Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board deoderant?

it's been a few years since i've worn deoderant in my every day life, but i feel that i should for next weekend's hike up mt. whitney - if only for my tentmate's comfort. i hate to go with a supermarket, old spice, style. can anyone recommend a readily available, oraganic-type one that won't make me bear-bait?

Well, Tom's of Maine has natural stick deodorants that would seem to fit your needs. There is an unscented one so as not to attract bears. In the San Francisco area it is available at most Walgreens, Rite Aid, Trader Joes and natural food stores. It's quite different from your average deodorant. I would suggest using it for several days prior to your trip and maybe just the morning you leave and forget taking it with you. Just one less thing to tote. Good luck to you.

You don't use deodorant in everyday life and no one hates you. Seems like a good deal. Why even think of starting the habit in the backwoods? It's not on the 10 Essentials list for good reason.

You know, George Carlin suggested using a bay leaf under each arm when you run out of deodorant. His comment continued that it does not stop you from sweating but you'll smell like soup.

Oh, wrong idea...

Jon
What you need is an antiperspirant that is fragrance free...forget the perfumed laced products that make you smell like a bathroom.
Ed

This is a personal choice topic, but I'll share what I did last trip on the JMT:

I use Arid XX "regular" stick deoderant. I am not sure if they have an unscented choice, but this has almost no scent. But to go light, I cut off a small amount of the stick and put it into a ziploc snack bag. On the trip, I just used my fingers to apply it. It is a crumbly, dry, slightly greasy substance, but I had no trouble applying it that way.

And the little snack bag fit right into the bear cannister -- taking almost no room at all.

In the wilderness, here's my philosophy

a) No one's around, so who really cares?
b) If someone's around, pass yourself off as bigfoot
c) there is something called a middle finger

Now, I've never flipped at anyone but I've been tempted to, and be real, anyway, you don't smell someone for more than 5 seconds or so (unless you're chatty like me). What bothers me more about hikers is their tongue, nose, and eyebrow piercings. Now that's sick!

We live in a strange society; the body has a natural and useful function of keeping itself at proper temperature, and what do we do? We hike up a mountain in summer-hot weather and want to plug up our natural functions so they don't work. Why?

Then of course, with everything plugged up, an unnatural diet and plastic clothes, we don't smell so good if we do perspire, so the "fix" is to put something on to mask the smell. And, while I know natural fabrics like cotton aren't popular around here, they certainly smell better when worn; much better than the plastic stuff that dries quick.

And, of course to add insult to injury, many will shave under their arms which destroys the anti-chafing and other properties of what naturally grows there.

Not to mention, to avoid embarassment, people will pop pills, hold their pee until the body quits processing fluids out of desparation, or dehydrate themselves, and use other pills to plug up their digestive system. Then they wonder why they need doctors. It's amazing that we still function considering what abuse we heap on our bodies.

Take a shower before you leave, one when you get back, and don't sweat it...or actually, DO sweat it...8^)

Last time through Tuolumne Meadows, going each way, we picked up a couple of hitch hikers. One couple had just completed 4 days on the trail. They were great to talk to, but the one thing bad was their smell! With the air running, the car still smelled like onions and garlic.

When we were out for a few days, we jumped in the lakes along the way, and some used deodorant. You don't NEED to stink!