Packing out toilet paper and used tampons is a bummer, but backpacking is one of those times where you just have to suck it up and tell yourself, “There ain’t nothin’ to it, but to do it.” You can’t leave them lying around the countryside for all to see, and burying them is also bad wilderness ethics. That trash doesn’t decompose like you wish it would and ends up strewn all over the trail eventually. Packing it out is the only option, but I’ve got an idea for you that makes it tolerable.
Those foil coffee bags that you thought were trash are actually valuable disposal bags that both camouflage and deodorize your most private on-trail trash. Ziplock freezer bags make pretty good smell-proof garbage sacks, but can be a little bit embarrassing to haul out in a crowd. Coffee bags solve that problem and you don’t even have to purchase them, you just have to save them. The only thing better than cheap is free. And the only thing better than free is recycled!
THE ANCIENT SOUTHWEST 