Originally Posted by
Polar Foil
It just sounds like you're a little too OCD about getting your hands really clean, or you're trying to carry all the water you need for your trip rather than refilling and purifying. If you bring CampSuds or some other similar soap you can get your hands clean enough in whatever water is around you (stream, lake). You might also try taking that waterless hand sanitizer. Just make sure you wipe the excess off and wait a while for your hands to dry. Use iodine or chlorine tablets to purify water from the wilderness, or get a filter like the Platypus CleanStream or something. Or just carry more water and drink less. For a two day, two night weekend backpacking trip four liters of water might be all you need if it's not super hot and humid, and if you can cook with whatever water is around you.
I'm not just being OCD about clean hands, although I do have tendencies in that direction - in this case, touching my contacts with grubby hands has a very tangible effect on them and how well I can see.
I can go ahead and use some of my drinking water, but when you're in a middle eastern summer, drinking less is not an option and saving water for drinking is key when the next source of potable water is a couple hours' walk away! I can easily go through three and a half liters in a morning's walk and still run out and be thirsty before hitting the next water source. Anyway, I'll have to look into some of these water purification ideas to make sure that some of that natural springs I hit are safe to refill at, though I'd still be leery about drinking agricultural water.