[at-l] Hiker stink

[Phil.Heffington@oc.edu (Phil Heffington)]

It's not so much that hikers are proud of being unclean and smelly, it's
just a fact of life for all practical purposes.  Getting clean is more
of an illusion than it is fact, especially after you've been on the
trail for several days/weeks.

You may get "clean", but your pack, straps, waistbelt, etc., are soaking
with wonderful smelly bacteria inhanced body fluids that will
immediately impregnate your clean clothes, body and hair with that
wonderful hiker scent.  Unless you carry a clean pair of clothes for
every day of your hike, bathe evey night, clean your sleeping bag
regularly, de-odorize your boots, and on and on, you will eventually
succumb to the inevitable thru-hiker odor.

My son, who picked me up for an overnight stay off the trail at his
place last year, has warned my daughter of how bad I smelled and who is
planning to do the same for me this year.  She lives in NYC and has
requested that I send some clean clothes from home by mail so that I
won't smell so bad.  Sorry, but it doesn't work.  The smell isn't just
the clothes.  It is the person, the pack, the gear, the sleeping bag,
the stuff sacks, etc., etc.  It is sort of a holistic experience that
hikers become accustomed to after a few days, and that others nearby
must either accept or solve by putting space between themselves and the
hiker, or vice versa.