- I've realized not everybody wants
to hang underwear off their backpack,
but you know, whatever,
do what you want.
Menstruation.
(upbeat music)
This is my show, gosh darn!
What's up, friends?
I am Miranda, and we're here to talk about
how to deal with your period in the back country.
So come with uter-us,
and we'll help you enjoy the PMSence of the great outdoors.
- [Producer] Boo!
- Hey, how dare you!
(laughs)
So there are basically two options
for dealing with your period in the back country.
You can either use disposable items,
like tampons, pads and liners
or reusable items.
So the pros of disposable items
is that they are the most mainstream,
and also, they're just a little bit less messy
than using a menstrual copy or disposable items.
(beep)
Sorry.
I got it, I'ma get it.
Disposable items are definitely the more mainstream choice,
but as you can see,
this is a lot of stuff for one period.
The average person uses about 20 tampons
during the duration of their cycle,
so this is 20 tampons that you
would have to carry in with you,
and then also carry out with you.
If your only option is to use disposable items,
whether that's just for your body
or what you're most comfortable with
or even just the only thing you have access to,
by all means, you can absolutely go on a backpacking trip.
Just know that you have to carry this stuff in with you
and then also carry it out with you.
And when you carry it out,
it's going to be heavier because it's full of blood.
I definitely used tampons and pads on the trail
when I was first backpacking before I got reusable items.
It's just a lot of trash to deal with, basically.
So while it's absolutely fine
if this is what you have to do for your body,
but if you have an option to use reusable items,
I would say absolutely go for it.
Just in case.
Okay, so if you're using disposable items,
you're basically looking at something
like this for one week of your period,
for five days on trail.
If you use reusable items,
all you have to carry is this stuff.
Period panties.
These guys are leak proof underwear.
You just wear them when you have your period.
You can use them with your menstrual cup
in case you don't have a chance to change it
or empty it and then you get a leak.
Basically with these,
you'll just rinse them out and leave them out to dry.
So this is a menstrual cup.
This is my choice for backpacking.
There's also lots of different types of menstrual cups,
so it might take some adjustment
just like with tampons to find the right one for you.
Try out a menstrual cup before your trip.
This is not something you wanna experiment
with for the first time when you're out hiking.
I started using a DivaCup maybe three or four years ago
and it just completely changed
not only hiking and backpacking for me,
but just like managing my periods in general,
and it has provided a lot of freedom for me.
So I highly recommend using a menstrual cup.
So when it comes time to change your menstrual cup,
you have to actually dig a hole the same way
that you would if you were pooping in the woods.
What you'll wanna do is dig a hole using your trowel,
and you have to dig the whole to be about six inches deep,
and that's just so that you can bury
all of the blood that you are disposing of.
And then what you'll do
is you'll take out the menstrual cup,
you'll pour the blood into the hole
and then if you need to use any
toilet paper to clean yourself off,
then you can do that
and then use a little bit of toilet paper
to clean out the menstrual cup
and then cover that with dirt and bury it.
You're gonna get blood on stuff,
it's totally okay,
it's just part of your body's natural process.
Oh, and I wanted to add that you just make sure
your hands are clean before you take out your menstrual cup,
but once you've emptied it and cleaned out the inside of it,
you can then just go ahead and reinsert it
until you get to a place where you
can actually clean it out with water.
The most leave no trace friendly option
is to actually just carry the blood out with you.
Some places will actually require you to do this.
Take a look at regulations for where you are hiking,
but for the most part,
digging a hole with your trowel is gonna be the best bet.
If you do have to carry your trash out,
you can carry a bag like this.
This is a waterproof, reusable leak-proof, smell-proof bag.
This will help contain some
of the smells from your period products.
You can put them in here,
and then if you don't want to see the mess through,
you can just cover this bag with duct tape
or with something like that to make it opaque.
And then if you're using reusable panties
or leak-proof panties,
you can use something like the Scrubba.
Now, this is the Scrubba,
which is a waterproof bag
that has these agitating bumps on the inside
so you can put your bloody underwear,
your bloody pants,
your dirty clothes in here,
and then fill it with water and some soap,
and then all you do is just roll the top down
and then agitate the clothes.
So like rub them against these bumps
and that will clean them off.
You also don't have to buy a Scrubba to clean your clothes.
You could just get a waterproof bag in like some Ross.
- [Producer] Yeah.
- Maybe.
If you get blood somewhere,
you'll want to clean it off fairly quickly,
especially if it's on your legs.
Blood will chafe,
and that's not comfortable.
If you get really bad cramps
and don't wanna take ibuprofen all the time,
you can fill a water bottle with hot water
and hold that against your stomach.
It's also just a really good tip for staying warm,
but it definitely helps with managing cramps.
So don't feel like you have to postpone
a backpacking trip just because you get your period,
but also make sure that you know how to manage it.
If you do decide not to go backpacking
because you have your period,
just don't let it be because you're embarrassed
or unsure of how to manage it when you're out hiking.
If you guys have any of your own tips
for backpacking with your period,
go ahead and write those in the comments below.
I would love to see them.
And if you enjoyed this video,
hit like and subscribe.
Now, get outta here,
and I will see you guys outside.
(upbeat music)
No, no, go ahead.
- [Producer] Do you want to hear another man's opinion?
- I would love to, yeah.
(laughs)
Tell me more about my body.
- [Producer] What if we were to take just like,
the amount of product you would need for like, a week?
- I literally just said that!
- [Producer] Oh, that's my idea!
(laughs)
Typical lady, stealing my idea, taking credit for it.