tandempower

You got defensive and then accuse me of getting worked up. You never apologize for saying mean things. Then you shamelessly act happy-go-lucky and accuse others of being otherwise. It's mean and you should be kind.

I-Like-To-Bike

You weren't discussing this topic here.

MikeOK

What the heck happened to heat? Some of you people need to stop being so defensive and get back to the thread.

Machka 

I am both happy and kind. 😊

Machka 

I'm also hot! 😀

StanSeven

Getting back to the thread without insults and political content is a good idea. Deep breath everyone.

I-Like-To-Bike

Then you can join in with us while we all sing with your happy countrymen and countrywomen in order to be LCF kind (a variation of Minnesota Nice).

KD5NRH

For me, "primitive" generally means no amenities within a half mile or so, though sometimes a pit or composting toilet without running water is available closer to keep people from literally crapping up the place. I have seen some places where tent sites included a 110 duplex outlet and a water spigot, but those aren't too common even in these days of everyone having a cell phone that needs daily charging. I guess they figure most folks will leave it on the car charger overnight.

When camping, my go-to cleaning product for me and anything I'm cleaning by hand is Dr Bronner's Liquid Soap. Real soap, and usually the peppermint scent in summer, because it's good for prickly heat and other hot weather issues. It seems to do a pretty good job on bike clothes, as I often do the same thing at home to put off laundry day a bit longer, and haven't had any trouble with lingering scents.

They do get taken off after the initial soap-and-rinse, then rinsed again, wrung out and tossed over the shower rod while I wash myself.

Done it plenty of times in 60+% humidity, and haven't had any of the wicking or Lycra fabrics hold enough moisture to mildew overnight.

Solar shower bag and one or more tarps to make a privacy shelter if needed. No pumping necessary, and if you can drop the rest of your gear at the site, riding back a mile or two to fill the shower bag and bring it to camp isn't that bad. If you don't have the solar access due to setup time or tree cover, a liter of boiling water added to ~3 gallons of ambient temp water in the bag will make it pretty comfy in summer. 2-3 liters will make it good for winter. However, most of the places I've camped that had any water available had some showers available in a centralized location, though it might be 2-3 miles from the primitive camping.

AquaSox or other water shoes work pretty well as long as you're on grass or something other than a plain mudhole. Wear them to shower, then you can go to a dry spot to change into regular shoes. I think I paid $4.50 for a no-name pair at WalMart.

tandempower

Apparently not enough to apologize for giving a thumbs up about pushing my threads down the drain, but it's impossible to discuss these things with you so let's just stop. Enjoy your happy and kind self-image.

tandempower

Thanks for sharing your tips. I haven't used those liquid soaps for a while, but the peppermint is indeed strong so maybe I should give it a shot. Sometimes I think clothes are clean, but the moment I start sweating in them, I notice they're not. It is disheartening when you realize you're going to have to bike or hike with that smell all day. I am pretty sensitive where smells are concerned, too. I think some people can ignore them more easily.

I don't mind showering cold, and I have one of those solar shower bags, but I usually end up taking it out of my supplies when I start to realize how much weight I'm dealing with already. I've also found it's just as easy to dump water out of a water bottle or bucket over yourself, but to do that you need to be able to refill the bottle or bucket repeatedly, which means being near the water supply. It's no fun to walk back and forth through dirt with wet feet, and showering in shoes makes for slimy shoes. I probably sound whiny but these little issues deter me, though not as much as the worry that I'll get in trouble for stealth camping and it will cost me my job in the school system.

It's a good idea, but more weight and volume to carry. Thanks for sharing your experience and broadening my avenues for consideration, though

gregf83 

Thank you!

Rollfast

No s'mores? I'm bummed.

Machka 

We just had Tim Hortons donuts ... they're almost as good as s'mores! 😊

Rowan

Just about to leave the ground on an Air New Zealand flight from Vancouver to Auckland, then on home to Australia.

At least the temp differential won't be quite as huge as it was on one trip I did about a decade ago -- minus 45 deg C in Calgary to plus 45 deg C in Melbourne. I stayed in Melbourne Airport for a couple of hours before riding my touring bike out the door. I survived...

Meeting my legal obligations for international travel enables me to experience that sort of thing.

cooker

Tim Hortons is dead to me. They decided to push a new dark roast coffee and they downgraded the quality of their original coffee to puke level.

Roody

There sure are a lot of pots and kettles on this thread!

StarBiker

Felt nice last night this morning. Back to the steam blast in a day.

Machka 

It was too hot to drink a lot of coffee ... but the donuts are good! 😊

tandempower

Why do you keep dropping little references to the legal aspect of travel?

StarBiker

To annoy you?

KD5NRH

For times when peppermint isn't helpful (the cooling sensation is great in summer, but makes it hard to know if there's a gap in your layers in winter) or just too much, the almond is pleasant and more earthy, without the cloying sweetness of the floral and fruit scents.

IMO, that's because they're made too big, bulky and heavy for solo travel. 5 gallons is enough for at least two showers if you're even remotely frugal with it, and probably enough for two soap-and-scrub showers plus an extra rinse. I'd like to find a 1.5-2 gallon version made to be light and pack small, and would make one, but I'm not sure what to use for the bulk container. (Even that might be a bit much, as I've done a satisfying shower with 3L before, though that wasn't after sweating heavily in a dust storm, so probably best to have more than a gallon available.)

KD5NRH

Now that I think about the shower thing, maybe trying for something that packs small is the wrong way to go; deep and narrow works best, since the height of the water column above the shower head determines the pressure, but anything over a couple feet is impractical, both due to carry size and the height you'd need to hang it to get it fully over your head. However, something like a 6" PVC pipe with a valve and shower head in one end cap and a screw cap on the other end might be ideal; use it as a rigid waterproof container on the road, then empty it at camp, fill with water, hang and shower.

Might have to experiment with this a bit.

Rollfast

You live in the Southern Hemisphere though. Our summer is technically your winter, regardless of if it's over 12C

Rollfast

I don't have a car either. My house AC isn't mobile.

Machka 

Why do you keep picking out that one small bit of what was typed?