[at-l] FW: Hygiene on the Trail

[Jim and/or Ginny Owen]

Re staying clean:
 
As others have said, staying clean on the AT is not a possibility.  You can, however, try to maintain some level of comfort by washing up at the end of the day.  Don’t use soap in the water source, ever, but if you take a water bag, a bandana and a little soap up into the woods, you can have both privacy and an environmentally responsible place to use your biodegradable soap.  When I hike, getting clean makes a huge difference in my attitude.  I feel like a new woman, for a few minutes anyway.  I rarely use soap any more, but I do try to get as clean as possible just using water.  I have always made the effort to  wash up, unless the weather was really miserable.  I’m happier that way and, since I share a sleeping bag and tent, my husband is happier.  
 
I have tried baby wipes a couple of times and find them too heavy, not very effective, and too perfumed.  After living in the woods a while, perfume is, for me, a much worse stink than sweat.  My bandana works much better, for me.
 
Unlike others, I do carry spare socks and underwear, but I go places where towns are more than the 4 or 5 days apart you see on the AT.  I also rinse them out when I can, but I'd rather deal with a little extra weight than wearing the same pair for a week.  I usually carry one pair for every 2-3 days.  (NB:  I hike in places where it can be 8-10 days between resupply.)
 
Since you’re likely to be in town fairly often, you’ll need to just deal with dirty hair.  Everyone else will be equally dirty, so you won’t even notice after a while. I also find that my hair actually looks less dirty on the trail than it does in town.  In the city I wash my hair every day.  On the trail once a week.  And it doesn’t look much worse.  There are powders you can put in your hair, that do a dry wash, but I think few thruhikers bother.  It is possible to wash your hair on the trail, but few people bother.  I hiked with a man just out of the navy who heated up water every day to wash his hair and get clean, but his hair was short and he was different from most thruhikers.  
 
Few thruhikers use deodorant either.  You sweat over your entire body, not just your pits.  Your clothes and pack absorb the sweat and the smell. Deodorant just doesn’t help much with the smell.  You and all your companions will stink.  The good news is you won’t really notice it that much.  It becomes background. The worst time for me on the AT was putting on my wet stinky t-shirt in the morning – the toxic t-shirt.  But once it was on, I didn’t even notice. 
 
I’ve never run out of toilet paper, though I’ve come close on long sections.  I don’t use tp to pee in the woods (I hate it when women leave “paper flowers” all over!)  I do use leaves when I’m in an area that has good trees like the AT.  (Don’t try it in southern Arizona.)  On the AT you go to town often enough that you’re easily able to get more tp when you need it so running out shouldn’t be a problem.  If you know you’re low, you may be able to borrow some from someone who has extra.  When I did maildrops on the AT, I put half a roll in each maildrop. That was good for 5-7 days, usually longer.    
 Ginnyhttp://www.spiriteaglehome.com/
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