I've tried a variety of techniques, the most natural thing being squatting and using a piece of dreaded TP. It's worth noting here that men could have the same problem. In the BBC On Thin Ice program we are treated to a discussion between James Cracknell, Ben Fogle and Ed Coats on the number of droplets of urine remaining after urinating, and what the total amount would have accumulated in their clothing at the end of their trip to the South Pole. It was pretty grim, but real.
Speaking of men, I've also used a Shewee, which is great for being able to stand up as well as miss your trousers, especially if you use the extension to get the full willy effect, but I find a wipe is still necessary. There's a good video of Cecilie Skog and Truls Svendsen on a crossing on skis over Greenland, where Cecilie, a very experienced mountaineer, long distance skier and adventurer (with Ryan Walters she made the first unassisted crossing of Antarctica, she is the only woman in the world to have reached the three poles (North, South and Everest), and has completed the seven summits), demonstrates to newbie Truls, how to pee in a tent. The clip is in Norwegian, but the humour is universal!
On the PCT a lot of women use the pee rag system - basically using a bandana or other material to wipe themselves after having a pee. The pee rag is then attached to their pack, where the rag dries and the urine is magically annihilated by UV rays. Unfortunately dry days and UV rays are rather rare in Norway, and Scotland, where Sarah lives. And she's walking in Iceland over the summer, so it'll probably be an even worse scenario...
And then I saw this on the Gossamer Gear blog, featuring a pretty grubby looking adapted plastic salad dressing bottle and a squirt bottle. It got me thinking...
In this damp climate where you can't trust things to dry, why not combine these approaches and try to make it such that what you wipe isn't urine?
I've found a good solution to be the squatting-flushing-wiping approach. Viz.:
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| Pee kit |
- A piece of MSR packtowl to which I've sewn a piece of grosgrain ribbon and a press stud at the end and on the corner of the fabric. This means I can easily attach it to my pack to either hang limply or flutter in the breeze. 6 g.
- A repurposed 100ml fuel bottle with a squirt function (a flip top lid would be better, but I've not got one yet). That's the small thing underneath the cap. I filter the water if needs be. 16 g empty.
- Alcohol gel – although I try to steer clear of it if I can help it because it strips my skin raw, whichever variety I use. 22 g.
- Sea to Summit Wilderness Wash in a 5ml bottle, so that I can wash my hands properly, away from a water source. Dr Bronners also strips my skin, even just using one or two drops of the sensitive skin variety. 5 g.
- The total weight is 49 g, but I'm seriously considering leaving out the alcohol gel, in which case the weight would be 27 g.
By flushing you dilute and rinse away any remaining urine; wiping then means that the pee rag isn't being contaminated to such a degree, so it matters less if it doesn't dry or if the wonderment of UV rays don't make much of an appearance. I've found this set up to be use friendly, quick and hygienic, and doesn't involve TP at all so is environmentally friendly in a couple of ways.
Experience is a wonderful teacher, and combining well known approaches for a northern latitudinal application seems to be a good solution.
On related items, the art of managing number twos is a well covered topic; one of my favourite videos is this, from 4:50 onwards! Menstruation is something I've still got to find a solution for. Diva/Mooncup, tampons, pads, letting it run, stopping it in the first place – there are lots of options. A topic for another post!
After years of the 'drip dry' approach (a method which is a definite contender for joining in the Fogle/Cracknell conversation), I adopted the pee rag a few years back and use it even in the UK. It's just a little hanky which lives in a little pocket I made, which hangs off my belt. I have no doubt that the hanky gets pretty minging over the course of a few days (but without it, it would be my pants which were minging...), so I give it a wash whenever I have the opportunity, which is seldom less frequent than every four or five days.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your approach Gayle - I know you've done an incredible amount of walking :). I found that drip dry started to lead the way on to "thin ice"... I'm hoping that the flush first will help stop the minging hanky as well as the prospect of minging pants!
ReplyDeleteI've not done much backpacking, but I've never subscribed to the 'drip dry' method, it just doesn't appeal. But the pee rag hadn't occurred to me either. I carry toilet roll, antibac gel and a liht fabric pouch (it's actually a disused umbrella cover...). The used toilet roll goes into the pouch which is then stored in a mesh pocket, where it dries and therefore weighs next to nothing again in no time. It's then flushed away when I reach suitable facillities. I rarely if ever get caught short with a #2. Luckily.
ReplyDeleteI've been using anti-bac gel, but it dries out my hands too much so needed a different solution there - the Wilderness Wash I mentioned really helps me there. I'd not thought to carry used toilet roll as you do - only to pack it out in a ziplock bag. But with the way I'm using water and a pee rag now I don't need as much TP. I've just been out for two nights and it's worked really well, so should be alright for longer periods, especially here where you might not come across somewhere you can dispose of waste for a few days. No. 2s are a bit different :)
ReplyDeleteI'm quite lucky I get away with the antibac, despite my eczema. That plays up elsewhere when I'm backpacking, it's excruciating, so I sympathise. Got me thinking about pee rag system possibilites now though, I can see its appeal.
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