Thru-hiking is a singular experience. It’s a ridiculous adventure that kind of breaks a person down into, exclusively, the cells necessary to hike thousands of miles. It’s excruciatingly physical, and has deep mental game requirements, and both relentlessly so. And for solo female hikers, there’s just added shit to think about on top of this five month endurance event.
There are things I wished were more commonly discussed about thru-hiking as a woman. Including periods. My god, how did I not read more about this? The demographics of the trail have changed, Halfway Anywhere reported 43.5% of thru-hikers in 2022 were women. Thru-hikers talk freely about the bodily horrors of being on trail, the gruesome damage to one’s body, and I feel like this should also include issues that are particular to women and people with uteruses. Here’s something I wrote while thru-hiking the Pacific Crest Trail in 2022:
Note: thru hiking on your period is a whole thing and makes me want to speak to the manager. You want to eat a whole loaf of bread with Vegemite and cheese and two blocks of chocolate? No. You are on rations because you don’t have enough food. You want to lay down and wait out cramps? No. There’s snow on the ground and 88km/hr winds. You want to max out on vitamin I? No. That ibuprofen needs to last you to your next resupply and you’ll have to split it between your blisters and your uterus. Just. No. But also. Women!
Some bad-ass women at the top on Pinchot Pass.
So, with a view to normalising conversations about periods on trail, here are the things I wish someone had talked to me about before I started thru-hiking:
Plan for it and pack extra
When it comes to managing your period on the trail, it’s crucial to plan and have contingencies. Pack your preferred menstrual products, whether it’s tampons, pads, or menstrual cups. Consider the length of the section ahead and plan for resupply points to stock up on supplies if needed. Remembering some resupply points are gas stations in the middle of nowhere. I always carried about 10 spare tampons in case of an emergency. If you’re an international hiker and you’re not down with the American tampon system, bring your own. In most places, there are very few tampons available without applicators and, to my Australian eyes, they are bizarrely fuzzy and lacking in structural integrity.
Hygiene
There’s no getting around it, having your period on trail is messy and uncomfortable. Make sure you’ve packed extra wipes and whatever you need to make yourself feel okay about it. Menstrual cups certainly seemed like the move given that you only had to carry one of them and there was no waste to dispose of. I will say though, you need to be able to clean them, so just think about how you’d manage that in places where you need to conserve water (the entire desert). I opted for tampons because of this, and I find them easier to remove while squatting in the literal middle of nowhere, but you balance that with need to pack out waste.
Packing it out
Tampons and pads need to be packed out. It’s awful. No denying it.
Pain management
For those of you who have period pain, I guarantee it will hit in the least convenient section of trail. Make sure you’re stocked up with your pharmaceuticals of choice and be kind to yourself out there. Take a zero if you need it, or just go slower. For those of you with any chronic conditions, such as endometriosis, be careful. There are some dangerous places out there to be struck down by a wave of endo pain, try to plan ahead as best you can. Also, carry an emergency beacon. Also, you may want to discuss options with your doctor about how to manage the pain, including some forms of IUDs.
Food
Pack more. If you know you’re getting your period and you also just really want particular foods in that time, cop the extra weight and pack it out. You will thank me for this advice.
Emotional equilibrium
Hormones, wow, why? Thru-hiking without dealing with menstrual hormones is hard enough. Just try to remember that everything will just be a bit more intense (if that’s possible) at certain points in the month. And that’s okay.
Myths
I heard a lot of stories about women losing their periods on trail before I started. That is, because of the extreme nature of thru-hiking the body essentially just says, NOPE, and stops producing the hormones that control ovulation in order to conserve energy. This was not the universal experience out there. Do not bank on it. I had mine, in a ruthlessly regular fashion, the entire trail.
Anyway, women have well and truly proven their grit and resilience on thru-hikes in the U.S. and let’s be honest, more globally. So yes, of course you can do this thing on your period. Talk about it, ask questions, and pack extra snacks.