View Full Version : shampooing
fraufrack
10-15-2008, 05:03
Can someone explain to me how you shower along the trail? Do hostels, parks, and truck stops include or offer for sale single-use amounts of shampoo & conditioner? I'm really not interested in mailing this stuff to myself or trying to figure out exactly which places I'm going to shower ahead of time.
Another question... I've been looking at dry shampoo and possibly making my own dry shampoo (or just using cornmeal). Supposedly this can help prolong the need for wet shampoos. Has anyone tried this along the trail? Success or failure?
Mr. Clean
10-15-2008, 05:08
Some people carry Dr. Bronner's soap. It's all natural and can be used for anything such as washing, shampoo, cleaning cookware, etc. Just be careful to wash and shampoo away from water sources.
aaroniguana
10-15-2008, 07:38
My method:
Home Depot contractor bag as a pack liner. Carry an extra. If you resupply by mail, put one in every box. The day before your resupply, put a gallon of water in the bag, add a squirt of Dr Bronners and your dirty clothes. Shake liberally. Rinse three times. Hang clothes to dry. Put 3 gallons water in bag and hang from a tree branch in the sun. When your clothes are dry, stand under the bag, poke small holes in one corner and use like a camp shower. You will be much less offensive to others when you go into town the next day (if you care) and you've saved yourself the cost of a hotel room/shower/laundry. And pray it doesn't rain on the way into town :D
Or just get a room and take a shower.
Montana Mac
10-15-2008, 08:02
Every truck stop that I have been in (and it has been a ton of them) includes wash cloth, towel and soap - not shampoo - with the cost of a shower.
At some hostels you can buy just a shower and they may supply a towel. If you don't carry soap or shampoo look in the "hiker box" and you may be able to find some. I have also found bottles of shampoo and soap left in the shower.
I highly suggest Dr Bonner's and yes hotels and some hostels can supply what you need. PLUS if you are going into town to resupply you can always by the sample size shampoos and soaps, use them, and leave what is left in the hiker box or share with someone there. Dr Bonner's is great for on the trail washing.
RiverWarriorPJ
10-15-2008, 08:43
i just hang my camelback from a tree & take a NAVY shower....
Chaco Taco
10-15-2008, 09:00
Most hostels provide single use shampoos that you can purchase or there is a store close by that will sell what you need. My suggestion is that if you have a bounce box, put a couple in there. On trail, just use your nalgene. I would go down to streams and wash up some of the time, fill up and move away from the stream. Most of the time, you hit a trail town within a few days so just enhance your hiker stick:D
Chaco Taco
10-15-2008, 09:00
I mean stink:) oops
Hostels will usually just leave a big bottle of shampoo in the shower that everyone can use. Or, you could find the travel-size section in the nearest drug store or supermarket and buy a small container for just around a dollar. I don't see any reason to shower or shampoo while you're out on the trail itself, so don't worry too much about that.
Haiku.
john gault
10-15-2008, 11:48
There's no Shampooing on the trail - GEEESH. What is this world coming to...
fraufrack
10-15-2008, 12:02
along the trail?
Sorry to ruffle y'all's feathers. I really intended this to be about shampooing in hostels, truck stops, campgrounds, & other cheap places nearby the trail, not shampooing at camp. However, I've been interested in hearing about shampooing at camp. Thanks for the responses; keep 'em coming.
Chaco Taco
10-15-2008, 12:08
The only time i really bathed on trail was during the really really hot spells. Nice way to cool off and to decrease some of that really really bad hiker stink. I dont mean just plain old hiker funk but the really awful smell that i reached. Also, if was good to wash off the salt on the skin.
Chaco Taco
10-15-2008, 12:10
Funny story, in Virginia, whenever we were around dogs or cats at hosytels or whatever, they loved to like our legs and get that salt off us. Every time I saw a dog or cat they would run up to us and go to town on us. :D
Kerosene
10-15-2008, 12:10
Another alternative is to carry small amounts of No-Rinse Shampoo & Body Wash (http://www.rei.com/search?query=no-rinse), which I've found to be lighter weight than wipes and simpler than trying to arrange a shower with soapy water.
Tipi Walter
10-15-2008, 14:46
This thread brings to mind an interesting quote and something I've believed-thru-experience for a long time: You stay warmer in the winter by not bathing. So, with winter in the wings, who needs to wash off or shampoo?
Here's the quote from the book, Surviving The Extremes: A Doctor's Journey to the Limits of Human Endurance, by Kenneth Kamler, M.D.
QUOTE: "Though the exact mechanism remains mysterious, the idea that the body can "learn" to tolerate cold has been an extreme medicine assumption for a long time. In preparation for their voyages, early Arctic explorers were advised to take cold showers--increasing their duration and decreasing the temperature every day until departure. Further advice was to stop washing as soon as they had left. Dirt accumulating on skin helps the body retain heat. This advice has also proven to be true, and I know from experience that it's one rule mountaineers have no trouble following."
Blissful
10-15-2008, 14:54
You are in town every 3-4 dyas, so wait until you get there to do your hair. Most hostels and of course motels have shampoo. I did send a small bottel in a bounce box but rarely had to use it. I also had a film canister full of Dr bronners in case I needed it (like for the shelter showers at Partnership and 501).
wrongway_08
10-15-2008, 16:35
i just hang my camelback from a tree & take a NAVY shower....
X2, use the soap they sell at walmart or REI, in the little green or white bottles. Biodegradable.
Nothing better after a long nasty day of hiking, then to grab a shower after hiking.
trouthunter
10-15-2008, 17:20
Yeah,I just use my camelback bag, one of those lightweight quick drying yellow towels, and some bio soap. If you have Germ X or Purel it works good too, especially for "touch ups".
i would check the hostel/hotel to see if they had shampoo, often especially in hostels i would find a bottle there, if not, i would go to the dollar store, buy one and leave it in the hostel or hiker box (for hotels and other places), trail magic even shows up in the shower ;)
Chaplain
10-16-2008, 22:32
In Outwardbound they taught us to take a dip each morning in the creek, river or lake. We did. No matter where or what. It really helps. -SunnyWalker
superman
10-16-2008, 22:51
Can someone explain to me how you shower along the trail? Do hostels, parks, and truck stops include or offer for sale single-use amounts of shampoo & conditioner? I'm really not interested in mailing this stuff to myself or trying to figure out exactly which places I'm going to shower ahead of time.
Another question... I've been looking at dry shampoo and possibly making my own dry shampoo (or just using cornmeal). Supposedly this can help prolong the need for wet shampoos. Has anyone tried this along the trail? Success or failure?
Since I have my hikes catered I just have them bring a portable shower with them when they bring each evenings meal. Some times I skip the "repeat" step of shampooing. Oh, the hardships of hiking.
trouthunter
10-16-2008, 23:08
In Outwardbound they taught us to take a dip each morning in the creek, river or lake. We did. No matter where or what. It really helps. -SunnyWalker
Yes, It does help, you do not need soap to get rid of body odor, for the most part. A quick dip will work wonders!:banana
wrongway_08
10-17-2008, 16:28
In Outwardbound they taught us to take a dip each morning in the creek, river or lake. We did. No matter where or what. It really helps. -SunnyWalker
Just watch for leeches, went swimming in a spot that had a bunch of them in the water. Not what you want to pick off yourself before eating breakfast or getting ready for dinner!
trouthunter
10-17-2008, 19:42
Just watch for leeches, went swimming in a spot that had a bunch of them in the water. Not what you want to pick off yourself before eating breakfast or getting ready for dinner!
That must have been still water or a pond?
I forgot about leeches, also good to keep your underwear on in case of big hungry bass!:banana
U don't need a shower. Be one with nature and avoid people.
In Outwardbound they taught us to take a dip each morning in the creek, river or lake. We did. No matter where or what. It really helps. -SunnyWalker
Sure does.
I always bring a motel sized bottle with enough biodegradable (so they say) soap which I bought in a super king-sized bottle at REI.
Biodegradable soap is NOT for use IN water sources, though. Before a Swim, I wash up back from shore using a gallon zip lock bag (most of the gallon used for rinsing). Then, hopefully free of suds, I enjoy a nice swim.