The Last Shower

Unlimited hot water, excellent water pressure, no coin machine to race against or fee to pay, and I can stay under this warm and cleansing spray for as long as I like; there is nobody waiting to use the facility after me. When finally finished, I can walk around naked and leisurely air-dry my body. My hairdryer and straightening iron are conveniently at hand. (Who knows when the next time will be that I will have the luxury, much less the need at all, of blow drying my hair!) How convenient, relaxed and easy having a shower at home is. However, this is the last shower I will have here for two months. In two short hours, I will fly out of Toronto, Canada and head for Europe where I will hike the GR5 and then the Tour du Mont Blanc. This is the cleanest I will be for the rest of the summer.

To maintain personal hygiene on the trail, my dry bag of toiletries contains a hand-sized Pak Towel (25 g) for wiping away sweat and dirt during the day. At night, I will use compostable bamboo wipes (657 g) to “clean the crevices:” mainly arm pits and between the legs, but also inside the elbows and behind the knees. These wipes are also my toilet paper any time I need to dig a cat hole with my trowel (51g) and make a “deposit” (?? g) along the hike.

Also in my toiletries sack is a larger Pak Towel (192 g) for the rare occasions when I might have the opportunity to shower at a refuge. Mostly, though, I will bivouac (wild camp) in more remote locations; I am not a fan of crowds. As well, I have half of a “shampoo and conditioner” bar (113 g). This will be what I use to clean not only my hair but also my entire body. As well, the ivory-coloured bar will serve as laundry soap when I will need to wash any of the three pairs of underwear I will wear for the entire summer. Should I need to wash my clothes or sleeping bag, I am not prepared, but I am sure a campground or a little village somewhere will provide a solution.

Additional items in my toiletries bag include: toothbrush (18 g), toothpaste (29 g), 12 floss picks (5 g), mini tweezers (6 g), mini scissors (9 g), waterproof mascara (8 g), mini hair brush & hair elastics (65 g), ibuprofen (36 g), antacid (41 g), Aquatabs (15 g), Benadryl (24 g), Dr. Numb (14 g), BodyGlide (72 g,) antiseptic spray (62 g), antibiotic ointment (20 g), Bandaids & Qtips (33 g), back-up sunblock & chapstick (95 g) and a sew/repair kit (180 g). That’s it, that’s all.

In the summer of 2022, I lived out of my little Chevrolet Spark, touring around Quebec and New Brunswick, travelling from one thru-hike or day hike to the next. And although I hiked a lot in those two months (see my playlist “Living in my Spark (Summer 2022)” on my YouTube channel “@womaninthewoods13”), nevertheless, over the entire summer, I had a total of only five showers. It was through this experience that I learned that it is actually very possible to achieve a darn good level of hygiene with just wipes, Pak towels and a bit of water.

However, there is also a reason the term “hiker trash” exists. Life on the trail is dirty; there are no ifs, ands or buts about it. It is what it is. You simply accept your dirty fate and get on with it. As Michael Easter points out in his brilliant book, “The Comfort Crisis,” our overly-antiseptic lives may be the cause of some of our health problems anyway! It is good for us to get out there, to get uncomfortable and to get dirty.

At this moment, I may be unnaturally, wonderfully, perfectly clean. But it’s all down the dirty hill from here. Now, if only the trail were, too! 😉