[pct-l] Salt and Socks

[CHUCK CHELIN]

Good afternoon,

Changing and rinsing hiking clothes – whether it’s socks, underwear, or any
other – is good practice, not just for overall good hygiene but to control
the salt rejected with sweat.   Salt doesn’t evaporate or otherwise go away
from garments; it accumulates as the water evaporates.  A good example can
be seen on the hat crown at:
http://www.trailjournals.com/photos.cfm?id=258181

The accumulation shown is only from a few day’s hiking in the desert.  Over
time hats and shirts become encrusted with salt almost to the point of
appearing to have been heavily starched.

Salt accumulation causes two problems:  The accumulated dry salt crystals
is somewhat abrasive to the skin, and you can guess what chafed skin feels
like when liberally covered with salt.

Second is also comfort-related.  Salt has great affinity for moisture, and
items like salty socks will tend to feel moist and clammy much of the time.
It is not necessary to give them a real soap washing because any creek or
pond water will dissolve and remove the salt even though the socks continue
to appear grimy.  Subsequently when dry they feel much more comfortable and
are less susceptible to folding and wadding-up under the toes.

As has been mentioned many times, the salt and other electrolytes must be
replaced through food and drink.  Whenever I’m adding salt to my food I use
Morton Lite Salt, which is used for low-sodium diets.
http://www.mortonsalt.com/for-your-home/culinary-salts/food-salts/3/morton-lite-salt-mixture/

It is made of about half sodium chloride and half potassium chloride.
Potassium
is valuable with the sodium as an electrolyte.

Dr. Braaten has a good discussion of water and salt at:
http://thru-hiker.com/articles/PackLightEatRight/water.htm  but she doesn’t
tell us to keep it out of our socks.  The entire “Pack Light/ Eat Right”
series is good reading beginning at:
http://thru-hiker.com/articles/pack_light_eat_right.php

Steel-Eye

-Hiking the Pct since before it was the PCT – 1965

http://www.trailjournals.com/steel-eye
http://www.trailjournals.com/SteelEye09/