This is a judgement-free zone, please be nice 🙃
Do sponge baths count?
I lived in a van for a while, where I mainly used a wash cloth and a bucket. I had several plastic water bottles that I would pack into a backpack, bring into a public bathroom, and refill under the tap. When I got back to the van, one got mixed with no-rinse soap (that I’d gotten at a camping supply store), and 2 or 3 were used for washing my hair. On occasion I did go to the beach and use the free outdoor showers, but that wasn’t a viable everyday solution.
Two weeks, a few times. Backpacking in the sierra, kayaking in Baja, and climbing trips to j-tree. Except j-tree, trips included swims but no soap. DYK salt water kills most bacteria that cause body odor, some salt rash but no odor kayaking in Baja.
This thread makes my asshole itchy.
6 months, during high school over the winter. Shower was broken (water would only come out perfectly hot or cold, nothing in between) and parents/landlord would not fix it. I kinda just gave up on it. Nothing bad came out of it. Nobody at home or at school ever said anything or even noticed, as far as I could tell. No, they were not just being polite. I watched everyone closely, as much as an experiment of personal curiosity as anything else, and there were no signs of disapproval, nobody had a clue. I suffered no social consequences whatsoever. Wearing a new set of clothes every day alone was sufficient to stay clean.
Can’t decide whether I just have one of those Asian genes that make you not smell, or whether Americans as a culture are psychotically brainwashed by soap companies’ propaganda to the point where even the idea of “spending more than 1 day away from shower” is worse than death for them. Never used deodorant either (other than to try it out - just makes me feel gross, sticky, and smelly). Imagine how much money those deodorant companies are missing out on me over a lifetime!
Just 3 days. Finals week in the university.
Probably pushing 2 months. I was thru hiking the Appalachian Trail and was in full on dirty hippie mode.
Eight days because my city lost water after an earthquake.
About three weeks, while I was training to be a truck driver.
I’d gotten my CDL through a trucking company’s “apprenticeship” program, which was actually a super-predatory mill they ran to compensate for their insane turnover rate.
The final phase of this company’s program, after I’d acquired my CDL but before receiving my own truck assignment, had me driving/riding on a “trainer’s” truck for 20,000 miles, while the more-experienced trainer showed me all the ins and outs of life on the road. In theory, anyway.
In practice, I’d learned essentially everything there was to know after a couple of days. Enough to get by on my own, at least.
So my trainer suggested we run the truck as a team operation from then on, running long-distance, time-sensitive loads, forcing one of us to drive while the other slept, in order to burn through my training miles faster. The company was tracking training miles by the truck, not by the driver, apparently.
Rather than driving 400-500 miles per day, I was pushing 1000 miles per day, every day, the truck only stopping for fuel and to work with customers. Between pickups and deliveries, my trainer had this annoying habit of only visiting truck stops while I was asleep, and finding random industrial parks and highway shoulders to park on for shift changes. I never had time to take a shower.
I staved off the stink with copious amounts of baby wipes and Febreeze. I also found out later, that my trainer owned the truck we drove, and my wages were not taken out of the revenue for the loads he ran. So I was effectively free labor for him.
I don’t work for that company anymore. I’m still in trucking, but I spend weekends at my house. And I try to shower at least every other day on the road.
A little over 3 months is my record. Mental health issues, naturally! 🥳 🎂 🎉
probably a week
Probably about 1-2 weeks, unless jumping in a lake during that time counts. We were in the back country deep in Canada :)
Close to a month. Depression.
I did change my underwear though 🤷🏿♀️
Several weeks. Usually I shower before leaving the house so when I was too depressed and anxious to leave the house I felt no reason to take one. But I don’t shower as much as most people in general. Once a week maybe unless I’m sweaty or dirty. I also brush my teeth inconsistently. But I’ve never had a cavity, fungal infection or anything else hygiene related anywhere on my body. I also don’t stink in case you’re wondering 😅 I disinfect my pits and use deodorant daily, I always check myself and my clothes and I also ask friends sometimes to be sure.
Spent 2 weeks hiking in around the Red River Gorge, Kentucky and Sheltowee Trace back in the late 80’s. Only time I got wet was when it rained, or found a creek to take a dip in.
When I got home, even my own Mother would not hug me. She sent me off to the bath where I stayed for over an hour.
Damn fine country there
Three and a half weeks, 25 days. More than forty years ago I was lost in the wilderness on a school camp. Broke both ankles and couldn’t walk.
We need more details! Who found you? What did you eat?
Couldn’t eat anything. Story below.
Wow, thanks for sharing that story. What were nights like? Were you able to sleep? Did any animal interact with you?
The nights were cold. It was the end of winter, there was snow further up the mountain, but not where I was. I dug down into leaves so I was half buried most of the time. I talked and sang to magpies, there were other animals around. I think I slept a lot of the time, they said I was feverish and in some kind of shock from the broken ankles. Later on I thought it had only been a few days.
What did you drink? I can imagine someone surviving without eating for 3 weeks but no water? Impossible
Go on… (Sorry just hoping for more info)
Mount Buffalo National Park, 1982. Four of us left the camping area to watch the sunset. I stopped to take a photo and lost the trail. Went running after the others, slipped and rolled down a cliff, landed upright, but felt both ankles pop and break. (The whole park is Australian bush around granite boulders and cliffs). The others thought I had gone back to camp and didn’t report me missing. Next morning the group packed up and hiked to the next camp site, no one noticed I was missing until that evening, so they looked in the wrong place. I crawled to a creek and fell down the gully, drank snow melt, no one heard me shouting and crying. Eventually they gave me up for dead. Three German tourists found me by accident three weeks later, one went to get help. I got a ride in a helicopter, in hospital for two weeks while they fed me through a drip. The school gave me a payout through their insurance on the condition we didn’t sue them. I’m almost 60 now and my ankles still hurt and grind and pop.
This is an insane story. I cant imagine the pain you went through. Im so glad the Germans found you.
More crazy he was left for dead. You think they put together a huge search party first.
What a story. You weren’t able to move for three weeks ?
Slap my balls and call me Sally, that’s a heck of a story you got there. I hope it has served you well in many a bar night.
Thanks for responding, sorry you went through that, can only imagine the mental impact it had to have. Hope all is well these days.
It was long ago and far away. I’m fine now, thank you.
What did you eat and drink?
Drank water. Couldn’t eat, moving hurt too much and made me faint.
This deserves more interest than it got.
Assuming it is true of course.
than it got
You commented only after an hour lol.
Cant drop that kinda teaser and not give the rest of the story!
