Wilderness Hygiene

“How do you keep clean with leave no trace etiquette and light weight packing? How much stink can you, your partner or your dog take? Is there ultralight dental floss?”

“If it's warm and there is a stream or lake at the end of the day and enough time to dry off before night I go for a fully clothed swim.

Beyond that I just brush my teeth.”

“I wash my underwear in the cooking pot.”

“Mmmm, adds flavor.”

“mtn gal- at the hospital we use a no rinse shampo/conditioner that could be used on trail. I used it when I was in the hospital as well.”

“Individualy packaged "Wet Ones" are awesome. There are two versions, one has an anti-bacterial additive which is great for hand-cleaning, etc., the other has an Aloe additive which is great for wiping the grime off your face... they are very ligtweight, when dry light a match to them if you don't want the few ounces to pack out.”

“I use the things wander mentions above if I am hiking in hot weather. If it is colder, I just brush the teeth.”

“It wasn't ultra-light backpacking, but the longest I've gone without washing was in the desert for about 5 weeks.

There's a pleasant sort-of rotting smell that you take on when you do that. At the time I averaged about 2 hours sleep a night, so my mind was destracted by the hallucinations to care too much.”

“I take a baggie with two baby wipes for each night out. Wipe my face, ears, and then the "nether" region. Fold that up and into a garbage baggie. Then cover my hands with a squirt of rubbing alcohol (I do that after a bathroom break, too). I use the other baby wipe the next morning on my hands and face.

I take floss and mouthwash for a weekend.”

“snownymph takes her wet ones and dries them out and then repackages them in ziplocks, then just moistens them a bit for usage. She probably lets them dry out over nite and repackages them into a "used" ziplock. or you could just flame em into ash.

I usually wash grime off in a stream or something...no soap but rinse well...and loose the clothes unless you want to rinse them off as well...or you could hike 60 miles in a day and be off trail in a day hike thing.”

“A large roll of TP and lots of baby wipes. When you're finished use a match or lighter to burn the TP. Make sure fire is out. Cover with 4 to 6 inches dirt.”

“I use baby wipes. I pack them out normally, but burning them up is fine too. They are gentle. I also have a bandana I use for washing up with hot water in the morning. The steamy hot bandana feels nice on my face on a cold morning.”

“In the warmer months I will swim and rinse clothes daily. Plus (as was mentioned) we carried dried baby wipes and use them or the lever wipes. I smell bad most of the time.”

“Bears have a keen sense of smell, so it's not a good idea to use them for cleaning up too late in the day if you are in bear country. On a recent 12 day trek, I cleaned up every night with a wet bandana. I did not rinse off in any streams or creeks due to the sunscreen and insect repelent on my skin.”

“Has no one mentioned camp towels yet?

I use a camp towel/hikers towel. It has a lot of uses other than using it for a quick sponge bath.

I use it to wipe condensation off the tent too...lots of uses.”

“I too, love baby wipes. Nice compact resealable package.”

“Anti-bacterial wipes - 2 per day except days when I take a shower or spongebath instead.

Pack out the used wipes.”

“mdshiker, I use my camptowel for drying out after my swim...”

“packaged unscented field towels 7 X 10 inches
www.hooahhs.com”

“Dental floss is ultra light.”

“All I use is a wash cloth (pack towel) and water. I carry antibacterial soap for the hands.

I cut up my pack towel into washcloth size pieces. I use one piece for cleaning myself, one piece for everything else.”

“I am just a weekend backpacker. I can handle my stink for three days, but after that I am ready to go home. I don't backpack when it gets warm so the funk factor is manageable.

Keeping my hands and cookware clean is my priority.”

“hiker-funk rules! i especially like peeling off 3 or 4 layers and then getting to the bottom sweaty one and watch as the town people run away in fear and agony”