Hiker Funk Rant

[kestral]

Where there's a will , there's a way. I'm not the most fastidious guy around but i sure as hell prefer not to let myself get to the point of causing disgust in those around on the Trail.[/QUOTE]. I get this EL JP guy!

i understand normal hiker funk, and some people are just stinkier than others (often poor diet and alcohol / toxins seeping through their skin) I’m talking about a stink that wouldn’t go away for 2 days and required special airing out after giving a guy a 20 min ride! No excuse. A little self respect and basic hygiene is all I’m asking for. Profound stink gives hikers a bad rep. And probably less free rides.

Thanks for allowing my personal mini rant.

[Dogwood]

Where there's a will , there's a way. I'm not the most fastidious guy around but i sure as hell prefer not to let myself get to the point of causing disgust in those around on the Trail.

. I get this EL JP guy!

i understand normal hiker funk, and some people are just stinkier than others (often poor diet and alcohol / toxins seeping through their skin) I’m talking about a stink that wouldn’t go away for 2 days android required special airing out after giving a guy a 20 min ride! No excuse. A little self respect and basic hygiene is all I’m asking for. Profound stink gives hikers a bad rep. And probably less free rides.

Thanks for allowing my personal mini rant.[/QUOTE]

Like it or not image and smell play into getting what we desire...in this case getting a ride. There is absolutely no doubt I have fewer getting a ride issues because I don't ignore this...and being offered places to stay on hikes, receiving better hostel/hote/retaurant/etc cooperation,....

[Coffee]

I almost always try to clean up at least a little before going to bed - cleaning feet, armpits, groin area, etc. A couple of drops of bronners (even if used without a lot of water) goes a LONG way.

What I do before hitching or going into any civilized establishment is wash up a little better using bronners and maybe 8 ounces of water (away from streams) focusing on the armpits and groin, and then changing into my sleep clothes which I never normally wear while hiking and are therefore cleaner even after a week on the trail. Unless extremely cold, I'll wear very lightweight running shorts that I use in camp. I then put all my stinking hiker clothes in my pack, streamline my pack so stuff isn't hanging out, and if time allows, I'll even put a little bronner on a rag and wipe down the parts of the pack coming into contact with me (mainly hip belt, back panel and straps.

I'm sure I don't smell great but I've yet to have anyone complain or recoil in horror. In contrast, I've met people in towns before who had lots of trouble getting a hitch from the trail and usually they were the ones who had zero personal hygeine and looked horrible.

FWIW.

[handlebar]

I find a gallon ziploc freezer bag makes a good wash basin when the sides are rolled down. It even can be used to carry water to a private place in the woods. Half a liter is plenty of water to wipe the accumulated salt off. Add a bit of soap for the hands, feet, pits and nether regions and I can go to bed refreshed and less funky. Repeat before hitching and switch to sleep clothes for the hitch and I don't smell as offensive. This is not practical though in winter.

[El JP]

Coffee and handlebar got the routine down for sure.

I'm off late next month and while it's still cold i'll worry mainly about the feet on a daily basis, groin and pits when possible. Once it get's warmer, cleanups will be more thorough. What i meant by dipping in a pond or stream is not to go full out cleaning at a water source. You ever see in AT videos of people crossing roaring streams or going for a swim? That's what i mean. Tie your clothes to some paracord for a stream or take yourself into the water fully clothed and just soak yourself for a few minutes. No soap needed and no trace left.

And that is only if you are in a complete @%$^ state of being and have no other reasonable way of getting things squared away.

[Leo L.]

Learned about sponge bath here at WB, and enjoy it almost daily while hiking.
Usually at day's end, while still heated and warm from inside, and I try to find a secret place with some last rays of sun.
I don't use soap for the whole body (no good idea to wash off all your body oils, you'll get very cold later), just a few drops for armpits and private parts.
In cold weather, the need for cleaning is much less anyway, and I do it every now and then on a suitable place during the day.

In the dry air of the desert you'll develope much less funk and the clothes are constantly aired out by the wind.
Washing can be reduced to the sensible parts, and of course nobody would waste precious drinking water you'd have to carry for multiple dry days just for washing.
But then, once at a watersource, you'll carry one or two bottles out to a secluded spot and wash up.

What I really enjoy is picking some herbs (Oregany being the best, but others will work as well) to stick them in shirt pockets, rub them in armpits etc.

We don't have many LD hikers here, but at the Alpine Huts in the bunk bed sleeping rooms stinking feet/socks are as big a nuisance as snorers, farters and nightly bathroom goers.
Places I avoid at all cost.

[Coffee]

Leo, I spent some time in France and Switzerland using the hut system. While I liked aspects of it, the problems you mention were sometimes bad. And it's expensive. I much prefer tenting. But the regulations on camping in the alps are so vague that I never attempted it.

[4eyedbuzzard]

The longest I went without a bath was 76 days ... In fact, it's been proven by Swedish/Finnish outdoorsmen that not bathing off body oils in severe cold keeps you warmer.

Ya know, in Finnish, Uncle Crusty translates to Setä Sientä
Has a nice alliterative ring to it.

[4eyedbuzzard]

Oops, that should be Uncle Fungus.

[Leo L.]

Leo, I spent some time in France and Switzerland using the hut system. While I liked aspects of it, the problems you mention were sometimes bad. And it's expensive. I much prefer tenting. But the regulations on camping in the alps are so vague that I never attempted it.

Europe consists of about 47 countries, and each one has its own set of regulations.
A tiny country like Austria ("The Kingdom of Garden Dwarfs") consists of 9 states and each state, some of them so small you could walk through in less than a day, has its own set of regulations again.
And then add in, that common habit in many countries, especially the Mediteraneans, are in a way that "rules exist to be broken by the bold".

Anyway, dispersed/stealth camping is prohibited in about 80% of all cases.
We envy you Americans for what you have in the outdoors.

[rocketsocks]

Anyway, dispersed/stealth camping is prohibited in about 80% of all cases.
We envy you Americans for what you have in the outdoors.

this last thought is the main reason all hikers should be on thier best behavior out of doors, lest we loose it, and mark me, the merry band of parties are under a microscope, just sayin’

[blw2]

yep, agreed rocketsocks. like so many of freedoms and things that we are blessed with here in the US that we are slowly loosing. No need to expedite the loss.

[D2maine]

this last thought is the main reason all hikers should be on thier best behavior out of doors, lest we loose it, and mark me, the merry band of parties are under a microscope, just sayin’

they do not care about anything beyond themselves...

[Tipi Walter]

Oops, that should be Uncle Fungus.

It's vitally important that we adhere to the proper nomenclature. Thanks for the correction

[Coffee]

There were people wilderness stealth camping in Switzerland. They told me to set up at dusk and be gone by dawn and there would be no issues but being in a foreign country and not being fluent in the language kept me from considering it. Also, when in Rome do as the Romans. If I'm a guest in another country, I should abide by their rules.

[Dogwood]

I'm surprised campfire smoke bath hasn't been mentioned yet....

Side note on this....when we were touring the cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde, we learned that the entrance to the Kiva rooms was through a small hole in the roof, climbing down a ladder that passed over the fire pit. The ranger never said this and so I can't confirm, but I put 2+2 together and guess that this had something to do with smoke bathing and hygiene.

Good post.

Don't equate having to take a shower with consideration to trail hygiene. One can offer some level of hygiene without the need for regular consistent showers. Go jump in the river, smoke bathe, if warm enough dance in the rain...

[Dogwood]

I find a gallon ziploc freezer bag makes a good wash basin when the sides are rolled down. It even can be used to carry water to a private place in the woods. Half a liter is plenty of water to wipe the accumulated salt off. Add a bit of soap for the hands, feet, pits and nether regions and I can go to bed refreshed and less funky. Repeat before hitching and switch to sleep clothes for the hitch and I don't smell as offensive. This is not practical though in winter.

Yeah, but you look and act like someone's beloved non homeless retired professional non tattooed good dental hygiene considering grandpa...you're apt to get more rides.

[wordstew]

IMHO The importance of basic good trail hygiene is not stressed enough.

[Leo L.]

I might throw in the difference between smelling like a perumery, and what I belive you understand as Hiker Funk.
(The first one being so common nowadays, passing any (day-)hiker is going through a whaft of perfume)

Good trail hygiene for me being somewhere in the middle between those two, smell-wise.

[wordstew]

I might throw in the difference between smelling like a perumery, and what I belive you understand as Hiker Funk.
(The first one being so common nowadays, passing any (day-)hiker is going through a whaft of perfume)

Good trail hygiene for me being somewhere in the middle between those two, smell-wise.

Yup... Given the nature of camping/hiking at times some level of funk is to be expected however no excuse for folks who lack basic hygiene. Especially so on the AT as usually there is no lack of water.