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TwoForty
02-05-2006, 14:25
What does everyone normally do for trail hygiene? I read the article in the articles section, but I was wondering what other hikers did/do.
How often did you get a shower, a swim, or do a baby-wipe-down? How often did you get to wash your clothes? How much alcohol gel did you use? Etc, etc....

mdionne
02-05-2006, 14:47
What does everyone normally do for trail hygiene? I read the article in the articles section, but I was wondering what other hikers did/do.
How often did you get a shower, a swim, or do a baby-wipe-down? How often did you get to wash your clothes? Etc, etc....

a tooth brush and some tooth paste. showers came when i hit towns. there is a point of saturation at which you just can't get any dirtier and so you live with it. :)


How much alcohol gel did you use?....

i used a lot of alcohol but probably not in the manner you are reffering to.:o

the goat
02-05-2006, 14:53
i like to go several weeks between showers. it's true, at a certain point, you just can't get any dirtier.

TwoForty
02-05-2006, 14:56
a tooth brush and some tooth paste. showers came when i hit towns. there is a point of saturation at which you just can't get any dirtier and so you live with it. :)



i used a lot of alcohol but probably not in the manner you are reffering to.:o
That is why I added the gel :D

I've never done any hikes more than a week long, but each time I brush my teeth twice a day and use alcohol gel, that's it. I was just wondering what others do for longer distance hikes as I am preparing for my first. I may bring some baby wipes along and see if they are worth it.

Fiddler
02-05-2006, 15:04
That is why I added the gel :D

I've never done any hikes more than a week long, but each time I brush my teeth twice a day and use alcohol gel, that's it. I was just wondering what others do for longer distance hikes as I am preparing for my first. I may bring some baby wipes along and see if they are worth it.
Don't worry about it. Try to stay as clean as your own level of comfort demands. You will probably find that this level will change as you get farther along in your hike. You will always see others as dirty as you, some even dirtier. After a short while you can't smell them and they can't smell you.

Pennsylvania Rose
02-05-2006, 15:45
Once you get used to yourself, you'll get some nasty looks from dayhikers as your smell wafts their way...

...and because you're sniffing them because they smell so GOOD!

mingo
02-05-2006, 16:02
ode to my baby wipes

my baby wipes, oh my baby wipes
the monkey butt, they chase away
and make me happy all the hiking day

Topcat
02-05-2006, 16:05
The funny thing is, more people get the AT trots from shaking hands than drinking untreated water, so please, at least wash your hands every day in some way or another and dont be offended if i just wave when you walk into camp..:-)

max patch
02-05-2006, 16:39
The funny thing is, more people get the AT trots from shaking hands than drinking untreated water, so please, at least wash your hands every day in some way or another and dont be offended if i just wave when you walk into camp..:-)

I've always thought the custom of shaking hands is ridiculous; when I finished my thru upon recollection I don't think the offer to shake hands was ever given by me to others or offered from others to me. Maybe thats one of societys "rules" that don't apply in the woods.

Footslogger
02-05-2006, 18:05
My experience in 2003 was that about every 4 - 6 days I was able to get a shower if I really reaked and felt like I needed it. That said ...I didn't really shower that often. I carried the odor free aloe wet wipes and used them for toilet as well as hygeine in between town/hostel showers and it worked OK. Everyone smells so the need for a shower is more about you and your needs rather than social acceptance (or lack thereof).

'Slogger

Singe03
02-05-2006, 18:22
Other than religiously brushing my teeth, I only worried about how dirty I was or how I smelled in town. My first priorities were usually a shower and laundry once I hit town but on the trail itself, I was a typical dirty, smelly hiker happily surrounded by other dirty, smelly hikers.

Slogger, you have to admit that in 2003, at least the early parts, showers were not a problem :-) Simply strip to your shorts and walk out of the shelter in to the rain with a bandanna to scrub off the mud that had really caked on. If it was not raining RIGHT then, it would be 5 minutes later, the entire Appalachian trail was natures own shower.

saimyoji
02-05-2006, 20:11
Just inform people that you are Buddhist and don't shake hands: wai (press hands together with fingers pointed up and bow slightly) to people and appologise for your behavior. People will admire your zen-ness and not give you their nasty ditry germs.

Footslogger
02-05-2006, 20:27
Slogger, you have to admit that in 2003, at least the early parts, showers were not a problem :-) Simply strip to your shorts and walk out of the shelter in to the rain with a bandanna to scrub off the mud that had really caked on. If it was not raining RIGHT then, it would be 5 minutes later, the entire Appalachian trail was natures own shower.
=================================
You got that right. We used to talk about getting T-shirts made after the hike that said "Appalachain Trail Swim Team". There were times when the water source WAS the AT. Funny how time has tempered those memories. But I do remember being damp and having everything I owned damp for well over 3 weeks at at time.

'Slogger

jackiebolen
02-05-2006, 21:44
Every 5-10 days, I would try to get to a shower and a laundromat. Besides that, I would use some alcohol hand sanitizer after wiping my butt and that was about it for hygiene. I also brushed my teeth once a day. Besides that, I didn't swim or use baby wipes or anything.

orangebug
02-06-2006, 10:58
It may be worthwhile to do a sponge bath with a bandana every other day, at least as a possible preventative for tick borne illnesses.

Fiddleback
02-06-2006, 11:15
A wash-cloth--sized 'camp towel' (synthetic microfibre), and body-wash--sized baby wipes (~8 1/2 X 13"), toothbrush and toothpaste, and a small vial of alcohol gel, e.g, Purell.

Besides wiping up condensation and other wetness, the camp towels seem to really wipe the grit and grime off the bod. A light scrub with a damp camp towel and a follow-on wipe wipe-down makes for a very thorough and refreshing clean up. Not much more than a swallow of water required.

FB

minnesotasmith
02-06-2006, 11:16
Hands, mouth (brush/floss daily), rear end, wet wipe off dirt on lower legs above socks, rest can wait until I get to a shower.

John B
02-06-2006, 11:36
Almost everyday with Dr. Bronners, a nylon scrub pad, and a 2.4L Platy. waterbag. Brushed teeth after every meal and even after snacks. Used gelled alcohol religiously. Carried a travel-size deoderant as my luxury item and used it everyday. Shaved everyday, too. I'd also put on clean socks and underwear everyday, wash out the dirty stuff, and hang them off my pack to dry while hiking. Even remembered to say the Lord's Prayer everyday. I was so clean that I damned nearly squeaked while hiking.

Smooth
02-06-2006, 14:07
On my Thru-Hike I showered at (nearly) every town, about 4 days apart, and sponge bathed often in-between. I liked to be clean, it felt good.

Pennslyvania Rose,
By the time Thru-Hikers get to New England they not only smell to you, YOU smell to them! I can remember hiking along with others and calling out the SOAP they laundry with from 20 feet away. Even worse is the stink of fabric softener, I have never been able to use it since the Big Hike, though I used it before the Big Hike.

Bunny
02-06-2006, 19:47
I haven't done this myself, but a friend of mine who has thru-hiked at least once, maybe twice, said he took some form of a shower everyday! He carried half a milk-jug with him. He would boil more water than he needed for dinner, use half of it to let his food rehydrate, and mix the other half with regular (cool) water in the milk jug. He stripped down to a pair of nylon shorts, poured the water from the milk jug over the top of him, and scrubbed down. He said he was clean and mostly dry by the time his dinner was ready to eat. YMMV.

Spirit Walker
02-06-2006, 22:58
I'm different from most of you. I wash up every day if at all possible. On the AT that meant that unless it was really cold (i.e. Smokies), I took my water bag into the woods and washed with a bandana. If I was really dirty, I even used soap. Any body of water is good for a swim. On western trails, it gets harder to get to water at the end of the day, but I still try.

What i have found is that it makes a huge difference in the way that I feel emotionally. I'll get to camp tired and filthy. I don't want to move, just go to sleep. Then I get cleaned up and I feel much happier. If I can't get clean, I can't sleep because I am so sticky. I also change into 'clean' clothes for the same reason. It makes me feel much better about everything if I don't stink as much.

I wash clothes in town at least once a week. A hot shower and clean clothes make me feel so much happier, even though I know the benefits are temporary.

TrailReverend
02-06-2006, 23:06
I agree with Spirit Walker. Washing as often as possible helps revitalize you. When hiking I wash as often as possible with the water jug and shower gel. Sometimes I feel guilty about rinsing off soap in the woods or showering in a body of water because I feel I am introducing chemicals to untouched wildernss even if the chemicals are minimal. I believe you can get environmentally friendly soap at Organic markets like Wholefoods. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

TrailReverend
02-06-2006, 23:08
Sorry I dont know how that happened. If anyone knows how I can delete those repeats, please tell me. Sorry, I'm new herw

TrailReverend
02-06-2006, 23:09
nevermind, they dissappeared by magic.

KirkMcquest
02-06-2006, 23:16
nevermind, they dissappeared by magic.

Yes, but the foreign chemicals your introducing to a fragile ecosystem won't.

Get some natural biodegradable soap.

TrailReverend
02-06-2006, 23:21
Sorry I was talking about my post which repeated itself 20 times when I posted but then they dissapperaed. I wasn't talking about the soap. If anyone has any thoughts about the eco-friendly soap or environmental concerns when hiking, please respond. Also I would add taht spitting the toothpaste out is probably not good either, there may be eco-friendly paste too.

weary
02-07-2006, 00:14
....If anyone has any thoughts about the eco-friendly soap or environmental concerns when hiking, please respond. Also I would add taht spitting the toothpaste out is probably not good either, there may be eco-friendly paste too.
All ordinary body and facial soaps and toothpastes are biodegradeable these days. I carried a sliver of Ivory for washing me, dishes, and occasionally a tee shirt, socks, and a bandanna.

Soap, in the quantities likely to be used on the trail, is environmentally harmless, though to avoid grumpy stares of other hikers I usually did my washing well away from streams and campsites. I usually kicked a small depression in the forest duff for rinsing out toothpaste. Another kick removed all visible traces.

Weary