showers on the trail

“we are thinking of going canoe/camping next year and taking the children for maybe 4 days.
But being there is no place to take a shower (it could get ugly if twignut does not get to shower every 2 mins HAHA)
what is the best shower bag to use?
does the sun really warm up the water?
if not then can I warm up the water and put in the bag or will it melt?

thanks”

“Nigal posted his experiences with using a makeshift trail shower using a Platypus on another thread. Something about "Dirtbag's best gear" or some such.

It might not be good enough for a twignut shower, but then again maybe she'll just have to get used to smelling herself, lol...”

“yeah but I my not.

LOL”

“you can just go when its supposed to rain and take a shower that way :)”

“Take lots of perfume....lol...”

“umm don't bears like perfume??”

“Take the kind they don't like.”

“I don't know, i kinda max out at 2 or 3 days without a shower.
after that it gets pretty ugly.”

“Just fill your cookpot with warmed water and use some of that wonderful peppermint campsoap. Use a cup to rinse. Those showers don't ever have enough pressure to rinse soap outta hair. We have the MSR one. It's 3 gallons or so and does warm up after sitting in the sun forever. It doesn't get used as a shower anymore...too much hassle.”

“Wow, so citified.

When I went on my AT trip in October, I didn't shower for 7 days straight. People tend to stay away from you then, which can be nice.”

“I used to take a one liter sun shower backpacking, but like Sass says, forget about rinsing. My camelbak works better, but the water doesn't warm up in it. I use my LLB bucket, a cup or pot and Dr Bronner's peppermint soap. Heat up some water if the water's too cold.

When I sailed we had a big sun shower, 3 or 5 gallon, that worked great. Still prefer my bucket though. :)”

“ok I like the simple bucket idea.
but then that creats a problem with privacy.

i know they make curtains that are attatched to the shower head.
any ideas on this?
if it is me, I don't care who sees me!!!
but ive got a 15yr and a 11 yr. they are not really into showing everyone what god gave them (thank goodness for that LOL)”

“oh, and weight is not an issue. we will be canoe camping (= to car camping)”

“Lever makes disposable wipes that you can clean with. You can find them in your local grocery store in the soap isle.”

“I use a folding plastic water bag. I just heat water and pour it into the bag. A one-gallon bag does me nicely. Of course, you wet yourself down, soap up, scrub, and then rinse, turning the water off when you are soaping and scrubbing.”

“Find a big rock to stand behind, maybe one you can set your clothes on - I've gotten mine wet before. A handy tree is nice to hang your towel on.”

“Those Coleman shower bags work great. But watch out for the nozzle falling off.”

“hmmm i like that. seems easy.
but what about privacy?
i mean even though we will be on an Island they still won't want anyone seeing them. (boats on the water, mom and dad, little brother....
i know this may seems like a no biggie to us but I want this trip to be a pleasure for them and I'd like to provide as much comfort for them as possible. anyone with teenagers will understand LOL”

“As far as privacy, I've had to do this repeatedly with the scout troop. We take a plastic shower curtain and hang that up for privacy. Except one year, when the kid responsible for brining it grabbed a clear one. We stopped at a walmart on the way out that time to get an opaque one.”

“What is it with your fascination with inflatables? lol....”

“LOL

inflatables are cheap.

just go ask thepackman about his date last night.

MMOOHHAAWWW”

“Take inflatable kids on the trip.


Problem solved!”

“lmao @ Maple!”

“your going canoeing?..do what stikmon and everyone else i know does while boating...swim! use some sand to wash the dirty parts, and sun dry in your bathing suit..they don't like being nakid..well its hard to see when your underwater cleaning up also.”

“I thought about the lake water, but won't because of enviormental issues. (soap)

as far as using sand to clean OUCH.

remeber we are talking about kids. I'd like them as happy as possibale.
happy kids = happy parents.

LOL”

“That's good common sense advice. And something thought of here too. It just depends on the weather up north sometimes. We were just canoeing in the Adirondacks and we wanted to swim real bad. problem was, the air temp was really just a little cold up there for swimming. Especially when the 'near storm' conditions started to loom and the wind really kicked up. So, it is a good suggestion, but depending on the weather, that may not always be possible...”

“Get some biodegradable soap, or some very earth friendly treehugger stuff. Lakes can handle a few kids washing off..they are natural water filtration devices in themselves. Who needs soap though..are you wallowing in engine grease?..a splash of water is all you need to clean off the sweat and dust.”

“screw the weather, im not using SAND!!

LOL”

“Ear-Bending Cellmate: ..and when there was no meat, we ate fowl and when there was no fowl, we ate crawdad and when there was no crawdad to be found, we ate sand.
[pause]
H.I.: You ate SAND???
Ear-Bending Cellmate: That's right!”

“maple, getting wet in the lake first is a good idea (if the water's not too cold and there's no yucky bloodsuckers) and then take whatever soap and contraption the kids'll shower with off into the woods.

One thing though, last week we were talking with the ranger about giardia and we were comparing where we drink directly from the water. He also listed the places he swims at - feeling that you swallow some water while swimming.

I hear what you're saying about teenagers, I had to wash my nephew's hair (then age 12) last year cause there were girls around. Hard telling what we'll have to put up with on this year's trip. :)”

“LOL twig. good luck.
my son won't care about showering it's me that cares.
but my daughter...is another story”

“Y'all count your blessings.
My 11 yo nephew would just as well walk around butt naked as wear clothing.
The kid has no sense of modesty at all.
I don't take that one backpacking. ;)”

“is he related to creekdancer?

LOL”

“Haha! My grandboy did that last trip - 'cept he's only two! Soon as we got to the stream he took all his clothes off, stood there shivering with blue lips and screamed everytime I tried to put some clothes on him, LOL! I didn't care that he was naked, but it was May and it was COLD!

We're headed out again this weekend, can't wait!”

“ohh sounds like a blast.
I love to swim in a lake. not into the beach thing. yes I have issues with SAND.

hint: if you get sand on you, use baby powder to remove it. sprinkle some on you and whip the sand off. the powder makes the sand less rough.”

“Ever camped on a sandbar maple?
Sand really does get into everything! ;)”

“

\"screw the weather, im not using SAND!!LOL\"
mapleleaf

FROM: http://www.thebackpacker.com/trailtalk/thread.php?id=22820&q=nav&age=-1

April 20

"My hands started to itch. I washed them with sand and gravel in the creek, dried them over a campfire and that was the end of the itching."

Sand works great, try it.

Otherwise, it does not smell bad after the first month, sort of woodsy. And people give you more room on the sidewalk.

Good luck.”

“Just hopping in some water for a few minutes and thrashing around is not only refreshing but will clean off the stank pretty well.

Where swimming isn't a good option, I always bring along one anti-bacterial wipe per day - clean off the areas likely to smell (you know where they are) and you're good to go. Teenagers overly concerned about smell could simply bring a few more per day - these do not weigh a lot or take up a lot of space. Do store them like food, though, in bear country....


...the wipes, that is....”

“A friend of mine backpacks with his wife and he says she showers every day on the trail. When they get to camp the first thing she does is fill two gallon-size ziplock bags with water and set them in the sun to warm up. Later she uses them to shower or sponge bath with. I noticed that Mel does almost the same thing, but she has one of those shower bags like on the links above.

The wipes are a great idea. I use two per day.”

“Yeah the new dove soap wipes are good but if you can work atleast one bag to do a rinse is good otherwise it does feel a bit filmy and they are horrible if its humid.”

“If you need a curtain look to the right of the shower bag that bit posted. There's lots of shower accessories on that page including this:

shower curtain

To me all that just seems like too much trouble, even if you are car camping. I say go with the wet wipes or jump in the water if its not too cold.”

“Check JVZ's photos on the Sierrapalooza page. We set up a shower twice. Yes, the water was cold but it felt SO good to be clean.
The water bag can also be used for camp water and as pillow.”

“Nav - If your water bag was set in the sun for an hour or two before the shower, it would be a lot warmer.

Another thing I do is take a small tub made from the bottom of a purex bottle. It weighs nothing. I use it for bathing and doing laundry. Just make sure that the soapy water doesn't get dumped into the stream or lake. When it is cold outside I heat the water first.”

“I had a chance to do something that I never got to do before...


take a outdooor shower!

way fun baby.

tree's cuz has an outdoor shower and no neighbors.
I wish I had one at my house. It did get a little chilly at 40 degree's butt it was well worth it.”

“Lots of times when we camp with hikingfool and family they have that portable shower and 4 or 5 of us get a shower we heat the water it's the best. They even put up a lite weight tarp so we feel like we have a place to be ...um...nude?”

“Maple:

A little nudity is nothing, but I can understand that the kids at their age may be "sensitive". However, you should be far enough back from the shoreline when using soap that it is filtered out of the water by the time it goes though the soil to the lake. If you are that far from the shore it is unlikely that anyone can see them from a boat etc. So they should be OK letting it all hang out for an outdoor shower as long as you can assure them that you keep the siblings out of sight of them so there is no teasing etc. As for a shower curtain, use a plastic paint tarp from Sears etc so long as it is opaque. When you get home, recycle it. Cheap and effective.

The kids can shower and rince in the woods and then go for a swim. That should make them feel as clean as they could get at home. Also, so long as it fits with your family's morals etc. a little family skinny dipping is a good way to teach the kids that nudity does not equal sex and that a body is nothing to be shamed about, but that's my opinion and hey, I could be wrong.

AJ”

“We had showers last weekend in the Catskills.

Thankfully it didn't turn into the kind of steady, heavy rain that can ruin a trip.

:)”