Buzzy, you'll attract that which you give. You''ll experience many wonderful things in your life because that's what you are attracting by imparting it into other folk's lives.
Getting back to the topic, and along the lines of what DelQ and QiWiz said they do, a guy a hiked with on the PCT had the trail name Milkjug Express because he hiked fast with a cut down plastic 1 gal milk jug hanging off the back of his backpack to gather water and use as a basin to wash up in and wash his clothes. He carried a small bar of soap or sometimes a small bottle of Dr Bronners Peppermint liquid soap. You can also buy collapsible basins that fold totally flat or that are flexible enough to crunch up into a ball like at outdoor gear stores( I've seen hikers with ones that crunch up so small they fit inside their solo sized cookware) and in food gadget's depts like in Bed Bath and Beyond. They even sell these at some big Pet Stores(Pet Smart for example) for dogs that could be used. The eucalyptus, lavender, and especially the Peppermint are nice. I typically drop a small bottle of Dr Bronners Peppermint into a mailed resupply box that I use for washing clothes and gear being my laundry detergent, washing ME(including using as a shampoo and body liquid soap), brushing my teeth, as a deodorant, and as something that MAY have some insect repellancy for me.
You could just carry a bandanna and/or super absorbent small ditty wash cloth(like a Sham Wow or equivalent, they sell these at virtually al hiking gear stores) and wash up on the trail. Doing this, as well as keeping nails cut, AND having a cleaner shirt, pr of dry cleaner socks, and maybe occasionally changing into cleaner clothes for the bottom half go a LONG way in feeling more human on the trail for me. Many long distance hikers, including myself, snap a few safety pins onto the outside of our backpacks to let washed/wet clothes dry by hanging on the outside of our backpacks. In this regard, and to repeat what DelQ already said, merino wool clothing tends to not get as funky smelling as much of the synthetic clothing. My super absorbant hand sized washing clothe is my do all ditty clothe for cooking, cleaning, etc. A bandanna could work as well.
One other thing I do that the vast majority of male hikers don't do is regularly shave my face and cut my hair short although I do usually maintain a gottee on long distance hikes. I get it regularly cut into a professional short length style while on trail particularly in the warmer summer months when hiking. IMHO, removing facial hair can cut down on the grundge factor and maintenance of hair while just making me feel cleaner. This is counter to what most long distance hikers do though. It can seem a bit overly fussy to some. Many male hikers wear their hair long, including not shaving, for long periods or for their entire long distance hikes, making many to appear even more gundgy IMHO but they often do it like they are wearing a badge of masculinity.
Keeping cleaner on the trail than a bear or Sasquatch doesn't need to be a big deal or be made into something that's inconvenient. Some hikers get lazy and use hiking as an excuse though to stay grundgy as if they have to. BS.
Originally Posted by Lyte-w8-hyker
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