[pct-l] Reaction to Hikers - smell.

[Edward Anderson]

Diane,
I understand your point - why you don't want to wait for the water to warm. That also explains why most hikers don't carry the extra five ounces and wait until they get to towns to shower. That is not a problem for me since I usually take my "0" days near the trail rather than in towns.  Also, I sometimes get into camp by early afternoon so my horse will have lots of time to graze - to maintain his weight. A 0 day or an early camp creates a good opportunity for a shower. There is no set time or distance to travel with a horse - it depends on where I can find a good place to camp. I like to camp alone with my horse and well off the trail.  A "good" place to camp will have water, good grass, and trees to highline. If the next OK camp is only 8 miles away and the next after that (identified by my research) is 20 miles farther, I would camp at the 8 and do 20 the next day. Taking proper care of Primo required extra time.  
The farthest I have ridden in one day on the PCT was 30 miles - I only rode that far because that's where an OK camp was, with nothing closer. My on-trail average on the PCT was 16 or 17 miles. And Primo is an endurance horse who has done 50 and 100 mile races - in one day. He has won several. Because of Primo's extreme fear of llamas I have decided to do my Sierra PCT ride this summer on another Arabian. (Hope the snow melts enough.) Neekalos has no fear of llamas and has won five 50 mile races and holds two course records.
MendoRider

From: Diane Soini of Santa Barbara Hikes <diane at santabarbarahikes.com>
To: pct-l at backcountry.net
Sent: Monday, July 4, 2011 11:09 AM
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Reaction to Hikers - smell.

Mendorider, I brought a solar shower. The trouble is, I never had the  
patience to lay it out on a rock to wait for it to warm up. I did  
that once in a town. I laid it out on a picnic table in the sun while  
I did my laundry. It only got to luke warm. Out on the trail, I  
wanted to be hiking, not sitting around being bitten by mosquitoes  
while waiting for a pocket shower to warm up. And if I was going to  
take a cold shower, I may as well just do a bandana bath in a creek.


On Jul 4, 2011, at 10:00 AM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:

>
> Hi Andrea,
>
>
> I'm always surprised that the hikers don't bring along a solar  
> shower.?

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