Re: Beginner asks what to do with sweaty clothes, cooking clothe
Posted: Sat Jul 27, 2013 1:43 pm
Why would you take off your sweaty clothes and then go on a day hike in different clothes, just to get them sweaty too? I wear one set of hiking clothes all day. I jump in the lake/stream at the end of EVERY day, and rinse out my hiking shirt (NO soap), every day. A good hiking shirt should dry in less than an hour in the Sierra. I even leave the shirt out overnight to dry. I also rinse out one pair or socks each day (I take 3 pair total). It is really no big deal (in the Sierra in summer) to start out in the morning with a still wet shirt. It will dry quickly on your body. I wash my hiking pants about every 5th day. They also, are very quick drying.
I use the small dry "sudsing" facial wipes, AWAY from the stream, to wash my face and hands each night, to get rid of fish/food smells and dirt. Once the small amount of soap is out of these wipes, I leave them out to dry and they make good snot rags or TP if needed. I carry out ALL my TP and any other garbage in a large zip bag. If I am in bear country (say grizzly) I will then use an OP (odor proof) bag for my garbage.
I DO NOT EVER wear my hiking clothes inside my sleeping bag. I have a very expensive down bag and want to avoid washing it as much as possible. Also, after doing coastal hiking in poison oak, I would never introduce poison oak oils to the inside of my sleeping bag. I wrap my hiking pants up, inside out, so that any nasties on them do not get onto other clothing. All clothing not worn at night go inside my sleeping bag stuff sack to become my pillow at night. If conditions are such that I do not want to wash socks (say days of rain ahead) I put the smelly socks inside a plastic bag, and then into my "pillow".
At some point, your shoes may become really foul smelling. This happened to me my last trip. It was so bad that I had to tie them up inside a large plastic bag (the one I use inside my pack for waterproofing) and put them at the foot of my tent. Do not set boots or shoes outside the tent in the vestibule - they are too critical an item to take a chance on rodants chewing them. You could hang them high in a tree if they become too stinky. At the point of becoming this stinky, the shoes usually get tossed in my garbage at home and I have to buy new shoes.
I think good personal hygiene is well worth the effort and temporary discomfort of the icy water. I have been on very long trips, out one summer for 100 days; 35,35,30 duration trips only to go to town to resupply twice. It really makes a difference in my morale to stay clean. I wash my hair once every 8 days, and when I do that, I do like Almost There suggested - very tedious, 200 feet away, burry gray water. Another part of good hygiene is keeping hands healthy - I usually take some special cream to hydrate hands and wear garden gloves when using my trekking poles. Cleanliness is a big part of good hygiene and good hygiene is critical in staying healthy, and becoming unhealthy often is the maker or breaker of big mountaineering expeditions. I would not blow it off as only "cosmetic".
I use the small dry "sudsing" facial wipes, AWAY from the stream, to wash my face and hands each night, to get rid of fish/food smells and dirt. Once the small amount of soap is out of these wipes, I leave them out to dry and they make good snot rags or TP if needed. I carry out ALL my TP and any other garbage in a large zip bag. If I am in bear country (say grizzly) I will then use an OP (odor proof) bag for my garbage.
I DO NOT EVER wear my hiking clothes inside my sleeping bag. I have a very expensive down bag and want to avoid washing it as much as possible. Also, after doing coastal hiking in poison oak, I would never introduce poison oak oils to the inside of my sleeping bag. I wrap my hiking pants up, inside out, so that any nasties on them do not get onto other clothing. All clothing not worn at night go inside my sleeping bag stuff sack to become my pillow at night. If conditions are such that I do not want to wash socks (say days of rain ahead) I put the smelly socks inside a plastic bag, and then into my "pillow".
At some point, your shoes may become really foul smelling. This happened to me my last trip. It was so bad that I had to tie them up inside a large plastic bag (the one I use inside my pack for waterproofing) and put them at the foot of my tent. Do not set boots or shoes outside the tent in the vestibule - they are too critical an item to take a chance on rodants chewing them. You could hang them high in a tree if they become too stinky. At the point of becoming this stinky, the shoes usually get tossed in my garbage at home and I have to buy new shoes.
I think good personal hygiene is well worth the effort and temporary discomfort of the icy water. I have been on very long trips, out one summer for 100 days; 35,35,30 duration trips only to go to town to resupply twice. It really makes a difference in my morale to stay clean. I wash my hair once every 8 days, and when I do that, I do like Almost There suggested - very tedious, 200 feet away, burry gray water. Another part of good hygiene is keeping hands healthy - I usually take some special cream to hydrate hands and wear garden gloves when using my trekking poles. Cleanliness is a big part of good hygiene and good hygiene is critical in staying healthy, and becoming unhealthy often is the maker or breaker of big mountaineering expeditions. I would not blow it off as only "cosmetic".