Cleanliness is next to godliness. Nobody likes a person with a bad temper. A number of people mostly like a physically clean and hygienic person. Therefore, cleanliness plays an important role in social contracting.
In the wild backpackers face conditions like stinkiness. While backpacking is very important to stay clean trip otherwise a backpacker will face many diseases like Dysentery, Cholera, Sclera, Typhoid, etc. You should not forget your personal hygiene during a backpacking trip.
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How to Stay Clean on a Backpacking Trip? Step-by-Step Guide
Here are some tips and activities to follow while backpacking!
1. Tips for a Backpacker
Following are some tips for a backpacker to stay clean during hiking:
- Separate bag: He should bring a separate bag for dirty clothes.
- Wipes: He should also bring wipes. A backpacker
- Cleaning Hands: He should clean his hands every time before eating.
- Teeth Brushing: He should clean his teeth twice a day to avoid irritations like bad breath.
- Separation of shoes: He should separate his shoes from his clothes.
2. Activities
Following are a few activities to keep a backpacker healthy and hygienic during backpacking.
- Wash your Hands with Soap
He should wash his hands with soap before eating. While packing he should put a small packet of soap in his bag. He should wash his hands with soap at a distance of about 50-100 yards away from the river or stream. The soap water has a negative impact on marine life, it causes massive fish killing.
Otherwise, he can also use a hand sanitizer for washing his hands. It does not work on a greased hand. In order to wash your hands, first wash your greasy hands with water and then apply the sanitizer to your hands.
- Rinse Off Hiking Clothes
The Hiker’s hiking clothes often get smelly and stinky. This irritates hikers the most. The sweat produced by the hiker’s body causes the hiker’s clothes to become stinky and smelly.
In order to get rid of the smell and stickiness the hiker’s clothes need a wash. Sweat is mostly salt with water; the salt when treated with clothes doesn’t need a washing powder.
So to clean the clothes a hiker should act upon the following:
- Put clothes in a plastic bag and pour water into it.
- Shake the bag vigorously for about 8-10 minutes.
- After that take out the cloth and leave it to dry.
- Through the water about 80-100 yards away from the water sources like lakes, rivers or streams, etc.
- Brush your Teeth
A hiker should also carry toothpaste and a brush with him because during hiking he faces conditions like bad breath which makes his hiking difficult. Brushing teeth at least once per day saves hikers from bad breath-like difficulties.
- Don’t eat Snacks shared with other People
A hiker should not eat snacks that are being shared with other people because people may have contaminated hands that cause sickness and other diseases.
- Bring a Separate set of Sleeping Clothes
A hiker should bring a separate set of sleeping cloth because the clothes he has been hiking all day get smelly and sticky. Sleeping in these clothes causes uncomforted to the hiker.
So in order to prevent such difficulties a hiker should change his clothes before going to sleep. This not only makes the interior of the sleeping bag clean but also makes sleeping a way more comfortable.
- Take a Shower
The sanitizer that a hiker is using is only cleaning his hands. A hiker often needs a shower to keep himself clean and hygienic. To get clean the hiker should act upon the following alternatives:
- Get into a River or Lake
Diving in a river or lake makes the body cool and carries away the smell and stickiness from the hiker’s body. A hiker should swim in an area where other hikers do not use soap, catch fish, and camp.
- Take a Trail Shower
A hiker can take a trail shower by stripping down in woods and washing with materials like a washcloth, biodegradable soap, and a spongy and should, in fact, take 2-3 liters of water. Furthermore, a hiker should take a trail shower at least 200 meters away from water sources like rivers or streams.
- Spruce up a Spongy Bath
If the weather is too cold and a hiker cannot take a trail shower then he should take a Spongy bath. In this bath, he uses biodegradable soap and applies it to his body.
Then with the help of a towel, he can wash his body. This washing gets rid of the smell and stickiness to a very large extinct.
- Dealing with Cuts and Scrapes
Hikers face various cuts and scrapes which are not noticeable during hiking. These can simply be avoided by wearing full-sleeved shirts and trousers. But these don’t provide 100% protection to the hiker. A hiker should carry a first aid box during hiking in case of any type of emergency.
In case the cut does not stop bleeding, cover it with a piece of cloth and wait until the bleeding stops then apply an antibacterial tube to the wound and leave it to dry after some time the wound will start healing.
- Backcountry Hygiene Gear \ Supply List
A hiker should bring the following list of items with him to stay clean on a backpacking trip. These do not weigh a lot but in fact, play a vital role to maintain a hiker’s hygienic ness and also have a huge impact on the comforts.
- He should bring toothpaste and a toothbrush with him.
- A towel.
- A half-gallon-sized plastic bag for washing clothes.
- A hand sanitizer and a biodegradable soap.
- Toilet paper or a pee bag.
Conclusion:
Hikers during backpacking need to stay clean and hygienic throughout the trip not just to stay fresh but to stay safe from many diseases. This helps them a lot during the trip and also makes them feel comfortable.
A backpacker should bring all necessary items with him\her which are helpful for maintaining their hygienic ness. By acting upon the following a hiker will feel much more comfortable and keep safe from many other bacterial infections and diseases.
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