Amenities
Amenities - Showers, Bathroom, Laundry & Personal Hygiene
Playing hard outdoors, the way we do, can make us quite dirty and how we get and stay clean is of big concern to most teen girls. Even though it is done differently at camp than at home, we demonstrate how to take care of everything with soap and water, but, without the amenities of home.
Backcountry Hair Washing
Real Showers
For many girls, not showering everyday can be the biggest challenge at camp. Even though you will come to embrace the naturalness of the earths dirt, showers are cherished and much celebrated camp activity - probably appreciated so much because we don't have one every day, something to consider at home as well...
We take ‘real’ showers at least once every week of camp. The shower quality and length depend on the facilities available to us in the town we are passing through. Sometimes there are private shower stalls that are coin operated, other times we have swim suit showers in a group shower in a women’s locker room. Personal privacy is always honored in the best way possible to make you most comfortable.
When time and resources are available we love to do bucket hair washes and have wet wipe cleaning parties. We aim for at least one bucket hair wash and one or two wet wipe parties a session. We teach you how to wash your hair with stream or lake water with your biodegradable soap without harming the environment. This activity is known for silly moments and silly pictures. Wet wipe parties take place in a private area where you get the opportunity to get yourself clean with the wet wipes you brought to camp.
Fresh as a Daisy at Girls Summer Camp!
The Lady Daisies - A Bouquet of Clean Girls
"Fresh as a Daisy"! is what we call out when we are gathering the group for a hand wash station, bucket hair wash, a leg shaving party or a wet wipe Alpenolympic competition. If you respond to the call and gather and participate in the event, you will be granted membership to an elite group of girls and Alpenguides called, the Lady Daisies - this group is dedicated to keeping clean and they understand the health benefits of proper personal care and hygiene at wilderness camp.
Laundry
At Alpengirl we do our laundry at local laundromats once a week, usually timed so we have clean clothes after showers. You and all the other girls will separate your laundry into big garbage bags sorted by light and dark items, creating around 3 or 4 bags of dirty clothes. At the laundromat we fill up the coin operated washers and let ‘em run. Once the laundry has been done, campers will sort and fold the clothes and are responsible for finding their own clothing items.
Parents: it is extremely helpful if every clothing item is labeled in some way to help your daughter claim her own clothes. Many girls come to camp with the same clothing items like socks, long john underwear, and shirts. Girls are responsible for keeping track of their own clothing and gear throughout camp, Alpengirl is not responsible for lost or stolen personal clothing or gear. It is also advisable to avoid bringing favorite clothing items, things do get lost and damaged at camp.
"A little dirt don't hurt" ~ Lil' Alpengirl Camper
Bathroom
"How do we go to the bathroom in the woods?"
"What if I get my period at camp?"
These are the questions and concerns voiced by almost every parent and camper before camp starts. We understand that the idea of this type of teen girl wilderness adventure travel camp is new to most girls and we'll teach you all you want and need to know about this subject once you arrive to camp. Just keep in mind, each girl will have privacy, toilet paper, wet wipes, soap and water available to her all the time at camp and we'll teach you best methods of keeping clean while outdoors.
Since we are a traveling camp, our bathroom situation changes often. For a majority of camp, we are staying at established campgrounds where there is always a bathroom and potable drinking water, whether it is a bathroom with flushing toilets and sinks or a non-flushing outhouse.
While we are on the trail backpacking there is no running potable water or toilets. We teach you how to use the bathroom in nature and how to take care of everything that happens and how to stay clean. While on the trail backpacking, we follow Leave No Trace principles that teach proper waste disposal practices in nature and how to purify water for drinking. When backpacking and we arrive to our designated campsite for the evening, sometimes an private outhouse is available to us, this is true in Washington and in Hawaii.
While on the road driving from one activity to the next, we try to stop somewhere with a bathroom, like a gas station, and when one is not available, we will find a nice, private area away from the main road to pull over at so girls can use the restroom. This is done in the same way as while backpacking.
Personal Hygiene
Personal care and hygiene happens differently at camp than at home. We don’t always have a sink to spit our toothpaste into or a mirror to look at ourselves in. Your wet wipes come in handy and a bandana with a little biodegradable soap does wonders. Everything will be taught to you upon your arrival to camp and you will become very proficient in taking care of yourself without the bathroom amenities.
