Date: 2008-03-12
From: I'll Get Out There Eventually...

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

And now, fellow Trail Friends ¢ my favorite verse of the Appalachian Trail Song!FUNK HAPPENS¢¦Don't worry ladies. I noticed while in La Paz, Bolivia that although the Indian Women there almost never bathe and simply continue to add layers of clothing rather than to launder it, they still managed to have many children. This, of course, means that there's even hope for a grungy Thru-Hiker...VERSE:My armpits stink, my socks do too,        I also have a ¢HAT HAIR-DO,¢Last night I stepped in someone¢s poo¢¦        But to mine own self, I¢ll be true¢¦REFRAIN:A North-Bound hike is painless        It brings on many changesAnd I can take what comes for six more monthsSooner or later, every trekker must face the fact that all of the factors will come together to create a stink that just seems to stick to you and to everything you touch:- Backpacking is hard work and causes your body to sweat (sometimes buckets worth).- Trail grime sticks to said sweat (above).- Showers are seldom available at your nightly campsites and shelters (although there are a couple of exceptions to this rule).-   Space in your backpack is limited and most folks choose not to carry (much) extra clothing.-   Shaving gear and many of our other toiletries also take up extra space and present what most would consider unnecessary weight as well.-   And the list could go on, believe me¢¦It¢s interesting to watch the early interactions between the Spring Crowd and to observe how habits tend to change over time¢¦-   Guys quit shaving.-   Women quit shaving (at least while on the trail).-   Almost everybody begins to limit the nightly ritual to: drop pack; reserve a space in the shelter or set up the tent; get water; eat dinner; brush teeth and hit the privy one last time; and then it¢s ¢sack-time.¢-   On special occasions [day hikers or weekenders in camp ¢ especially if there are one or more ¢people¢ trekkers are drawn to] there might be the odd pan-bath in the bushes, and perhaps a change into the cleanest clothing available¢¦-   Many simply quit trying to smell good (ditch the deodorant; carry no soap whatsoever; perhaps only brush teeth in town [eeewwww¢¦]).TO ALL OF THAT, I SAY THIS:Yes, trekkers will be dirtier than most while on the Trail, but I recommend a few basic strategies to limit the funk:-   Forget your face and legs, but at least shave your underpits once in a while.-   To these shaven areas, add a light coating of either Zinc Oxide Ointment or White Petrolatum (very inexpensive at most drug counters everywhere). See the Gear Section, but suffice it to say, they will not smell like roses and rare spices, but they¢ll limit the bacteria on your skin and thereby also limit about 80-90% of your odor.-   Wipe down with either a couple of wet wipes or at least your spare bandana and some water. Ray Jardine has a small section devoted to this subject in his Lightweight Hiking book (a classic ¢ if you haven¢t yet read it, you should). He calls his the, 'Dundo Method,' after the campground where they invented it...The method I use, having lived ¢in the field¢ in the Army and while performing Search and Rescue (not to mention backpacking and other adventuring from time to time) is this:¢¢        Find a spot to strip [this can be done in phases and partially clothed if otherwise impractical]¢¢        Stand on your scrap piece of TYVEK/boot mat for your shelter¢¢        Begin with clean hands (waterless hand cleaner?)¢¢        Then wash your face, ears, and neck¢¢        Move to your arms and other major fleshy surfaces (shoulders, arms, chest, back and legs¢¢        Then wash the smellier parts (under arms, belly button, crotch, anus [males, it probably doesn¢t matter much to you, but females should wash, ¢front to back¢ in their crotch to avoid vaginal infections])¢¢        Finally, wash your feet ¢ also soaking them if possibleI find that I can perform this ¢spit bath¢ with as few as two wet wipes, but especially in the heat of summer, I prefer five of them to remove most of the salt and other waste products.It¢s true, after all, that your skin is very much like, ¢your second liver,¢ removing many impurities and expelling waste products. This MUST be removed from time to time to keep the body healthy.OK, a few more tips, and I¢ll move on:¢¢        Wear your Crocs in Hostel shower stalls (to prevent the spread of Athlete¢s Foot fungus and other community ailments)¢¢        Don¢t wear underwear while on the Trail, especially in the heat ¢ ¢Go Commando¢ to avoid unnecessary moisture and heat build-up and therefore Diaper Rash; chafing; and Heat Rash (Contact Dermatitis). Don¢t worry ¢ If you¢re sent to a local Emergency Room, they¢ll give you a gown to wear (and perhaps access to a shower as well)¢¦¢¢        At a minimum, wash your face and hands¢¢        Experiment with the following to find what works best for you between your legs and perhaps on your feet: Nystatin Powder; Gold Bond; Zinc Oxide Ointment (or powder); etc. The goal is to limit moisture and to prevent the growth of fungus¢¦¢¢        Change socks, or at least air your feet and dry your socks at least once during the day. In dry weather, your socks will probably dry on the outside of your pack as you trek (but be careful not to lose one or more in this manner). Campmor and others sell Fox River X-Static Liner Socks. They have Silver threads interwoven with the fabric, and the element, Silver, also limits the growth of bacteria and thus odor.¢¢        Perform a thorough clean-up once in town [Town-Dwellers will appreciate it and it¢ll be good for you too¢¦Women, I can¢t imagine what it must be like to have a period on the trail, but we¢ll try to be sympathetic and please speak to experienced Trail Women on this subject. I have no experience with it, although I¢ve read some of the comments posted in Trail Chatrooms.If all else fails and you partner-up with a slob, rest assured that nature has given us a very precious gift ¢ the ability to ignore scent (and for most of us at least *looking over my shoulder for my wife* a lesser ability to smell it in the first place)¢¦Dogs, on the other hand, understand that humans always smell bad, but they accept us for what we are and life goes on¢¦Yes, I¢ve trained and worked with a few Search and Rescue Dogs, and it¢s amazing what those creatures can do with their noses. The dog¢s sense of smell has been likened to our sense of color. They break it down and analyze every compound, and so can differentiate between people without ever seeing them. They can also tell us which track was the last one laid.Imagine, if you will, that scent along the trail flows like waves of color. We¢re constantly shedding skin cells and these, along with the chemicals that make up our scent are constantly flowing from us. Everything we touch (including the bottoms of our boots, hunters ¢ so I laugh at the supposed ¢scent-blocking¢ clothing) leaves this trail. We as humans are only very partially aware of scent in general, and from an animal¢s perspective, at least, totally ignore territorial markings on trees, scat left in plain sight on the trail for our edification, etc. Why, we even ignore the ¢markings¢ of the local mice who own those shelters ¢ choosing instead to take over their territory ¢ no wonder we experience nightly mouse problems in shelters¢¦While I'm on the subject, is it any wonder bears and other mamals respond to our presence in unexpected ways? Imagine what you'd do if somebody came into your front yard and took a leak [marking the turf as their own]. I like to think the scent trail I leave as a cool shade of blue, but my wife would probably say that it's more like a wierd shade of green...OK, I¢m rambling again. The plumbers are here and soon almost every toilet in the house will be staged in the side yard for the neighbors to see¢¦MORE APPALACHIAN TRAIL COROLLARIES TO MURPHY¢S LAW:- Prevailing winds blow directly into the open end of your shelter.- Trees only creak in the wind after one has settled into the sleeping bag for the night.- Mice prefer the smoothest forehead possible for their leaps to the other side of the shelter.- Mice view those strings with tuna cans between your food and the shelter ceiling as temporary set-backs.- Snakes think that you¢ll go away if they stay still and camouflaged enough¢¦- Those who live closest to Appalachian Trail road crossings tend to know the least about what¢s going on there¢¦ except, of course, Ron Haven, the King of Franklin¢¦ [¢Martha, I started seein¢ a lot more of those homeless folk hitchin¢ rides around here lately¢¦¢]