Days 11 - Australian Alps Walking Track

I have awoken this morning full of gratitude.

Anyone who takes on a long distance through hike will know they will be journeying through all types of weather conditions.  The Australian Alps at any time of the year can serve up 4 seasons in a day.  Although I am prepared for all weather conditions it doesn't necessarily mean I am willingly looking for bad weather.  For the past 2 nights, I have set up camp, prepared and eaten dinner, washed up and planned for the next day before preparing to sleep.  Just as I close my eyes for the night, the rain comes down!

I am grateful that it is raining once I no longer need to be outdoors!

Last night marks a momentous occasion for me as well.  Never in my life have I pee'd in a bottle, till this night.  I wasn't going to go out in the rain so I thought to myself I can always just use one of my 2 water bottles from this point in my trip as a night time urinal.  Worked a treat once I worked out how to position myself in the tent so as not to spill!  I'd then just leave it out side the tent in the rain to keep it clean.

I became very lazy with this process as my travels continued.  It no longer needed to be raining out for me to use the indoor urinal bottle!  I never left my tent in the middle of the night for the rest of the Australian Alps Walking track.

The Smoke Oh Camp area is just the path widening enough for the tent

So about 8am I left Smoke Oh Creek with the hope of making either Beunba Flats or maybe even Johnnies Top.  So whats this falling from the sky about an hour into the day but my first snow storm.  It was really enjoyable actually despite the name of the trail being "Misery Trail"!  Was really nice to see the snow falling through the trees.

Having made my way out to Buckwong track and had a morning snack under the porch roof of Buckwong Hut.  Shortly after I came across 1 of 17 groups from Melbourne Grammar hiking through the area.  I had a brief chat with them and then continued on my way as I knew within hours I would have my next food drop.  Unfortunately the snow has now turned to rain so by the time I trek down Mt Hope Road to my food drop I am drenched.  I pull the buckets out of the hole they are in, everything now just mud and pull out the black garbage bag with my food in it.  I quickly look through Tims bucket to see if he has anything I want to swap in, grab a fresh pair of Tim jocks and his socks ( I didn't have any in this drop as I was doing fresh gear every other drop) and then just kept moving.  This was probably the heaviest I have been on the hike so far as I know I have way too much food with me even if I were on my slower schedule.

So being heavy and wet and muddy I hussled my way along to the Buenba Flats expecting to probably call it an afternoon.  It was about 4:30pm when I made it to the second gate and sat down with another ground from Melbourne Grammar.  A couple of the guides shared some fresh strawberries and a recent Herald Sun newspaper with me.  Chris was one of the guides, he was very interested in Hyperlite Mountain Gear and we chatted for about 20minutes about Cuben fibre and the stuff I was using.  He mentioned that this station set up for them was for the students to do a solo overnight sleep out and that they were scattered all over the general ridge line.  I thought cool, but also I should probably keep moving and try to make Johnnies Top.

Looking West towards corner creek

I set out towards the western end, corner creek end of the flats.  This whole area was a marshy wetland that was difficult to follow at times as the trail is interrupted my the creek so often.  That being said as you can clearly make out that the mountains around you are guiding you into a corner it is more a matter of how easy the trail could be if you were on it.  Its never really a matter of being lost.

Having made it to the the junction where the trail now climbs It is now about 6pm when I start climbing.  Its actually pretty steep and my pack if fully loaded so i am finding it hard going.  The fact that I had stumbled into the creek a couple times so my boots were bogged, including being rained on all day I was cranky and tired.  It took me ages to climb Johnnies Top.  I had to get my head torch out for the last 20 minutes coming into Johnnies as it had gotten dark earlier in this weather.  Worked really well actually as all the AAWT or Great Alpine Walk signs are all traced in some hi-visibility reflectors so the shone in the torch light.

I took photos later in the evening when the fog was really thick and rainy but its just a blur shot...you can't really make much out...but this is about an hour before I made camp.

At 8:15pm when I got to camp it was blowing an absolute storm.  I barely made out the water tank when I walking about 5m in front of it.  I was freeing cold because of how long I had been wet....all day and really struggled to get my tent set up.  Was again really happy with my Echo II from Hyperlite Mountain gear as the first part of the shelter to go up is the outer tarp.  This enables me to get all my gear out of the rain and blowing winds and protect all my items that I need for the night but want to keep dry....my thermals, sleeping bag etc.

So by the time I had set up camp, took off all my wet gear at the entry including the wet medical supplies taped to my feet, it was 9pm.  I took my time to get dressed into warm dry gear and re-do the medical treatments on my feet.  Although I was wasted from a long wet day, I still struggled to get to sleep.   It was so wet foggy and blowing an absolute storm outside that my exhausted brain was a little freaked.  I kept going through check lists.  Have I kept my wets away from my dry's, have I pegged the tent really well, am I positioned away from possible falling trees, am I on too much of a slope, I know I am pitched right on the trail to stay away from trees but it is an old 4x4 track....what if an emergency vehicle needs to get through in the middle of the night....and so on and so forth.  Eventually fell asleep to thoughts of my wife and kids.

Hyperlite Mountain Gear Review

In a couple of posts recently I have mentioned " Cuben fibre" lightweight packs & tents etc.  I thought I'd do a review on the items I have purchased in order to help other decide if these products are for them.

I have had the chance to use both the backpack & shelter on a couple of occasions now and have probably slept out with them in total about 13 nights.  I feel I understand the product now and have become really comfortable with it all.

The Echo II shelter.

When I received the small little package which was suppose to have my whole 2 man tent enclosed I thought come on, get out!  But as I removed the pieces from the Cuben Fibre carry sack... It was all there.

This was amazing.  But my next thought turned to how sometimes you can never get an item back into its packaging once you have opened it.  So I tried to remember how it was folded and put it back it.... there was still heaps of room in the carry bag.  I took it all out and cared less about how I was packing it back in.  Yep still fit easily.  This is crazy but perfect.

I have set the tent up on my back lawn, in sand and very hard dried out Australian soil and in the rain and have only found one issue which is the same issue with any tent.  Don't pitch a tent in the wind if it can be helped!  This shelter being so light is a little tricky in a good wind but really what tent isn't.

It took me a couple a set ups to get the overall height I desired to be as desired.  Which in itself is very clever, on a rainy night you can tension the tent lower to the ground reducing the amount of rain splash which might bounce under the outer shell.  On a nice cool breezy evening I have been able to increase the overall height which has allowed more breeze to come through and made sleeping out very enjoyable.

Another very clever feature is the fact that unlike other 2 piece systems, this system you actually erect the outer shelf first.  When its raining you are creating a barrier between your gear and the weather, this kept my gear dry and again I slept very well and dry.  The next day just a light morning breeze had the shelter dried off in no time and we were packed up without having to pack wet gear, only to unpack at lunch or further down the trail to try to air it out/ dry it out for us again that night.

The last time I took it out I stayed in the same location for 3 days with the tent full erected the entire time.  This was a mistake.  As the shelter is based on tension in order to stay up, in the 30 degree heat one of the end reinforcements started to come apart. It is a Cuben fibre strip glued over the seams where the pole meets the shelter.  I noticed it and released some pressure but the damage was done.  This may be a one off but next time in the same heated situation I would be releasing some of the tension just to give some relief to the seams while I'm away.




So I bought their biggest pack, a 4400 Expedition Pack.  I believe they now call them 4400 Porter Packs.

This works out to be about a 72 litre pack.  Just like the shelter is it every bit as light and durable as it claims to be.  The pack has minimal seems with a roll down water proof entry from the top of the pack. The tri-fastener strap system across the top of the pack it very smart and eliminates the extra weight of too many tighten straps.

My first impression of the harness was that it was too light & cheap to carry the 72 litres I was going to cram in there.  So far the strength is fine, the bag, harness and hip harness are all very comfortable.

With the lightweight shelter, pack & sleeping bag all packed in with the rest of my kit my 7 day pack comes in at about 18 kilos including my daily water.  Sure thats getting onto the lighter side but the shoulder harness still needs to be a little thicker, wider.

The thickness of the shoulder padding itself wasn't my problem, it was the narrowness of the straps that cut into my shoulders that made the pack a little uncomfortable.  After the 2 day hike in hike out at Wilson Prom I had 2 black & purple bruises running across my shoulders from where the straps were digging into my shoulder muscles.

To finish the review on a positive the attachable mesh pocket which is attachable to the front of the pack really was clever.  I put all my wet gear into it.  River crossing shoes, towel, old socks.  They are all easily accessible on the outer of my pack and they get the chance to dry off as I continue my journey.  Works pretty well and keeps the rest of my pack contents dry.

Overall, I love this stuff.  So happy I bought them and looking forward to more adventures with my new gear.

ZPACK - Cuben Fibre (-12 Sleeping bag)

I want to start this post by mentioning that I don't trust buying online.  The size is never what you expect it to be, with or without the size charts they provide you.  The quality is rarely what you expect and returns overseas end up costing you more dollars on the dud you are trying to return.

But I gave it a crack & SCORED!




Zpack sleeping bags combine the best aspects of a down quilt and a down sleeping bag at a nearly unbeatable weight. The bags open up wide on the bottom for easy temperature control when it is warm out, and a 3/4 length zipper and neck elastic allow you to bundle up when the temperature turns cold. 


About 5 weeks ago I ordered their -12 degree sleeping bag with only the 3/4 length zip and zip cover in the Extra tall 6'6" length in a regular fit.

Have a look at their site for all the options.  I does take a little reading to understand al the options but well worth the read.

My first impressions of the bag was that I wasn't going to fit!  It looked too short & I wondered if they received my order correct.  I jumped inside.  All bags I have had previously had hoods so this was already a little different without the hod but i did fit and was very surprised that the bag still could be pulled tight around most of my head.  I will have a beanie with me on my trek so if i need to keep the head warmer I can just wear it to be.... easily done to keep the weight down.  First test - PASS

I then thought to myself that this is a really trim bag.  There is no moving around to figure out your best sleeping position, if you got in .... thats how you are sleeping.  At home my wife laughs that I sleep like I'm in a coffin, well that coffin shape is the only way to sleep with this bag..... Second test - PASS


I went over every seem of the bag to make sure there was no flaws or defects.  These are made to order and I wanted to make sure that every stitch was right..... its that sceptic of online purchasing coming out in me I guess..... Third test- PASS

I proceeded to pack the bag back into its cuben fibre water proof stuff sack.  Pushing and shoving I was a little worried about ripping either item as they do feel thin and weightless.  No problems there either.  I do wonder if an additional option for the stuff sack could be a compression bag though.... this is definitely a light bag but it will take up some room in the pack.  I'll probably get an after market and then put the compressed bag into the cuben fibre bag for water protection.  I hate to double up but this will have to do.  Another PASS

So everything looked great.  So I went out with the youth group I'm involved with for our local area to Walhalla to show them around the first day or so of the Australian Alps Walking Track.  We stayed out friday night in about 5 degrees.  Of course at that temperature I'd expect the bag to perform, it was warm as, I had both arms out the top.  the Final PASS.

I must say I'm torn.  There is an option of no zipper at all for this bag, which saves weight and to be honest the first 6 or 7 times I got into the bag..... I slid in without using the zipper.  I was thinking I messed up here & should have done the Sewn up no zipper option.  The flip side is those warm night when I will want only part of the bag on me...... so I think that unless I buy 2 bags, one for each climate condition (hot or cold) i think I did the right thing and got the 3/4 zipper.

Great bag, great weight, great construction, looking forward to great adventures!

MLC Grade 1 Dads & Daughters

This weekend was a great weekend.

My grade 1 daughter and I decided to invite her class to come camping with us so that we can further get to know the children and their parents.

We had made up some invitations and put them in all the school bags the last day before Easter in an attempt to give people lots of notice.  We had lots of families with plans already but are looking forward to us inviting them again.

We had 6 father/daughter teams which was a great size for the hike.  We looked for a local place to take them and felt Cathedral Ranges would be the best spot.  Last year Bailey & I did the Wells Cave track which is the areas hardest trail and Bailey got a lot of confidence from it.


So Saturday May 5, 2012 we arrived and started setting up camp.  I have recently acquired a new family sized tent which would accommodate a majority of the group.  It is made by the same brand as my Backpack and tent "Black Wolf" and so far I have found the tent to be very reliable as well as well thought out.  Plenty of storage pockets, room dividers etc.



You could see as the families showed up that the girls were chomping at the bit to be outside and have an adventure.  Surprisingly the fire was the centre of attention for a fair part of the afternoon.  Little fire bugs, I'd expect this from grade 1 boys but was surprised with these girls being so excited by flames.  Dads and daughters set about setting up camp through out the afternoon and even had time to get a small hike in before dinner.

We had 2 options for dinner.  I had brought my cast iron cooking gear and had the roast slow cooking in the dutch oven with carrots, corn and potatoes (all with a little butter included) wrapped in aluminium foil on the hot coals.

We also had a home made lasagne which sat on the grill over the fire slowly warming up.

Both dinners we gobbled up in no time and the girls soon started to chant for their marsh mellows.  We had eaten dinner about 6:30pm in the dark so around 7pm it was fairly reasonable to break out the goodies.  Marsh Mellows, jelly snakes, cookies and chocolate bananas all made an appearance and stimulated the girls into more fire play!  Writing in the air seemed to be the favourite.  I'm happy to report we had no incidents/accidents!

The dads broke out the cheeses and crackers once the girls were in bed and stayed up by the fire having a great chin wag.

The next morning as we packed up camp we had a traditional hot breakfast by the fire, eggs, bacon, beans and toast.  We were ready to hit the mountain.  About 9:45am we car pooled to Sugarloaf Peak car park and made our way up SugarLoaf peak.

This was no easy hike.  Dads were often spread across gaps passing kids up to each other so the girls felt safe in what we were attempting.  Sure there were times when there was tears from one or two children but thats expected when they have not been up this high before.



The cave was a real treat for the girls.

We stopped on the summit to gather out thoughts and rally the girls for the descent and luckily the cloud cover had cleared not 20 minutes earlier.

The way down had more tears or terror and Dads were even more involved but we all made it down safe and sound.

This will be the last camping for the year as the winter comes in, I'm really glad Bailey & I were able to share this with her school mates and their fathers.  We'll do these camps twice a year now for her class and hopefully keep getting more and more attendees.

                           

                              

                          

Stretching for Hikers

Stretching and hiking

While some of us are good at stretching at the gym or before and after a run, we often forget to stretch before hiking, climbing, or just as part of the daily routine. It’s important to maintain a stretching program year round in order to remain supple and agile due to conditions you encounter outdoors like stepping on and over logs, uneven and steep ground, rocks, river crossings, boulders, and twisting and reaching in unnatural positions to find holds.

Stretching before, after and even throughout the day on occasions when you start to feel leg weary are good ways of helping you get through a days hike and also to reduce soreness that may incur.

Try these stretches designed for hikers, backpackers, and mountaineers at home and at the trailhead keeping the following tips in mind:

• Hold each stretch for a minimum of 20-30 seconds, doing 2-3 reps on each side. If a stretch feels
tighter in specific areas, it is beneficial to stretch those muscles 2-3 times per day.

• Stretch to the point that you feel a good stretch, not pain.

• Make sure that your core muscles are kept tight to help maintain good posture: this ensures that you
are targeting the intended muscle.

• Don’t bounce with the stretch, just hold.

Avoid:

• Not stretching both sides of the body.

• Not keeping other joints straight. (example bending your knee for a Hamstring stretch)

• Not keeping hips and feet pointing forward (on a Hamstring stretch)

• Arching the back because the stomach muscles are not tight (example: Hip Flexor stretch)

There is still conflicting advice whether stretching reduces the risk of injury. One thing for sure is that if you have a greater range of movement then you’ll perform exercises more efficiently and effectively and if you find yourself in awkward positions hiking or climbing then you’ll want suppleness and agility on your side.

Stretching is one piece of the jigsaw in terms of the reduction of muscle soreness and general fatigue. Hydration, nutrition and adequate sleep all play a vital roll and without nailing all four factors then it becomes hard to give yourself the best opportunity to smash through the hills of the next days hike.

Below is a series of stretches that can be easily performed anywhere and anytime.

Gastroncnemius:

With back leg straight, move hips forward until stretch is felt.

Soleus:
Keep back leg slightly bent, with heel on floor, lean into wall until stretch is felt in calf. Use a car, tree, or truck at trailhead.

Hamstring:
Place a foot on stool, log, or car bumper, slowly lean forward and keep your back straight, until stretch is felt in back of thigh.

Piriformis:
Cross legs, with one on top of the others knee, Gently pull other knee toward chest until stretch is felt in buttock/hip of top leg.

Hip Flexor:
Kneeling on one knee, slowly push your pelvis down while slightly arching back until stretch is felt on front of hip.

Thigh:

This is perhaps the most common stretch, the thigh stretch. Where you pull the foot back towards the bum and get a pull at the front of the leg.

Regular stretching will certainly aid any tired and aching muscles and make the whole experience more enjoyable.

Marcus Bourne

M-Power Personal Fitness

Fire Track - Mount Corhanwarrabul

Every couple weekends we will be heading out to the Dandenong Mountains for some intense training.  Although we will not be racing or trying to achieve any great time when Tim Marsden & I are on the Australian Alps Walking Track, it is good to know that our bodies will be ready to dig in for some big efforts on parts of the hike.

As part of the preparation we will be racing up this 1 km track which is about 500 meter direct assent from start to finish.  It burns the legs and puts pressure on the lower back so I know I am shocking the muscles into action.  I expect that doing these intense training sessions now will mean I will be able to enjoy the journey from Walhalla to Canberra instead of puffing and panting all the way there.

Oh yeah, we taped this weekends training.  A little fun.

This was our second session and we had much better results this time around.  Cut 4 minutes off our first effort.

If anyone would like to join us at 7am Saturday mornings please either add a comment on the blog comment page below or reply on Facebook.  We will keep you updated on when we will be heading out next.

Big shout out to Steve Walsh for putting the video together.

Keeping in mind that the original inspiration for the end to end hike of the Australian Alps Walking Track is to raise awareness for "Beyond Blue" the national depression initiative, we all wore the blue wrist bands that Beyond blue has sent to oz4adventure as an unofficial sponsor.  As I may injure myself on the hike I am not able to receive full sponsorship from them.

Beyond Blue is a wonderful resource for anyone who suffers or knows someone who suffers from depression and/or anxiety.  Depression and/or anxiety will effect us all through out our lives in one way or another, whether it be our own mental health or the mental health of someone we know.  What I have found since speaking to people about the Hike & Beyond Blue is that it effects people around me who I would not have know had struggles if I had not been discussing depression with them.  I'd like to thank everyone from Sunday who showed their support by wearing the "Blue" wristbands.

Take the time this week to ask someone how they are going, take the time to look out for each other and lets take some time in the outdoors.  Fresh air and physical exercise can really stimulate your mind and help fight the anxious or depressing feelings that may be holding you back from happiness.

Anyone who is able or interested in making a donation to Beyond Blue can do so at their website

https://www.givenow.com.au/beyondblue

Inspired by an event

So yesterday I was talking with Marcus Bourne of M power personal training and he suggested I enter a race as part of my training.  Its not just any race mind you.  Its tough, it's un-timed and its hard work.

This is a run, crawl, freeze, burn, electrical mud fest that will be taking place on Philip Island in March 2012.  It is a mix of cardio endurance, muscular fitness and mental strength.

Their website lists 16 training exercises to prepare for the event and having read through each exercise I can already say that Marcus has me working on at least 9 of those exercises as part of my current routine.

One of the top reasons for going the weights training I'm doing in preparation for the hike is not because I think I need muscle for the hike but rather I need to strengthen my core and put my muscles under some duress.  Hiking will put my muscles under duress and by training them now I hope to reduce the muscular issues I have during the 40 days and hopefully avoid any tears of strains so that I can just enjoy the experience and my surroundings.

Check out the guy on the Tough Mudder website advertisement under training, movie below.  Intense......

Motivating for sure.  To anyone who wants to join "Tough Mudder" with me and see what we can do just let me know you interest in the comments section below this article. 

Day 4 - Mt Skene then Hitch hiked to Jamieson

So the final instalment of our 4 day adventure was going to be less eventful than the 3 days already travelled.  Wake up, climb from Rumpff Saddle along the Barkly Jeep Track to the Jamieson-Licola Rd and just keep walking till about 3pm when our ride come past.

Tim & I were both keen to get started in the morning for a couple reasons.  We had eaten 3.5 days worth of food so our packs were a couple kilo lighter than when we started, so that was pretty exciting.  We were going to see our wives and kids, so that was also very exciting.

We set out about 8am with a real energy to see the end of the trail.  We started our day with a 400m ascent out of Rumpff Saddle, over 2-3 km or so.  We didn't really mind it, we knew it was the only challenge for the day so we got stuck into it.  From Rumpff Saddle to Mt Skene is a wonderful summit of Ghost gum swept hill sides.  As we near the the Jamieson-Licola Road we can hear a car coming up the track.

We meet Bernie, Warwick and Dave who have been hiking together for 30 years and are coming back to do the final stages of the AAWT from Rumpff Saddle to Walhalla.  They had done the balance a couple years ago but fell short of Walhalla on their end to end attempt so have come back to finish the job.

They have been hiking through this area for years mind you and had done these sections previously.  When we spoke of our ordeal from yesterday, of black river and the 7hrs of bush bashing, Bernie's comment was that it was the hardest section of track he had done in his 30 years on the trails.

In hind sight this made both Tim & I feel good.  It reassured us that as a Team we could take on the AAWT end to end, and enjoy it.  As we left & the guys drove off, Bernie stopped and yelled out that he had a pecan danish .... with 20 kilos on my back I still broke the Olympic 100m dash record getting that danish out of his hands before he finished his sentence.  Ahhh, fresh food.

The next 5 hours are walked along the gravel road.  We had 2 or 3 vehicles go past us in the opposite direction.... oh how we were hoping someone would be coming our way.  We walked past a hunter that had about 6 hounds in the back of his truck, and a nice buck on his roof.  He was waiting for his last dog to come home.  He was parked there as his dog was trained to return to the stop he left the car.  We then had 3 dirt bikes pass us.  How our hearts raced when we heard then, hoping they were cars but as they came around the corners we were disappointed.  There were 2 topics that had Tim & I walking at about 5km per hour (up from about 3km previously), TGIF restaurant and our wives and kids.  About 1 hour into this combined conversation we got the map out and Tim noticed we had knocked off some major kilometers.

Finally at 2pm, 3 four wheel drives drove past.  The first 2 went on past but the last vehicle stopped.  New Zealand John drove us down to Jamieson and let us off at the Brewery bridge.  If was nice to get out of the direct sun and the look of the Thompson River was too good to pass up.

Shortly after having a pie from the local milk bar, Kaziah came past and gave us stinky fellas a ride home..... she was lucky she didn't smell us before the river dip!

Hiking Hygiene

So lets make a quick list of everything you use at home to keep yourself squeaky clean and looking/smelling good and hygienic.

  

Some of us do not require a brush or comb by default!

• Shampoo/conditioners
• Face wash
• Moisturiser
• Toothpaste
• Floss
• Mouthwash
• Shaver
• Shaving cream
• Body wash/soap
• Antiperspirant/deodorant 
• Hand wash/sanitizer 
• Toenail clippers
• Hand Nail clippers
• Emery board 
• Nose hair trimmer/ tweezers
• Flannel for washing
• Toilet paper 
• Q tips/ ear buds
• Brush/ combs
• Hair dryers/ curler
• Cologne/ perfume

So lets get real about what that would weigh.  Even if you used your shampoo as a body wash, face wash, moisturiser, shaving cream, hand wash/sanitizer you are still carrying some real weight!

When Tim & I head out for our 40 days in the Australian Alps we want to be carrying around 42kilos combined so we need to be really mindful of how much pack weight we are willing to allocate to hygiene.

We are hoping to have a river bath every couple of days when the opportunity presents itself but to be honest we are going to smell.  We will have one change of clothes for each weather type ( hot or cold) so even if we are smelling like fresh mountain water from the river, our clothes are going to be putrid.  After the first week Tim & I won't probably be able to smell ourselves anymore, the only way we will really know how bad we smell is by the speed in which all manner of living creature tried to flee our presents in the bush.

Lets cross off the easy to eliminate from the above list....remembering I have no hair & Tim will be getting a good trim before leaving.  Lets remove shampoo/conditioner, face wash, moisturiser, mouthwash, shaver and shaving cream, toe and hand nail clippers, emery board, nose hair trimmers, Q tips, brush/comb, hair dryer or curler and cologne.  Those were easy, no real sacrifices made..... but now we start having to think a little deeper.

Flannel is light weight and can be stuffed into almost any air gap in the pack but surely using my hand to scrub up in the river will do, Okay lets drop the flannel.

Floss is small, light weight and crucial to keeping my dentist happy..... but based on the idea that we will have 1 rest day on day 11 our wives and kids, we will let them bring the hygienic extras and forgo good dental hygiene on the trail.

Antiperspirant/deodorant is not small but it is light, it may make that first 20 minutes of every morning bearable..... but of course the lovely fragrance emitted by these products will disappear 20 minutes down the trail so it really isn't going to effect our overall sanity...... its out!

Lets move onto the keepers then.  Toothpaste & toothbrush and body wash/soap, have both made the final 4 with very little surprises there but lets talk about the hand sanitizer.... necessary?  A small bottle is going to be one of my luxury inclusions in my pack.  I have read a number of article from various sources who have been through these areas and some have found the water made them sick, some found that if they drank the water after washing their hands the water was fine.... expecting the individuals got sick from the germs on their hands not the water source.  Its a easy insurance policy I think.  Nothing will be more shattering then getting into the trip and having to pull out and go home due to illness.

So item number 4 on my list of hygiene must brings...... of course toilet paper.  I am not as hard core as the guys in the below video clip!  I do however believe I will use some of their tips to reduce the amount of paper I will bring.

I will not be scrapping my ass with a rock, or bark, or a fern.  We are roughing it but some things I am happy to add pack weight for.  A small travel pack of inter-folding toilet paper will not break my back.  That being said I am converted to the outdoor baday, great idea and highly hygienic.

I'll be interested in everyones comments of further hygiene tips while on the trail, so please make comments in the field provided below.