Travelieve: A note on trail hygeine

The saying goes "Cleanliness is next to Godliness." Where the saying came from and it's veracity is up for debate, but there is no doubt in my mind that "Cleanliness is Heavenly!" After going two full weeks without taking a shower and over two week without doing laundry (my longest stretch so far), cleanliness was not part of my vocabulary.

The trail in Vermont started out very muddy after two days of rain. In fact in many places the trail was a stream.

Where does the trail go?

Oddly enough, my dire feelings of need for a shower did not translate to other hikers. I had comments on how nice my hair looked and how clean I was (I do rinse the mud off my legs at night before going to bed). One guy I ran into thought I was out for the day. When he learned I was headed to Maine he asked if I'd just had a shower. My answer was, "I haven't showered in 10 days!"

I think it's the dress. People are so confounded to see a hiker in a bright blue dress they don't notice the dirt. That or the dirt blends in with all my freckles! Or perhaps the smell. Smell is the main way to identify who's out for the day, the week, or months. Julia and I were passed by one thru-hiker who smelled so bad we were both gagging! (I have since heard about the "4 state challenge" which involves not showering for four states! Yuck.) The only thing I can figure is that since I use a mineral deodorant stick, I don't smell as bad (I still think I stink!) and so other hiker's noses are fooled into thinking I am clean!

I don't think I can properly convey to you my utter delight and blissful satisfaction in taking a shower yesterday. It was pure heaven to wash away two weeks of extreme humidity, rain, sweat and mud (yes, my legs were still dirty even though I rinse them off).

One acquires a sort of reverse french manicure from the permanent layer of dirt under the fingernails. I picked up a bottle of nail polish to hide this dirt!