Hygiene On The Trail

imported
#1

In studying the many journals of past Thru-Hikers I have come to the conclusion that there are two schools of thought on the subject. One is to try to maintain a basic sense of cleanliness while on the trail. Utilizing soap and water taking daily spounge bathes and perhaps carrying wet wipes. The other is basically saying the hell with it and not bathing or cleaning until reaching trail towns. Ive even read some incidents where hikers went with out wiping which to me seems a bit extreme.
Anyone have any ideas on the subject?
Cross

Cross

#2

We got into the Fithe and Drum Inn in Kent, in trail clothes, four days old and we were invited to eat at the Inn. The bartender said we looked plenty clean to eat there. Sit where ever you want. Clean also got us most of the best rooms and service everywhere we went. The Rangers at Daicy Pond thought we were’nt thruhikers because we were so clean.

Bushwhack

#3

Some people take pride in there daily hygine. Others just don’t care if they stink or not. I met a hiker who didn’t take a shower, at a church hostel, even though it was free.
My advise is to try to stay as clean a possiable. Try to sponge off every day if possiable. Wash in rivers, lakes and ponds when available and shower when the oppertunity is present. Believe me you will feel better for it.

Grampie-N-> 2001

Grampie

#4

…Then there’s the story I got from Hikers Paradise and Bruce about these hikers who vowed not to shower the whole way and became more dirt than human and how they prompted the shut down of the hiker friendly house near the trail that used to allow hikers in to call for a shuttle into Gorham. I like the philosophy of doing what feels GOOD, but there comes a point when that can have negative consequences as mentioned above. I say do what you want, but only up to the point that it is not negatively affecting others and and te community.

Personally, I don’t understand the extreme anti-shower philosophy, but at the same time I’m not worried about staying too clean… A happy medium. I relished the time on the trail, teaching me the lesson of how ridiculous we are back in society taking a shower everyday and sometimes multiple showers a day when it’s not absolutely necessary. But then again, that’s just the tip of the irony iceberg, and subject for a different thread entirely…

Sweeper

#5

As to wiping, I used baby wipes that contained alcohol and purell after doing the shovel thing. I am sorry, but I cannot hike with that part of my body dirty at any time. Sweat mingled with, well, you know, can cause major skin problems and chaffing which, needless to say, can really slow down one’s pace.

My chief problem when I started, March 1st, was staying clean during the winter months. Naturally, taking a sponge bath or a swim to get the gunk off of me was a little hard to do when I had ice forming in my hair from my sweat.

What I did was every chance I got, I would take a shower – a long long long shower and scrub every part of me that I could.

I shaved at every town I reached that had a shower, so I looked respectable. I got regular haircuts as rewards to myself for having acheived a goal and so I could look presentable quickly. And, when it got warmer, I took to cleaning myself in as many streams as possible. I can remember on numerous occasions in Maine just jumping into a lake to get clean.

Oddly enough, no EPA official ever pulled me over for polluting the water ways. Now that baffled me! Considering my thru hiker smell and obvious toxic sweat, there must have been some law against my being in any water way on the trail?

Mr. Boo

#6

Don’t forget that we’re walking fungus factorys/hosts during our daily lives anyway, when we’re at our healthiest; thruhike, be a slob and get a nick form a bug or bramble and don’t clean it? We saw many many nasty infections, both mild to blood poisoning requiring hospitalization. During the extremes of hiking your body is always on the edge with little sleep, poor diet. We get colds and shelter hack far to easy. Raindog got what we came to call “shelter mange”. Some funky rot on his hand that never quite left even after months of putting hydrocortizone on it. And he thinks he knows which shelter it was. That black stuff in the floor cracks?. Yup. You may just fend off some nasty by a dip in the river. And don’t forget it’s a lot easier to see deer tics when you’re clean. A thru hiker would make a cool science project on self bio-terrorism. I know I sleep a whole lot better when I’m at least half way clean and have gotten the sweat off me for the day. Diaper wipers rule!

Bushwhack

#7

Don’t leave home without 'em. You’ll be glad you did.

Duct Tape

#8

I always had a sponge bath and a shave each day first thing after getting into camp. I would then change into my clean set of clothes and cook dinner. It really felt great after a clean up, I couldn’t imagine crawling into my sleeping bag covered in grunge.

I also tried to clean myself up and look somewhat respectable before hitching into town as I didn’t want to offend anyone.

Some people didn’t seem to wash at all, I couldn’t figure that out but that’s their business I guess.

Downunda

#9

'Mom, you know the stuff kids bring home from school? The nasty long lived cough that has mutated between fifty different kids and lingers for weeks? That’s what shelter hack can be like. Something alone the line of moderate bronchitis that never goes away. Neo, this year, had it for over four months. Wash your hands. And don’t hang around the sick.

Bushwhack

#10

The baby wipes or even peroxide wipes are super. Some hikers catch whatever by not cleaning their hands and dipping in the GORP,etc. As far as a real shower goes…you never seem to be more than 3-5 days away from one. Until then sponge baths and the occasional dip in a stream will suffice.

Doc Holiday

#11

I carried a tube of sanitising gell for cleaning hands

Downunda

#12

Same here. The stuff can double for back up stove fuel too, though that’s an expensive application! Common sense is all you need with hygene. Make sure you clean your hands before you eat, a squirt of alcohol scrubbed on before you dive into the food bag is a good habit to adopt. And also cleaning pots religiously, don’t need soap, just use gravel, grass to get the gunk out and from time to time let set in water with a squirt of clorox (carry an eye dropper of this and you’re set with water purification too) cheap common and light. I did not get sick on the AT, no cold, flu, GI, anything. I wasnt mega Mr. Clean, and I may have been lucky, but I did do what’s mentioned above.

Sweeper

#13

I was not very sanitary at all

I never got sick

Okay, once a hefty stromboli didn’t pass so gently, but that’s it

I got sick as soon as I got home and started washing my hands regularly

I don’t know

Hi Gene