hiking etiquitte

[Kristeninmb]

2 concepts that I have a full grasp of are the Leave NO Trace and Hike your Own Hike. but i wonder about the the gray areas.
Where is it "proper" to... 1- brush your teeth, spitting and rinsing specifically. 2- washing your socks/undies. I know that if there is a stream near, to go down stream, and that you don't do it at the water source by the shelters. I just don't want to be spitting and rinsing by my tent and someone telling me that I have just put out a bear calling card. 3- when you bear bag, do you put but your personal "affects" ( TP, baby wipes, and female items) in the bag with your food (in a separate bag) or in your tent? When out west camping (grizzlies) you couldn't have a chapstick on you while sleeping. (learned not to sleep naked due to a chapstick). Thinking way to much about the mistakes that I may make, and have made. Thank you in advance to my AT family for their sage knowledge and advice. See you on the Trail.

Kiki

[Feral Bill]

I never wash in a stream, anywhere. You are always upstream from somewhere. Dirty water poured on soil well away from the source will filter ans biodegrade. In grizzly country, I hang everything that smells like food, except clothes. I know we are told to change out of cooking clothes but I just can't imagine many people doing so. And just brush teeth away from likely campsites.

[bigcranky]

I walk into the woods to brush my teeth, or into the fire ring if there is one nearby. My base layers are merino wool, and get washed in town, so no need to wash them in the woods. Socks get rinsed out and safety-pinned to my pack to dry. I do put things like toothpaste in my bear bag.

The bears can smell you from a long ways off -- spitting some toothpaste twenty yards from your tent won't make any difference. :)

[MuddyWaters]

2 concepts that I have a full grasp of are the Leave NO Trace and Hike your Own Hike. but i wonder about the the gray areas.
Where is it "proper" to... 1- brush your teeth, spitting and rinsing specifically. 2- washing your socks/undies. I know that if there is a stream near, to go down stream, and that you don't do it at the water source by the shelters. I just don't want to be spitting and rinsing by my tent and someone telling me that I have just put out a bear calling card. 3- when you bear bag, do you put but your personal "affects" ( TP, baby wipes, and female items) in the bag with your food (in a separate bag) or in your tent? When out west camping (grizzlies) you couldn't have a chapstick on you while sleeping. (learned not to sleep naked due to a chapstick). Thinking way to much about the mistakes that I may make, and have made. Thank you in advance to my AT family for their sage knowledge and advice. See you on the Trail.

Kiki

Most people brush teeth and spit toothpaste right in front of the shelter. Why be any different? Theres enough spilled food there anyway it doesnt make a difference.

Wash undies??? Laundromat in town.

You might rinse socks out frequently out west to remove dirt, but on AT, laundromat in town works. Its not particularly dusty.

Put everything that has a smell or scent in bearbag is the proper way to do it. It might be unnecessary on the AT, thats for you to decide.

[4eyedbuzzard]

If you do need to bear bag due to location/bear activity, be sure to put anything with sweet or food odor - toothpaste, toothbrush, chapstick (as noted) stove, pots, etc - in the bear bag. Many will cook dinner on the trail before reaching their camping spot for the evening to avoid cooking in proximity to camping spot. They would also then likely brush and spit at this time as well. The devil's advocate argument is that food odors have already permeated your clothing, pack and the rest of your gear to some degree anyway. So it's more a practice of reducing odors near your camp, not completely eliminating them.

[Diamondlil]

2- washing your socks/undies. 3- when you bear bag, do you put but your personal "affects" ( TP, baby wipes, and female items)

Kiki

Kristeninmb,

I believe I understand what you are asking. The responses given from the men, (Not to generalize here) don't exactly answer what I think your question was because they may not understand the delicacies and health issues some women face with the lack of typical hygienic means, and the possibility of infection. Washing our undies often is important for this reason and to avoid carrying more weight.
My plan :
2.) I plan on filtering an additional Ltr. of water for washing up and lite laundry each night. Or morning. This way I can hang items from my pack to dry while walking in the day. (Weather permitting). I will locate my toilet area, if not at a shelter, and do all my tidying there, away from my tent and others.
3.) I have a separate sealed double bag system (w/ silicone gel beads to absorb odor) for T.P., Wipes & fem. items. I can hang this if needed, however I think I will be safe enough with leaving it near my toilet area to retrieve in the morning. I hope this helped give you some ideas about how to deal with the issues of your concern, if I read into it correctly?
Have fun, Namaste.

Diamondlil


[emoji851]

[LoneStranger]

Toothpaste in town, baking soda or just an empty brush on trail works for me. Bears are very curious about smells and will go far out of their way to investigate them so I try not to send conflicting messages. I make a point of smelling strongly of human :) and nothing else. On crowded stretches of trail it won't matter because you'll be at the mercy of the sloppiest people around you, but in true wilderness taking care to smell clearly human is a great bear deterrent.

[Puddlefish]

Downstream just doesn't cut it. It's 200 feet from the water source. (https://lnt.org/about/faq/why-do-i-have-dispose-waste-wateruse-bathroom-200-feet-water) I can't speak towards what people actually do of course, but I plan on carrying a zip lock for sock/briefs washing on the trail. Agitate the bag as you walk away. If you really need that rinse cycle, walk back to the stream, or wait til the next stream. I'm hoping to minimize my time at shelters and towns.

[Slo-go'en]

1) Never wash anything directly in a water source. Yourself included. Soak your feet in a stream if you like, but that's it. Otherwise collect some water and carry it away from the source.

2) If you rinse out clothes, they will not dry out over night. Wet clothes hung in a shelter will not dry, they just drip water on the people below it and will be real cold and clammy in the morning.

3) I brush my teeth at the fire pit, or off in the perimeter of the campsite.

When I was camping in Yellowstone, I'd put my clothes outside the tent under my rain jacket. I would also "mark my territory" around the tent. Must of worked, as very early one morning I woke up to see a very large bear walking away from my tent.

[Lone Wolf]

the fire pit is for wood only. might as well pee in it too if you're gonna advocated spittin in it

[daddytwosticks]

the fire pit is for wood only. might as well pee in it too if you're gonna advocated spittin in it
Seen it done next morning to put out the smoldering fire. Steaming pee smells pretty bad first thing in the morning. :)

[Lone Wolf]

there should be no fire pits at any shelter

[Kristeninmb]

Downstream just doesn't cut it. It's 200 feet from the water source. (https://lnt.org/about/faq/why-do-i-have-dispose-waste-wateruse-bathroom-200-feet-water) I can't speak towards what people actually do of course, but I plan on carrying a zip lock for sock/briefs washing on the trail. Agitate the bag as you walk away. If you really need that rinse cycle, walk back to the stream, or wait til the next stream. I'm hoping to minimize my time at shelters and towns.
thanks for the great advice all, but I think this is the way to go. Thanks family

[Puddlefish]

Seen it done next morning to put out the smoldering fire. Steaming pee smells pretty bad first thing in the morning. :)

Doesn't smell all that great in the evening either!

[egilbe]

Go commando. No Dirty undies, no need to wash them. I just put a tiny dab of toothpaste on my toothbrush and I swallow it. Hasn't killed me yet.

[Traveler]

A good all around consideration is, "what would my grandmother say if she saw me doing this".

[Sarcasm the elf]

A good all around consideration is, "what would my grandmother say if she saw me doing this".

That comment makes me wonder if Betty White has grandkids...

[SIMPLE MAN]

Worry a little too much but like the slapstick humor.

[evyck da fleet]

1) Same place I scatter the water from cleaning my cooking pot. As mentioned above, usually near the perimeter of the campsite where I'll also relieve myself to add the human element. Although, that does attract deer.
2) In town. But if you feel compelled to clean, take water 200 ft away from the source
3) Everything goes in the bear bag until you realize you've sleep with a candy bar wrapper in your pocket for the third time and then its more likely everything stays in your tent

[Five Tango]

I've been seeing comments about Chapstick for years relative to bears.Do the precautions include plain old fashioned original unflavored/scented Chapstick or just the newer fruity flavored ones?