issues for women thru-hikers

[Hoppy]

At this point in time, I am beginning my planning for a 2006 through hike - probably a flip flop because I normally reside in Virginia. I was looking for some advice from women thru or section hikers about how they dealt with certain things. I know most of these issues apply to all hikers, but I'm looking for a perspective on how women coped with them.

1. Pack weight. There is a lot of talk about pack weight, as percentage of body weight, what to carry etc. I am small, and weigh about 120 pounds. I've slogged around a 30+ pound pack on hikes before, but my knees hated me at the end, so I'm looking to go light, but I can't afford the high-tech ultra-light path. I also want to carry a tent, which will probably be my heaviest item. (I currently own a Marmot Eclipse 1person, which comes in just under 5 pounds with fly and ground cloth). My pack is a Gregory Deva, which I haven't been totally satisfied with, in terms of load management and comfort, and the pack itself seems to weigh quite a bit. So I'm open to all sorts of weight saving recommendations.

2. Related to pack weight is food, metabolism and weight loss. I have a pretty high metabolism, especially when I am in shape, and I am worried about not wasting away on the trail, maintaining enough muscle mass, and also being ABLE to carry all the food I anticipate I'll need to eat. Usually in a 3 day weekend trip my appetite isn't that high, which leads to temporary weight loss. I know I can't avoid weight loss on the trail, but I want to be able to eat and carry enough (moderately healthy) food to keep me going. I've read about people being completely ravenous and not being able to carry enough food - and I'm trying to keep pack weight down.

3. Feminine hygiene - how have you dealt with this on your hikes? I"m currently on the pill and already have a period once every 2 months (with my Doctor's approval). Did any of you stop menstruating on the trail due to exertion and weight loss?

Thanks for any upcoming input! This is my first post, but I've been reading avidly since I arrived in Russia 3 months ago and started think seriously about a 2006 thru.

[NotYet]

Hi Hoppy,

1. I'm not the ultra-light type, either, but I do try to minimize my pack weight by culling "unnecessary items" (easy to say, hard to do!). Also, try to see if the items you carry have multiple uses (preferable) or just single uses. The way the suspension system on my pack is designed makes the weight that I carry ride more comfortably than a lighter load with a less well-fitting pack. I use an Osprey that is designed for women...if you decide to switch packs, try on a lot of different types (weighted in the store)...I wore mine around the store for an hour before I decided on it. The gear that I find most helpful to my knees is trekking poles. I've been using them for seven years know, and I've seen a dramatic improvement in the health of my knees...and in my own comfort!

2. I eat a lot when I hike (and when I don't). It seemed that my meals were much larger and more varied than a lot of the other thru-hikers, but I still ended up losing quite a bit of weight...strange bones were sticking into my pack by the end of the hike. I did mail drops so that I could send myself what I wanted. For the base in my dinners I used quick cooking minute rice, cous cous, angel hair pasta, and instant mashed potatoes. For flavoring, I would then include instant bean flakes, various soup and sauce mixes, nuts and cheeses. For even more variety I'd also pack lots of different flavors of Lipton-type rice and noodle meals. I carred 3 tiny nalgenes of salt, pepper, and garlic powder. For breakfast I ate cold cereal and/or granola bars until it started getting cold; at which time I threw in instant oatmeat, instant grits, etc. Lunch and snack included ritz, peanut butter, beef jerky, GORP, power bars, and snickers. I would throw in a small can of chicken or tuna in every mail drop...now that they have those lighter sealed packets I'd probably send even more.

3. Have you heard of the Keeper? I got one just a month before my 2000 thru-hike, and it's truly been a life changer! I have a "pdf article" about women's thru-hiking issues on our website that you might want to check out. To access the article, go to www.bighike.com, click on "Resources", then click on "Women's Thru-Hike Hygiene & Safety Issues".

[whitedove]

I've had some of these same questions I am glad you posted them.

[SGT Rock]

1. Pack weight. There is a lot of talk about pack weight, as percentage of body weight, what to carry etc. I am small, and weigh about 120 pounds. I've slogged around a 30+ pound pack on hikes before, but my knees hated me at the end, so I'm looking to go light, but I can't afford the high-tech ultra-light path. I also want to carry a tent, which will probably be my heaviest item. (I currently own a Marmot Eclipse 1person, which comes in just under 5 pounds with fly and ground cloth). My pack is a Gregory Deva, which I haven't been totally satisfied with, in terms of load management and comfort, and the pack itself seems to weigh quite a bit. So I'm open to all sorts of weight saving recommendations.


Well, I ain't a woman, so mainly I'll stick to this question.

I bet you could reduce you pack weight to about 25 pounds and still take a tent while doing things cheaply. There is a thread called the $300 challenge which has some ideas for cheap, light, and functional gear. A good way to start is to weight everything you plan to carry and post a list of that stuff here so some of the experienced gear-heads can give you some tips.

[jlb2012]

one thing I was wondering was if women hikers do well with a Gearskin - I rather like the Gearskin myself and at 1.5 pound it saves me 3.5 pounds off of my former pack weight. However I have not heard of any women using a Gearskin so I am not sure it works as well for a woman as it does for me.

[SGT Rock]

I would assume that since a Gearskin is custom made to the person, that it wouldn't be an issue. I agree, the Gearskin is my favorite pack. I have been hiking a lot with it lately and really love the way it feels like a pillow on my back.

As for a tent, LWolf had a #3 tent out there the other day, that would knock off another 2 pounds for ya as well.

[jackiebolen]

I am not a "small" woman but weighed about 160 pounds before I started my hike. My goal was to keep my pack weight under 30 pounds at all times. For you, the upper limit, including food and water should be even lower than that. In order to do this, I:

1. Read Ray Jardine's Book and followed a few of his ideas (ex. Pop bottles vs. nalgenes, no water treatment, umbrella, small foam pad vs. thermarest)

2. carried nothing, including the pack itself that weighed over 2 pounds. I used Go-Lite pack, and one of the lighter Hennessy Hammocks. If I did it again, I would probably ditch the hammock and go with something even lighter, like a tarp or a bivy because I ended up sleeping in shelters most of the time anyway (of course, I started ahead of the "pack" in February so that's maybe why the shelters were free most nights).

3. used a pop-can stove and then for the second half of the hike just went cold food or used cooking fires. An MSR-type stove with a giant pot is uncessary. I had a tiny titanium pot that barely fit a whole liptons and then used tin-foil for the lid.

4. cut back on first-aid. By the end I had: some duct tape, a needle, dental floss and 1 bandaid.

5. used a leatherman micra. A big knife is not needed

6. invested money in good sleeping bags. I spent a good bit of money buying a winter and then a summer bag when it got hotter. Your winter bag shouldn't be over 3 pounds, your summer one should be around a pound. Make sure your bag fits you as well...you can be using the extra-small fit of bag, which will save you a lot of weight as opposed to a regular-length.

If your knees have hurt you on weekend trips with 30 pounds they're going to hurt A LOT more during a thru-hike. I had no knee problems before I started hiking but even with my low pack-weight, I was still so crippled at times that I would walk down the trail crying and could barely walk in the morning. If my pack weighed more, I can only imagine how much worse it would have been.

Don't skimp on food weight! I did at times and I think it killed me in the long-run. Around the 1000 mile mark, I was weak and lethargic and I think it was partly due to not eating enough.

Femine hygiene: I used OB tampons and I think a few others did as well that I was hiking with.

***My number 1 recommendation: Read Ray Jardine's book!*** He is a bit crazy but has some good ideas and will at least get you thinking in the right mindset.

[Hoppy]

Thanks for the input so far! Please keep sending it my way! And I don't want to imply that men shouldn't post! :)

There are certainly areas where I am more than willing to go ultra minimalist on, but others things, like a tent, I know that I want. It has to do with my camping style and things I know about myself and what I want to be able to do - like not do shelter to shelter hiking if I don't want to, and I just like the enclosed feel of a tent sometimes - but I'm willing to find the lightest one possible.

As for knees. Those are right now my biggest worry about the possibility of actually completing a thru. I strenght train and am working on muscle strength around my joints - which is another reason I'm worried about food and specifically muscle loss on the trail. Did I read a post sometime back about someone carrying protein powder???

[Hoppy]

A good way to start is to weight everything you plan to carry and post a list of that stuff here so some of the experienced gear-heads can give you some tips.
I'm not quite to a gear list yet, but trust me, when I have one, I'll be asking for feedback!

[art to linda]

I'm allso small so cutting down weight has been a goal of mine too... last time out I was at 22 lb.(with tent) and found a few more places to cut down.

One big place is clothing ( I tend to take to much) ... the thread on washing out things in a larger zip lock on the trail helped me cut way back there.

Food to fule the body is important to me & I like hot meals/drinks so I went with a home made wood burner that is only a few oz., fits in my pot. So I use the extra space/weight savings to add dried vegies/fruit and sugar,coffee,tea, cocoa etc.

every test run of your gear will help you find out just what you really need and what is only nice to have. Carry it around for a few days and it's easier to figure out what stays and what goes.

[lbbrown]

Santa is bringing me a Jetboil stove-I love hot quick meals.Good luck on your hike.

[bearbait2k4]

For a tent, I used the REI Roadster. It's not expensive and lightweight, and I fit perfectly inside of it, w/ pack (I'm about 5'4). I didn't have any problems w/ the roadster. I completely understand the tent thing, too. I like to be enclosed when I use a tent. Marmot makes a great tent, and it's very durable, but it's usually pretty heavy, in regards to thru-hiking.

As for joint strength, I know a few people that took glucosamine pills to build up strength, and it apparently worked wonders for them. You can find them anywhere, really - grocery stores, health food stores, etc., and they usually don't kick in until 2-4 weeks after you start taking them. I had very weak knees when I started, and worried about the same. I didn't, however, have any problems out of the ordinary (everyone experiences knee pain) until I had an injury due to a couple of falls.

In regards to general pack weight, you can learn to do without some things while you're on the trail. If you feel the need to brush your hair every day, carry a small comb. Forget about deoderant and razors - - if you HAVE to shave, just save it for towns. For feminine hygiene, OB tampons seem to work the best, and you may have an irregular or non-existant period for the first couple of months. Be prepared, though, because it usually will come back when your body gets used to the changes that are occuring.

Now, for food, I would suggest cutting back on everything else in your pack so you can carry as much as you need. It seems like women had huger appetites once the hunger really kicked in, mainly because our bodies are simply designed for storing fat, and we're using up our storage when we're out there. I was almost always hungry, and sometimes tried to skimp on food to keep the pack weight down. Bad idea. In the long run, it just sucks out your energy. Try to also keep in mind that healthy foods really give you more lasting energy than candy and chocolate, too. I mean, you can pack out 20 snickers bars, and it will weigh less than a couple of days of liptons, oatmeal, and peanut butter, but you'll also just crash and burn when that sugar high wears off. Oatmeal, while it can get old, is great in the morning. It sticks with you. Peanut butter will eventually make you sick, but it has a lot of protein. Sometimes a snack or lunchbreak meal of just tuna fish, or jerky can work wonders too.

I had my pack weight down to under 35 lbs when I started this past year, and got it down to a little under 30. With your body weight, that should be around what you should push for. Regardless of what you start with, though, you'll find some things to send home, and it will take a few weeks to really get used to the pack being on every day. But, when you do, you won't have any problems. It will eventually just feel normal.

Good luck.

[bearbait2k4]

One more thing - - use trekking poles. It helps keep some of the strain and weight off the knees, especially on the downhills.

[Hoppy]

I am already a dedicated user of trekking poles, have short hair, and am not ever really concerned about shaving or deoderant - especially in the woods! I'm pretty much a minimalist in real life, which always helps when hiking.

From what people have had to say so far, that food is where to put my pack weight, and I do *have* to eat healthy because I get terrible sugar crashes otherwise. I can't be one of those thru hikers who lives on snickers and poptarts (although wouldn't that be nice).

SgtRock - a few posts ago, you mentioned the $300 thread - where is it, in the lightweight forum?

[Happy]

Just do a search on this forum.

[C-Stepper]

Here's a similar thread posted as an article on "hiking technique" on Sgt. Rock's website http://hikinghq.net/300_challenge.html Some good ideas!

[SGT Rock]

I also started a $300 challenge on my site similar to this one, only got one response:

http://hikinghq.net/forum/showthread.php?t=918&highlight=%24300

and there was also the same challenge her on WhiteBlaze which got some good responses:

http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=5594&highlight=%24300

[Seraphim]

1. I weigh 115 and started out with a little over 30 lbs. Hiking into the 100-Mile, my pack weight was at 24 lbs. Believe me, and everyone else that has been saying it: your pack weight will be the first thing to go... after your knees. (Carry soothing balm if your knees are bad- and ibuprofen)!

Unnecessary items will be first, but then you'll come to find it's still too heavy, so you'll try some crazy ideas and find some that work. If a tent is a must, I don't know who makes these or where they come from or even what they're called, but one of these guys on here must... the poleless tent. A guy I hiked with had one, I slept in it and it was GREAT! The two of us slept well, and I'm sure you'd be comfy in that solo, and you just use your trekking poles to set it up. Or, you could just rig up your regular tent without poles, which I have seen many do. The best switches I made to my gear was getting a hammock, getting rid of boots, no water treatment after VA, and finding lightweight high-cal-carb-fat foods (good luck in those tiny trail towns). But dehydrate! It's the best solution! Low-sugar, healthy, light, and you know what's in it! I regret never switching to a soda-can stove and carrying such a heavy pot. Carrying the right sleep bag is important too. Summer is hot- carry a liner!

#2.... I never had my cycle on the trail, and i know i am not alone.

Happy hiking!

[Pooja Blue]

I hated the Keeper. It is not for everyone! I used tampons. I didn't skip any cycles but I ended up having a 3-day light period regularly every three weeks. Since your period can change a lot on the trail, always carry tampons in your pack - it's not like they weigh a lot and it's better to have 'em and not need 'em than to need 'em and not have 'em!

[Rain Man]

... Since your period can change a lot on the trail, always carry tampons in your pack - it's not like they weigh a lot and it's better to have 'em and not need 'em than to need 'em and not have 'em!

If a guy may butt in with an anecdote ...

Even carry them away from your pack? I know a young woman who thru-hiked this year and was doing some trail maintenance with a crew one weekend (i.e., some miles away from her pack) when her period started. She told the leader she needed to return to get some tampons, and some clueless idiot older man (who should have known better) asked her if she couldn't "just hold it."

I guess all one can do now is to laugh at his ... ignorance. But I heard an earful about that joker. LOL

I suppose the message is that the ladies have to be independent and self-supporting and ever-vigilent in ways the guys don't.
:sun
Rain Man

.

[wacocelt]

Hello Hoppy, I'm not a woman, but my wife has completed a Thru Hike and I've learned quite a bit from her about a womans experiences on the AT. She doesn't consider herself an Ultralite'r but when she and I hiked together in 03' she was down to 15'ish pounds with food and water. She carries a tent which uses her Leki poles at tent poles( I don't recall the name of it at the moment, but if you're interedted will happily find out for you). As for your concern about losing too much weight during a Thru-Hike, my wife actually gained weight on the trail, as do many women from what I've heard. I think it has something to do with the body trying to make sure that if the woman were to become pregnant that her amount of activity would ensure a healthy gestation and birth.
I hope what little info I provided is helpful. Happy hiking and be well!

Christopher

[Hoppy]

Yes, I would like more information about the tent and trekking pole set up. ONce I get back to my tent, I"m going to play with rigging it without the tent poles. Has anyone done that with a tent not designed for that?

[Spirit Walker]

When we were in Alaska last year, our tent poles slid out of the pack when we were removing it from the plane that dropped us off. We got to our campsite and discovered - oh no, no poles. We were able to jury rig a set up with ropes and the trekking poles, but it is something I would only do in an extreme emergency. The rain that night was a light one, with little wind, so we stayed dry, but the sagging walls and limited space were not comfortable. Fortunately, the pilot discovered the poles under the seat, realized where they came from, and flew 70 miles out to find us the next day. He airdropped the poles to us, much to our relief. We were lucky, as it rained frequently at night and most of the time we were above treeline where the set up with ropes and willows wouldn't have worked.

The weight of the poles, in a light tent, is worth the simplicity of set up and the stability they offer. There are many 3 pound tents out there. Flashlight, Six Moon Designs, Henry Shires etc. A tent provides freedom and safety, especially for a woman alone. It means that you can camp where you want, when you want. You aren't dependent on shelter distances. If there is someone at a shelter who makes you uncomfortable, you can easily move on and find an unobtrusive place well off the trail to set up camp. Definitely worth its weight.

[wacocelt]

Is the tent that my wife carried in 02 and 03 and I will be using this year. I'll give a personal review during my hike.