It’s then that Dave (whom she terms the Period Fairy) steps up to the plate and tells the rest of the group to head off without them as Jane has cut her arm on a tree.

At this point, you might be thinking, “Why not just use the word ‘period’? Surely, guys can handle the concept that we bleed every month?” But presumably Dave had no idea whether Jane would be comfortable with him sharing that information, and instead offered up an unexpected solution.

Jane recounts that he proceeds to ask if she’d prefer a sanitary towel or a tampon, and she, “completely stunned”, asks for the latter.

“He pulls out three tampons, the good kind, and a handful of wet-naps. Hands them to me and then he opens the main compartment and pulls out a long sleeve black t-shirt.”

And then tells her to go into the trees to “take care of it” and use the shirt to tie round her waist.

And as for the cover story, Jane reports that he gives her a plaster to put on her arm.

Again, an initial, somewhat sceptical, response to this tale might be to ask why on earth he would be so prepared, and to wonder whether it’s a hell of a long-shot, slightly creepy pulling technique. But Jane says she obviously asked him why, and seemed satisfied with his answer, which was: “I’ve been hiking with women for years, you think I’m stupid?’”

Bravo, Dave.

Images: Holly Mandarich / iStock

This man’s response to his friend’s period while hiking is everything