GoGirl Story 26: Genia and the Outdoors
The GoGirls are very excited to continue to sharing our GoGirl Story Series. We are calling for all you lovely ladies to share your GoGirl stories with us: times when you needed us, thought of us, or used us. Email us at info@go-girl.com to participate. We will post a new story each week or so and the person submitting will get a free GoGirl for sharing.
Enjoy Genia's GoGirl Story:
For decades I have experienced envy whenever activities place me far away from conventional bathroom facilities, of the guys have no trouble answering nature's call; No tree to hide behind, no problem; No rock to squat behind, no problem; No shore nearby, no problem. A guy can simply turn his back and proceed to take care of business. Unfortunately, for us females, answering nature's call is not as simple. It can involve baring our bums to the cold, mosquitoes, poison ivy, curious eyes, and more.
Being the lone female in the group I hike/kayak/camp with, I am on my own to locate a suitable spot that provides at least a minimum amount of privacy. After locating a spot I am still faced with trying to balance myself while doing at least three things at once...maintaining a squat position (not infrequently on unlevel ground), holding my clothes out of the way, and trying to aim properly to avoid splash back onto shoes and socks -- trying to do all of this in the middle of the night is especially challenging!
On my last backpack trip as I headed across some rocks to answer nature's call during the night, the light from my headlamp revealed that I was not alone! There was a scorpion! I sure didn't feel like squatting in that vicinity. Inevitably there is some wet stuff that gets on me, my clothes, and shoes and socks. All the things I love to do (backpacking, cross-country skiing, climbing, kayaking, motorcycling remote back roads) come with the problem of answering nature's call.
One of my recent experiences was on a kayak trip. The leader pulled up to the shoreline to make adjustments on one of the kayaks. I figured that this would be my only opportunity that afternoon to be on dry land so I hopped out of my kayak to find a place to relieve myself. Not a tree or rock in sight, just level grassland as far as one could see. I announced to the group that I intended to answer nature's call and then requested that everyone turn to enjoy the water view until I returned from a short walk away from the group. One must be bold in this type of situation. I chose to face the group (with their backs to me) and have my exposed bum facing the other way. I felt slightly less exposed that way. After returning to the group I asked about a wood lean-to type of structure that I had noticed in the distance. One of the guys said, "Oh, that's probably a duck blind" What?! I immediately imagined a groups of guys with binoculars finding not birds, but some clueless lady unintentionally "mooning" them. What a laugh and a story that would provide them!
Over the years I have seen various FUD products introduced to the market. The first one I found was La Funnelle made of paper. It was a disposable product and did not have a designed extension that would have made it easier to pee away from where one is standing. That product had a learning curve before one could successfully aim the stream far enough away. Also, the throwaway nature of the product made it impractical for long backpacks because of the amount of extra trash one would accumulate after two or three weeks, which all has to be carried out. Later products entering the market were paper/cardboard or hard plastic, which had drawbacks. But now there is the GoGirl which combines good design with appropriate material. The silicone material makes it fit better to eliminate leaks and foldable for easier storage. I can see that I will have no trouble carrying GoGirl in the outer pocket of my daypack or backpack, or even in my rain jacket pocket. Hurray for GoGirl!
Hurray for you Genia, a GoGirl and GoGirl T-Shirt is findings its way to you now.
