Staying clean during an outdoor trip is challenging. Long hikes make us sweat a lot, not to mention that we accumulate mud and dust.
Of course, you can’t expect to be as squeaky-clean as if you had access to a shower or sanitary block. But just because you’re in the middle of nature doesn’t mean you must neglect the basic rules of cleanliness!
Fight that filth
Backpacking is all about compromise, especially when it comes to personal hygiene. Your goal is not to smell like a rose but, as Philip Werner writes in SectionHiker, rather to be “healthy and odor-neutral”.
To help you achieve that objective, Werner shares his best practices for those long hiking trips, like:
- Wash Your Hands with Soap
- Rinse Out Your Hiking Clothes
- Sponge Off Before Sleeping
- Bring a Separate Set of Sleeping Clothes
- Don’t Eat Out of Snack Bags Shared with Other People
He concludes his article by providing a list of essential backcountry hygiene items to bring along.
SOURCE: SectionHiker
