[pct-l] Washing Self and Clothes

[CHUCK CHELIN]

Good afternoon, All,

Personal grooming is one’s own decision; I can only describe what I do --
how and why.



Much hiker odor is the result of the fabric in one’s garments.  Some fabrics
retain and exacerbate odor, while other fabrics seem to tolerate and even
suppress odor.  I don’t know exactly which fabric is which without
experimenting, but as I recall there is some kind of technical explanation.
 I do know that some of the earlier poly fabrics got really funky, really
quickly.  Over the years, that attribute of poly fabrics kept me wearing
wool far longer than I could have.



I don’t carry many redundant garments on the trail.  I have one poly
tee-shirt, one pair of light athletic shorts which have a built-in jock
liner, 2-3 pairs of socks, a handkerchief, one “Class of” bandana, and one
broad-brimmed hat.  I have no “town clothes”.



On the trail, most of my clothes washing is really clothes rinsing.  I
seldom get things as clean as Mom would want, but for hiking comfort I find
it’s important to rinse the residual perspiration salt from my clothes – and
usually there’s quite a lot of it.
http://www.trailjournals.com/photos.cfm?id=258181  For this purpose plain
water is excellent.  Salt has a great affinity for moisture, and if it were
left in the fabric the garment would almost immediately feel clammy,
regardless of how clean the skin may be.



When I have an opportunity to bathe – on the trail or in town – I do so
either wearing my shorts and tee-shirt, or – modesty permitting – I remove
those garments and wash them along with my skin; often using the items as
washcloths.  Sometimes I just continue hiking with the clothes dripping wet
– and mercifully cool.  Other times I wring them out so they can very
quickly dry while I’m wearing them; that’s in town or on the trail.



I carry Purrell-type gel and/or cleansing wipe packets for day-to-day
clean-up.  They reduce stink as well as reduce the possibility of becoming
sick.  At a resupply point I receive – or buy – a fresh batch of Purrell or
wipes.  As a result, at some convenient place just before hitching to town
or otherwise entering polite company, I exhaust my remaining supply of
cleaning supplies in an attempt to reduce the funk to socially-acceptable
maximum.  My nose isn’t the best judge so just in case my cleaning is
ineffective I try to stay down-wind, and sit in the back seat with the
windows open.



It’s well known that most male hikers let their facial whiskers grow during
a hike; shaving seldom, if ever.  That’s no change for me since I have
whiskers of varying length all the time, but for the female long-distance
hikers the situation is a bit different.  Many women make a significant
departe’ from American customs by not shaving legs and ‘pits during a
long-distance hike.  In fact, they seem to wear the ever-increasing fuzz as
a thru-hikerette’s badge of honor; proudly ignoring the stares and gasps of
the tourists, townies’, week-enders, and day-hikers.



Steel-Eye

Hiking the Pct since before it was the PCT – 1965

http://www.trailjournals.com/steel-eye

http://www.trailjournals.com/SteelEye09