Just Bring The Toilet Paper I Trail Cooking

When I first started writing about the outdoors, I was one of the very few women in the outdoor writing industry in the early 2000s in my particular niche (trail cooking, hiking, ultra-light backpacking).

Chances were that if you picked up a book on hiking or backpacking, it was written by a man. Which isn’t to say the books were bad, but when it came to advice on women’s plumbing…well, it was often just awful. It was the same in every article, but with no actual personal experience to support it.

Women were mocked for carrying a roll of TP with them. It was out of date. You didn’t need it. You could air dry. Or strap a nasty rag to the front of your pack that you also use to wipe sweat off with. Or buy a female pee funnel when those showed up on the market in the 2000s.

As if it would kill the environment, and the weight of it would cause your pack to collapse.

A roll of Cottenelle Ultra Comfort 3X toilet paper weighs in at 5.1 ounces or 144 grams. Which most assuredly, will not cause you to suffer back damage.

For the people (both men and women) who cry that drip drying is fine, good for you. For some women, this can lead to both UTI infection, which no woman wants on the trail, and can also cause a yeast infection to activate, due to being wet down there, which also sweat and damp underwear can make worse. These are real reasons to stay as dry as you can in the lady region. Toilet paper can help ensure you stay dry, with no urine crystals left behind. Not every woman has to worry about this, of course, but for those who do, it can ruin a trip quickly.

I am here to say:

Carry that roll of toilet paper and be happy. There is absolutely nothing wrong with carrying it. If you, like most women in the US, prefer using toilet paper, then use it! Do not let others tell you it is evil.

The key is to pack it out and not litter the wilds with it.

See, that is the real issue: Toilet paper “flowers are the actual issue.

As long as you pack out your garbage, there is nothing to be concerned about. And it isn’t that gross. It’s all about managing your waste.

Pee Kit:

A Gallon Freezer bag for a toilet paper roll (if you can, work the cardboard tube out) and gently flatten the roll. This keeps the TP dry and clean.

A second gallon freezer bag is used as a garbage bag.

Snack-size zip-top bags – after use, put the used toilet paper in a bag, seal it tightly, pushing out any air, and place it in your trash bag. If you prefer, you can use paper sandwich bags, which are compostable, and roll them down. Find these in the same area as Zip Top bags.

If desired, hand wipes for after, to keep your hands clean for eating (clean under your nails as well). Clorox Wipes come in travel-size packs and can be found in the travel section of big-box and grocery stores. Clean hands are everything in the backcountry, and help keep things like Norovirus at bay..

This same kit works for when you are hiking and have your period. Stash used tampons and pads into small zip-top bags and then tossed those into the big garbage bag. It controls odor very effectively.

And should you prefer the alternatives? Then, you do you. Hike your own hike, and all that.

~Sarah