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mtree wrote: ↑Tue Jun 09, 2020 1:54 pm
Really? Now folks are asking when to wipe and what to wipe with? When to wash and how to wash? Geesh. And I thought I've heard everything. Now I see why folks who write for Yahoo or MSN continue to make a living.
The OP didn't ask that question. They asked for opinions on the general topic of back country hygiene.
Sean Nunn
No, that's pretty much exactly what they asked....
"Using towlettes for the bare necessities" = Maybe not asking when to wipe, but definitely asking what to wipe with
"Bathing with icy stream water" vs. "wimping out and paying for a shower at a campground" = Asking when to wash and how to wash
I am not a clean freak, but use some common sense and dislike sticky hands (I'm a wimp).
I use wet wipes before and after cooking and eating.
I'm kind of a dirtbag in that I don't care much about showering on back country trips, but dislike sweat, so:
Have a small towel to towel off the sweat nightly when car camping prior to getting in a sleeping bag. When backpacking I use an old capilene shirt for this as it dries quickly.
On extended trips (I've been on several 3 to 4 week road trips), campground showers are great.
Especially in Canada where they were self serving and very clean.
Laundromats for clothing when necessary. Even with quick dry capilene and a good rinsing every day or 2, I like to actually wash clothes one in a while.
It's a very fair topic. Taking care of yourself, and especially your feet, will carry you far (see what I did there?)
I'll generally have a dirty shirt for daytime use and a clean shirt for sleeping. When changing, use a wet (something, can be prepared baby wipe or just a cloth) and use the time to check for ticks, etc. Sunscreen and insect repellent mix with sweat and dust and it's like a layer cake after a while. Sometimes I'll keep a long sleeve shirt on even when hot just to avoid the sunscreen and insect repellent gunk. Easier to wash off salt than chemicals.
I pay extra attention to cleaning my neck since that area gets the sleeping bag super gunky after you know, years of not washing it. Easier to keep it clean than to wash a sleeping bag.
The clean shirt is then used as the dirty shirt for the hike out.
If it's a longish trip, then you wash the dirty one and let it dry while you hike. That's now your clean sleeping shirt.
Silky running shorts are better than undies, too, just FYI. Ha.
I don't mind a little dirt or ash on my hands and utensils, but have seen some serious E. Coli on trips because people don't wash their hands well.
Sanitizer is light, cheap, and good firestarter if necessary.
My wimping out is having a deducated pair of roos and socks just for sleeping. I sweat a lot, so i always wipe down my face and neck, but just use the cupped hands route. I don't believe in putting soap into streams/lakes/rivers, so i skip it and hit my hands with purell. I'm also ambidextrous so that helps for separation of church and state if you catch my drift, if i can remember which hand i use for which task.
Conor wrote: ↑Wed Jun 10, 2020 8:42 pm
I'm also ambidextrous so that helps for separation of church and state if you catch my drift, if i can remember which hand i use for which task.
Asking which one is church and which is state feels like a setup for some good punchlines.
Conor wrote: ↑Wed Jun 10, 2020 8:42 pm
I'm also ambidextrous so that helps for separation of church and state if you catch my drift, if i can remember which hand i use for which task.
Asking which one is church and which is state feels like a setup for some good punchlines.
If you're not careful they're both full of $hit.
I figured the "open minded" anti-religious crowd here would just harp on the "church" side, followed up with a diatribe about how taking a kid church once a week is the equivalent to fattening a goose for the pate slaughter. Thanks for acknowledging it's a 2 way street. I knew this would come up, but painting it with that brush wasn't my intention.
