing. Many times I just step to the side of the trail and OG watches the trail to see if anyone is coming. A couple times (rarely, thank goodness!) I've had to pull my pants up very quickly. Should someone happen to come upon someone in an uncomfortable situation, thru-hikers are very respectful. They look away or turn their backs. The most common place to find yourself in an embarrassing situation! is at shelters. If you see someone heading out behind the shelter, or toward the privy, just wait until they return. When there were no leaves on the trees, etc, it was very uncomfortable for me because I always feared being seen. At the shelter I often waited until it got dark. I'm much more relaxed about it now and no longer wait until dark. I do wait as long as possible though, because I still don't like possibly getting caught.OG and I came up on Nancy one day and got the biggest laugh when she said she hadn't seen anyone all day, but the minute she drops her pants to pee people appear! She said we missed her pants down by a minute!One final tidbit on this topic. I carry something I call a "pee rag." It's a 4"x4" piece of a Shamwow. I keep it folded in my pocket to use when all I'm doing is peeing. If it gets too wet I'll hang it on my pants with a safety pin. So far I haven't had to hang it. I wash it every time we wash our clothes, and if needed I'll wash it in a sink and hang it out to dry. Using a pee rag is a good way to save on toilet paper (and not generate trash we have to carry) and has worked very well for me this whole time. I do keep a zip lock bag in another pocket with toilet paper and an empty zip lock bag. The toilet paper is folded in individual use portions (about 5 uses), and the empty zip lock bag is for the used toilet paper if I had to use it. If it's more than pee and I had to dig a cat hole, then I can put the toilet paper in the hole and bury it with the poop. Keeping toilet paper handy like this is also useful for when one uses a restroom that has no toilet paper.Okay, enough about this. I'll leave a descripton of today's hike OG. It was a nce day and we're just about ready to eat diner.It's later now. OG read what I wrote and says he's okay with it, but he isn't inspired to write anything tonight. The hike today was decent. We plan to hike 20 miles tomorrow, so we're heading to bed so we can get an early start tomorrow. It's supposed to rain tomorrow and Sunday. I hope the weatherman is wrong. We'll see.Old Goat & Check Six