I don't wash but I always stand next to some who smells worse than me. Same logic as running fast and Bears!
Shower ? cleaning yourself clean !
- Thread starter floatcloud
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Hope you don't scare the wildlife away Ade !
Well, at least it won't be living in his pants, unlike the rest of us
I like to have a swim in rivers and lakes and the sea when I'm out and about, I don't use soaps or detergents of any sort in these places.
For washing, I always carry a 5L Ortlieb folding bowl when I'm backpacking, fill it with soapy water, I like to use a bar of soap and a cotton flannel if I can, lather up, get clean, replacing water if necessary then rinse with clean water.
I'm considering replacing my Ortlieb bowl though, it's a great bit of kit and bombproof. Any suggestions of something a bit lighter would be welcome.
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For washing, I always carry a 5L Ortlieb folding bowl when I'm backpacking, fill it with soapy water, I like to use a bar of soap and a cotton flannel if I can, lather up, get clean, replacing water if necessary then rinse with clean water.
I'm considering replacing my Ortlieb bowl though, it's a great bit of kit and bombproof. Any suggestions of something a bit lighter would be welcome.
Sent from my SM-T819 using Tapatalk
Washing in cold water is a very good way of training the bodies cold shock response, which has the advantage that you're less likely to inhale if you land in cold water accidentally, reducing you're risk of drowning. Even if you don't wash in cold streams, a cold shower every 2-3 weeks is enough to train the response.</useless trivia>
J
widu13
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
I'm struggling with people advising to wash in streams. If you are washing in my drinking water expect to be challenged.
If you are camping you have many receptacles that will hold water. Wash and dispose of the water away from watercourses. Perhaps the same people would use them as toilets too?
If you are camping you have many receptacles that will hold water. Wash and dispose of the water away from watercourses. Perhaps the same people would use them as toilets too?
No problem. just be sure to challenge the fish having sex in that water; and the land based wildlife dying in it; the bears fishing in it, the cattle crossing (and urinating) in it; etc.
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Do you know that a lot of the tap water in Europe is purified sewage?
When I wash myselves in a stream I am improving the flavour and nutritional value of the water!
widu13
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Absolutely. We pay a lot of money to have the water purified.
What I don't expect when drinking water from a nice stream in the high hills it that some muppet is taking their ablutions in it further up stream!
What I don't expect when drinking water from a nice stream in the high hills it that some muppet is taking their ablutions in it further up stream!
The muppet is downstream.....
In Scandinavia we have an unwritten rule not to do a No 1 or No 2 close to a stream.
Of course, if there is a stream close by, we do wash our hands there.
Only unhappy dwarfes carry water away from a natural water to wash themselves. That is one of the reasons they sre unhappy!
The happy dwarf does not spend too much time and effort washing while in Nature.
In Scandinavia we have an unwritten rule not to do a No 1 or No 2 close to a stream.
Of course, if there is a stream close by, we do wash our hands there.
Only unhappy dwarfes carry water away from a natural water to wash themselves. That is one of the reasons they sre unhappy!
The happy dwarf does not spend too much time and effort washing while in Nature.
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The muppet is downstream.....
In Scandinavia we have an unwritten rule not to do a No 1 or No 2 close to a stream.....
In many, if not most, states that rule is actually written. The distances quoted vary by state but generally something like at least 100 yards from established campgrounds and/or trails and 200 yards from a stream. That said, most of the public probably doesn't even know about those laws; much less follow them.
Reminds me of the time I was camping somewhere on Scotland's north coast, not too far from Dounreay. My water filter had burst, so I was boiling stream water or using iodine tablets.
One evening I followed my usual practice of checking the stream out upstream a little, just in case. A few hundred yards up I found the top half of a sheep sitting in it, guts hanging out into the water. Dead obviously, but not for too long because it still had its eyes.
It looked quite cleanly severed midway. I always wondered where the bottom half went... but I went thirsty that night and slept with one eye open!
...
As to keeping clean, in case of emergencies (and lack of a suitable stream) I always carry a bag of hand sanitizers and use those on the smelliest parts.
One evening I followed my usual practice of checking the stream out upstream a little, just in case. A few hundred yards up I found the top half of a sheep sitting in it, guts hanging out into the water. Dead obviously, but not for too long because it still had its eyes.
It looked quite cleanly severed midway. I always wondered where the bottom half went... but I went thirsty that night and slept with one eye open!
...
As to keeping clean, in case of emergencies (and lack of a suitable stream) I always carry a bag of hand sanitizers and use those on the smelliest parts.
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