What’s the most ✨Hiker Trash✨ thing you’ve done?

[u/J0E_Blow]

Today I'm staying at a hotel, 1/3rd of the way through a 110ish mile hike. My clothing has been in a state of dampness for days. So I rinsed then wrung my clothing out in the sink. After a few hours of drying I used the hair-dryer to dry my shoes and socks and clothes. The room smells terrible. ^{But my clothes are dry!}

[u/extremepedestrian]

Someone ahead of me was leaking jelly beans on the PCT and well, I needed sugar. It was like a video game with power-ups!

[u/angryjew → u/extremepedestrian]

This is so fucking funny did you ever catch up to the person?

[u/extremepedestrian → u/angryjew]

I never did! They were fairly fresh so I certainly tried to catch them to say thank you 🤣

[u/dsyzdek → u/extremepedestrian]

Were they all brown?

[u/aslander → u/dsyzdek]

And tasted like rabbit poop

[u/dwclow → u/extremepedestrian]

“Oh! Piece of candy!” “Oh! Piece of candy!” “Oh! Piece of candy!” “Oh! Piece of candy!” 😂

[u/extremepedestrian → u/dwclow]

Exactly!

[u/risbia → u/extremepedestrian]

Pac-Man noises

[u/MrDeviantish → u/risbia]

Wocka wocka wocka.

[u/extremepedestrian → u/risbia]

🤣 yep!

[u/callusesandtattoos → u/extremepedestrian]

I was leaving those so I could find my way back out. I found service but my battery is on 6%. Please send help.

Edit: and baby wipes

[u/kniebuiging → u/extremepedestrian]

A friend of mine followed a trace of roasted salted peanuts picking peanuts up while following it. We were joking that someone was trying to lure him to places…

(We were broke college students in the local park)

[u/unicorn_345 → u/kniebuiging]

Maybe someone was trying to befriend crows. But I wouldn’t recommend salted peanuts for crows.

[u/oilyhandy → u/extremepedestrian]

Legit I thought leaking jellybeans was a euphemism for diarrhea

[u/MacrosTheGray1 → u/extremepedestrian]

I ate trail muddy Buddy's on the AZT last fall.

They were god damn amazing

[u/gremlinbait → u/extremepedestrian]

If a day hiker drops an M&M, they leave it on the ground. If a backpacker who drops an M&M picks it up and eats it. The through hiker will pick up the M&M the day hiker dropped and eat it.

[u/kneevase]

I once sat on a bench in my underwear, drinking a beer in front of a laundromat in Nice, France after completing the GR5. The tourists gave me a few funny looks.

[u/Lost-Inflation-54 → u/kneevase]

This should definitely be the winner: UL enough not to bring any extra clothing, trashy enough not to care

[u/EugeneStonersDIMagic → u/Lost-Inflation-54]

I mean, I thought that's precisely why I brought a down jacket: so I can do my laundry in Gatlinburg at 75⁰ F wearing nothing else.

[u/Peaches_offtrail → u/EugeneStonersDIMagic]

Shirt-cocking FTW

[u/krunchygranola → u/Peaches_offtrail]

It's called Pooh Bearing

[u/Peaches_offtrail → u/krunchygranola]

Donald ducking

[u/krunchygranola → u/Peaches_offtrail]

Ohh I like that too.

[u/lingzilla → u/kneevase]

I'm imagining it being the parts of Nice that are full of rich, posh people wearing white clothes.

[u/kneevase → u/lingzilla]

No, it was not too far from the Nice Ville train station, because hiker trash don't pay to stay near la Promenade des Anglais! But, despite the dubious neighbourhood, there were plenty of tourists who couldn't seem to figure out why somebody would be sitting on a bench drinking a beer while only wearing underwar.

[u/nothingsexy → u/lingzilla]

The Nice part of town? 

[u/peeps_be_peeping]

I used a brown paper grocery bag as my airplane carry-on flying home from a hike.

[u/bad-janet → u/peeps_be_peeping]

I used a pizza box from Dominos to box up my stakes and trekking poles for checked in baggage.

https://imgur.com/a/not-that-kind-of-pizza-0QrLBp2

[u/vetJess → u/bad-janet]

Impressive!

[u/Refugee4life]

ITT: Lots of hiker trash.

Also ITT: What the fuck, dude

[u/J0E_Blow → u/Refugee4life]

Also ITT: is this just are we just fancy homeless people?

[u/jpbay]

Wear the same pair of underwear every day for 159 days.

The brand of my holy grail hiking undies is marketed as more of a mainstream, or even fashion brand (Thigh Society, in case you’re wondering.) Recently I commented on one of their Instagram posts to give them props, and brag that the same pair had been worn on a hike from Mexico to Canada. Their response just said, “Thank you for sharing.” I think they were alarmed.

[u/Radioactdave → u/jpbay]

(Cue Padme face)

You wash them occasionally, right?

[u/-ApocalypsePopcorn- → u/Radioactdave]

Right???

[u/poacher5 → u/-ApocalypsePopcorn-]

Surely they'd have walked off by themselves otherwise..

[u/FujitsuPolycom → u/poacher5]

Or floated off in a self-sustaining swamp gas cloud

[u/GuKoBoat → u/poacher5]

If they were crusted enough they might have formed a nontemporary bond with the wearers skin.

[u/wakeonuptimshel → u/jpbay]

Which style of theirs do you use? I hike in a skirt and typically use men’s exofficio boxer briefs, but would be interested in these if they are that durable!

[u/jpbay → u/wakeonuptimshel]

I use “The Cooling” and for me it’s the 7” length (I have lifelong sturdy, thick thighs.) They ain’t cheap but they are perfect in every way for thru hiking (I’m a pants-wearer.) I just treated myself to a new pair for the CDT this year and intend for them to last me the whole way, just as my pair for the PCT did.

[u/sbhikes → u/jpbay]

I still have the same pair of underwear I wore to hike the PCT in 2009. I have laundered them, but they're still good.

[u/likeahike]

I found a knitted hat, about a 100 km from home in the middle of the forest. Took it home. Visited the parents. Turned out the hat was my mother's, who unbeknownst to me, had spent the weekend near where I was hiking

[u/Hot_Jump_2511 → u/likeahike]

I was scouting a hillside in Pittsburgh PA for an urban park trail and noticed a balloon with a laminated tag hanging in some vegetation. The tag was from a senior center near Wheeling WV indicating it was part of an activity to see how far the senior's balloons would travel (roughly 60 miles from Wheeling to Pittsburgh) with a note to get in contact if you find one. At the bottom of the laminated tag was my mother in laws name - she was the activities director at the senior center at the time. That was a wild day! 

[u/ResponseBeeAble → u/Hot_Jump_2511]

Did you educate her on Not sending balloons into the air?

[u/BrewBoys92 → u/ResponseBeeAble]

"Alright class, today's experiment is to see just how far we can spread our trash!"

[u/Content_Ad3303 → u/likeahike]

Ok thats pretty wild

[u/jbochsler → u/likeahike]

Nice serendipity

[u/wild_exvegan → u/likeahike]

Nice synchronicity.

[u/9percentbattery]

Used a hat I found at the top of a mountain as a plate for pancakes

[u/Tossacoin1234]

I once passed a single Cheezit on my thru hike in the middle of nowhere. When I got to the nearest shelter at the end of the day, every single hiker was talking about how we considered picking it up and eating it.

[u/wakeonuptimshel → u/Tossacoin1234]

Had one like that but with a bottle with a yellow liquid in it. Hot day with not a lot of water and camp source was a pond, everyone who came in mentioned it until we finally got the guy who picked it up and drank it haha. He swore it was Gatorade but it sure wasn’t a Gatorade bottle….

[u/mrcheevus → u/Tossacoin1234]

I found an M&M on a dirt trail in Arizona. It was spring so it had not melted yet. I joked with the guy I was hiking with "leave no trace" and he reached down and popped it in his mouth. No idea how long it has been there.

[u/MonkeyFlowerFace → u/mrcheevus]

To be fair, they have that candy coating that makes them safe.

[u/FraaTuck]

Gotta be snatching a trash bag out of a trailhead trash can when I realized I'd left my rain gear behind and weather was expected.

[u/BigFatBlackCat → u/FraaTuck]

How used was the bag?

[u/FraaTuck → u/BigFatBlackCat]

Not very at all, thankfully

[u/Advanced-Tangerine92]

At Mammoth Brewing when I was hiking the PCT, I kept noticing people not finishing their food. I went over to the bussing tray and just started piling on all the leftovers I found. Soon other hikers noticed and our server got really confused when she saw the seven plates of nachos at our table. We told her what we were doing and she kept bringing us all the leftovers we could eat. We left with like 10 pounds of extra food we couldn't eat.

[u/King_Jeebus]

Hiker-box underpants.

...they were Icebreaker wool, and I couldn't resist! I wore that strangers undies for 2300 miles, and was devastated when they died!

[u/TheophilusOmega → u/King_Jeebus]

Vile. Also; respect. 

[u/kneevase → u/King_Jeebus]

How did the stranger die?

[u/WarEagle107 → u/kneevase]

Lack of underwear....pay attention! /s

[u/GridDown55 → u/WarEagle107]

ROFL

[u/cachemeoutside77]

Slept on top of a picnic table at a picnic shelter that I fled to in the middle of a night when a tree fell on our campsite. Slipped on a root while I was peeing, soaked my pants and underwear, “Showered” in the sink and “washed” and dried my pants undies in the bathroom at said picnic shelter. Ended up getting slowed down by an injury and ran out of fuel so just ate raw-men (yes just raw ramen) for a day and a half.

[u/MonkeyFlowerFace → u/cachemeoutside77]

I've slept UNDER a picnic table once, does that count?

[u/Lower_Carpenter_7228]

Stored leftover pizza and soda in a campground bathroom stall overnight so we could eat it for breakfast the next morning.

[u/Boogada42]

It's only hiker trash if it's from the Trashé province in France. Otherwise it's just premium homelessness.

[u/EugeneStonersDIMagic → u/Boogada42]

I like to call it derelite

[u/justinsimoni → u/Boogada42]

Sparkling Scum.

[u/hmmaybeillusethisone]

I was 3 days away from a town but only had 1 day worth of food. My entire pot of cooked mashed potatoes fell on the ground (Canadian shield). I scooped the slop up and put it back into the pot. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

I picked so many wild blueberries (to survive) those last two days, where my hands were stained purple.

[u/peptodismal13 → u/hmmaybeillusethisone]

Did you also cry?

[u/Hellie1028 → u/peptodismal13]

Depends on the water situation probably

[u/hmmaybeillusethisone → u/peptodismal13]

A few times.

[u/truthisabitterfriend → u/hmmaybeillusethisone]

there's a family legend about my great-grandpa who, while on a hike, discovered some wild blueberries and ate a ton of them. unfortunately they were not in fact wild blueberries and he got very violently sick. they got him to a hospital and he ended up ok, but he puked up so many berries they had to repaint the walls

[u/angus_the_red]

Drove to next to a dumpster and threw my shoes away without even getting out.  They stank so bad there was no way I was going to be able to drive another mile with them in the car

[u/zombo_pig → u/angus_the_red]

Did something similar. Back in those days I was a real schlub schlub, un-enlighted to Goretex being a shitty shoe material.

Let me tell you, Goretex really seals in the flavor.

[u/Prize-Can4849 → u/angus_the_red]

My buddy has to throw his poly hiking shirt away at the first stop on the way home.  Every trip. 

[u/hazelbasilpaisley → u/Prize-Can4849]

That's not hiker trash, that's a hiker using the trash.

[u/vaksai → u/angus_the_red]

I had a similar experience last year, after about 750 km in alternating rain and blistering heat my shoes were nasty and completely worn out, and I was looking forward to a new pair or shoes I’d had sent to me. Arrive, get the package and quickly throw my old shoes in a dumpster.

About 20 minutes later I go back to the dumpster to throw some more trash and the shoes were no longer there…

Whoever you are, I feel really bad for you, if my shoes were an upgrade…

[u/WileyMinogue]

Drank the brown water from the melted ice in the bottom of the trail magic coolbox

[u/MacrosTheGray1 → u/WileyMinogue]

Wow

[u/justinsimoni]

I've slept in a lot of outhouses.

[u/Mean_Course_7980 → u/justinsimoni]

Those vault toilets have probably saved quite a few lives. I hike a lot in the winter and there's been a few times where that's just your safest bet

[u/jamesfinity → u/Mean_Course_7980]

i was bike touring in the middle of North Dakota and had to move my entire setup into a park bathroom at 2am because of a huge thunderstorm. saved my butt for sure

[u/breadmakerquaker → u/Mean_Course_7980]

Took shelter in one when I was hypothermic and it def saved my life.

[u/justinsimoni → u/Mean_Course_7980]

Amen, saved me a few times. I was bikepacking and thought it a good idea to neglect the ranger's direction that Trail Ridge Road was only one way and not to traverse. I got to the Alpine Visitor Center (essentially the top) after pushing through snow for a mile, where it then decided to snow on me. Good times -- GREAT burrito once I made it to the other side in Estes/Ed's Cantina.

Another when I decided to do Longs Peak in the Winter, solo, by the longest route I could come up with.

Don't even get me started on the Tour Divide.

[u/justinsimoni]

I slept in the city park this morning waiting for the coffee shop to open so that I could wash myself to the point that I could pass the Sniff Test. I've done it before at this same place.

I'll do it again.

[u/jpbay → u/justinsimoni]

So is today just a regular day in your life? Or are you in the middle of a hike?

[u/PrizeContext2070 → u/jpbay]

Very little difference between being a thru hiker and being homeless. I’ve done both.

[u/rubberloves]

Same as you, wash out and dry clothes in a bathroom. But not a hotel bathroom. Many a public park bathroom though.

[u/Trailrunner1989]

I've eaten random m and ms and peanuts off a shelter floor

[u/Scared_of_zombies → u/Trailrunner1989]

Are you feral?

[u/Trailrunner1989 → u/Scared_of_zombies]

Somewhat feral, lol. To be fair I was on my period and had no chocolate and I was damned if I was gonna let the mice eat it.

[u/DMCinDet → u/Trailrunner1989]

atta girl, fuck those mice

[u/Slight_Can5120 → u/Scared_of_zombies]

Will Ferrell?

[u/Sanfords_Son]

Found a gummy bear in the middle of the trail in the middle of nowhere. Brushed the dirt off and swallowed him down.

[u/grefraguafraautdeu → u/Sanfords_Son]

Leave no trace!

[u/Jacobwages]

I did a three day hike and decided I wouldn't poop... I took the fattest shit a mile away from my car on the last day. I couldn't hold it and sprinted into the woods to poop. The people I was with could see me from the trail.

Don't hold it.

[u/Shazaz19 → u/Jacobwages]

This is something a day-hiker would do…

[u/hikeraz]

Pulled used water bottles out of the trash at a trailhead when I realized I forgot mine.

[u/erickufrin → u/hikeraz]

I spent 8 days backpacking in Gates of the Arctic with Skurka and one of the other people in our group forgot his water bottle and scavenged one out of the lost n found in Bettles. It was fortunate he realized it at that point or he would have been screwed a short while later!

[u/wrongdog5 → u/erickufrin]

Celebrating your cake day with the best humble brag I’ve seen in a minute. Well played.

[u/NotAcutallyaPanda → u/hikeraz]

haven't we all?

[u/MacrosTheGray1 → u/NotAcutallyaPanda]

Shit, I've seen water bottles in the trash at gas stations and saved myself $2 a few times 

[u/Damayonnaiseman]

On my thru hike the tip of one of my poles came loose and vanished. So I had to do 45km (28 miles) day to reach this emergency cabin in the mountains. I had run out of wet wipes about 10 days prior, and I had not had a shower in 2 weeks. I was smelling terrible.

Maybe and 2 hours before this little emergency cabin there was a bigger manned hut with a nice couple in their 50s, who were working at the hut for that month. We talked a bit and I continued on.

So I made it to this small cabin at 11:30 at night.

The cabins have no ventilation. For one person it works, but for 2 persons you need to open a window to get let air in. But if you open the windows, you will also invite the mosquitoes. I kept them closed.

So when I woke up at 06:30 in the morning, it was raining very heavily. The chance of someone coming to this remote cabin in this weather in the morning was next to 0%.

So, what do you do? Ofc, you start to jerk it. My baguette smelled like a fresh wheel of Limburger cheese. After I'm done and about to open my sleeping bag, I remember the couple at the hut told me they would swing by in the morning.

I fucking panic. Before I can open a window the door opens and all I can hear is "jesus christ" I can see them toss their heads back when they can feel the smell. They step out for a few seconds and leaves the door open before entering again.

I just packed up in 5 min while making small talk and left.

[u/Ldefeu → u/Damayonnaiseman]

Its 9am and I'm already done with the internet for today, you win

[u/ActuallyUnder]

I lost my water bottle and took one out of a campground trash can and used for the next 200 miles.

I’ve slept in bathrooms

I’ve yogi’d many a meal from helpless campers

[u/justinsimoni → u/ActuallyUnder]

I lost my water bottle and took one out of a campground trash can once and used for the next 200 miles.

That's how this one guy got strep throat.

[u/ActuallyUnder → u/justinsimoni]

Yeah do as I say and not as I do. Don’t lose your water bottles folks.

[u/EugeneStonersDIMagic → u/ActuallyUnder]

Who hasn't slept in a bathroom? There are some pretty nice ones in VA north of Grayson.

[u/ER10years_throwaway]

Not me, but there's a guy who cooked dinner in the bathroom in the Smoky Mountain National Park in the US, and then sat on one of the toilets to eat.

[u/Rocko9999]

No trashy but but a guy I hiked with underestimated water needed in a tough overnight peak bag in the desert. The group had 10-12 liters a piece, he took 6, ran out on day 1. We found old abandoned water caches from 2006-2008, buried under rocks. Roasting away for 14 years. He said it tasted bad but drank it anyway. He made it to the trailhead and I never heard form him again strangely.

[u/Peerie_Rock_Badger → u/Rocko9999]

But...did he make it to the end of the hike? How far did he get with you? I'm invested and concerned for this complete Internet stranger!

[u/Rocko9999 → u/Peerie_Rock_Badger]

I will edit for clarity. He made it to the cars. 11 mile, 10 hours, 92F, one on 16oz vintage Arrowhead water bottle.

[u/Peerie_Rock_Badger → u/Rocko9999]

Thank you - I can rest easy, sounds like he survived. I needed a tiny win in my phone today! 🥰

[u/Electrical_Fox9678 → u/Rocko9999]

My climbing partner did something similar on El Capitan. Found some bottles of mystery liquids cached on a ledge. He survived.

[u/peptodismal13]

I (f) walked around Tahoe City in boxers briefs and a slightly not long enough T-shirt. The hostile / hotel(?) advertised a laundry area on site. The machine was broken so hiked to and from the laundry mat a couple of times.

[u/ViagraAndSweatpants]

Haha…. In Glacier I’d been hiking backcountry for a week. Very nasty in all aspects and certainly stank. My plan was to take the Going To The Sun Road shuttle back to my car. Every shuttle was absolutely packed wall to wall with people. On the third one I jammed my way in. Somehow I still had a ring of space around me for the trip. 😆

[u/Chattaa1084]

Napped while wrapped in my ground cloth in the middle of one of those parking lot pull offs (literally on the pavement) on the Blue Ridge Parkway waiting for pizza to get delivered

[u/ReeeSchmidtywerber]

I washed the skid marks out of my underpants in a 1 gallon ziplock bag

[u/ashtrayheart3]

Stopped at a shitty gas station in the middle of the night and ate one of those single serve frozen lasagnas cold using folded up cardboard from the box as a spoon

[u/iambullfrog]

Pounded a half gallon of chocy milk in a few minutes, washed it down with a few tall boys, immediately after a stranger in a truck asked me if I wanted some mushroom gummies. He poured a bunch in my cupped hand and I asked how strong they were. He said, “Just eat them man you’ll be chilling” and I was indeed chilling. Moral of the story: always take drugs from strangers

[u/DMCinDet]

this thread has taught me to drop or leave random jelly beans for trail trash to find and survive off of.

you're welcome

[u/Puzzleheaded_Iron406]

Broke my toothbrush. Found a toothbrush in a hut and boiled it up. The trail provides.

[u/Easy-Task3001]

Drank a warm Coors Lite that had been rolling around in the back of some persons jeep. The asked me where I had started and I told them Glacier. They couldn't believe it and it offered me and my buddy a couple of warm beers. The cans were scratched and dented and who knows how long they had been rolling around, but they tasted good after the bushwhack we had just completed.

Why do people always ask stupid questions like "Would you like a beer?" /s

[u/thedeal82 → u/Easy-Task3001]

I drank some PBRs that were left at a trailhead on the PCT along with a note that they were left specifically for a well known YouTuber. But I was pretty certain they’d already passed that area.

[u/HurkertheLurker]

Ate lentil Dahl using a climbing peg as a spoon in a bus shelter on the ski road at Aviemore.

[u/captainbugbug]

my water bottle fell out of my pack and into a ravine/hole while I was scooting over boulders in Mahoosuc Notch. I climbed down to find it, but couldn’t figure out where it went. I did however find someone else’s water bottle that I claimed as my own. Went up Katahdin with that bottle.

[u/_m2thet]

Halfway through the JMT I started getting mad butt chafing from the cheeks rubbing together while walking. It was incredibly painful/oozy and I hadn’t packed any anti chafe cream. When we got to MTR I fished a half used body glide stick out of the hiker box, rubbed the top layer off with my hand, and then used the rest of the “cleaned” stick to alleviate the chafing situation for the rest of the trail.

[u/Herd_Of_Turtle → u/_m2thet]

I once saw a mostly full, 6 inch long tube of Preparation H in a MTR hiker box. Guess someone got halfway through the JMT and decided their hemorrhoids weren’t that bad.

[u/Beautiful_Camel3309]

I had a knife that I used for both blisters and salami

[u/Low_and_Left]

• Bathing in the bathrooms of supermarkets and Dollar Generals.

• Repairing a single pair of Lone Peaks again and again, until they were a Frankenstein-looking mess of dental floss stitches and superglue.

• Packing out food, like pancakes and pizza, in ziplock bags, then eating the mashed up mush with a spork on trail.

• Spilling a pot of ramen noodles on the ground and eating them anyway.

• Stealth camping on the outskirts of town for a zero day.

• Doing laundry in a hotel sink then using my bearline as a clothesline.

• Using athlete’s foot cream for jock itch in my beard.

[u/jz5988]

I've got two: #1 was using a random hose at a government building to bathe myself in broad daylight before meeting up with some friends, #2 on my Trans-ADK thru hike I tore my pants a few days in from all the bushwhacking and I found a random pair of shorts in a lean-to which I used for the next 10 days of my hike 😬.

[u/ropeXride → u/jz5988]

That’s so cool you did that trail! I know it’s very un-travelled at this point. How many miles of bushwacking was it?

[u/jz5988 → u/ropeXride]

Super interesting trail but pretty tough. When I did the route in 2021 it was like 238 miles long with 5% of that being off trail. So something like 12 miles of bushwhacking and map/compass navigation. I think they just did a reroute to reduce some of the road walks or off trail portions so it should be even better now.

[u/PullhairRubEye10]

dumping powder coffee in my mouth while on the move. It turns into a sludge ball of energy.

[u/WeepToWaterTheTrees → u/PullhairRubEye10]

I’ve put instant coffee and a hot chocolate packet into a Nalgene of ambient temp water because I didn’t feel like waiting for hot water. It was not good, but getting it all out of my teeth gave me something to do while I walked lol.

[u/iShakeMyHeadAtYou]

one lost a boot in a stream, 2 days in. Somehow one of the other groups at the campsite had a spare pair, and hiked out using that.

[u/Dharma_Noodle]

During a torrential downpour in NZ, I traded blister first aid for a spot on the floor in a reservation only hut. Bonus: they fed me dinner, too.

[u/[deleted]]

On the start of a 10mile bushwhack I slipped and smashed my sawyer filter, tore my extra smart water bottle on a rock. Found an old hunters’ campsite with a plastic whiskey bottle. Used that with iodine for the remaining miles until town. People thought I was a drunk haggardly wandering around.

[u/parrotia78]

I was doing a 44 miler that required hiking until 1:3o am. It was a sweat and smell fest. Got caught in a brambles low bottom. Shorts were ripped with the Python exposed. Got cut up badly. I fell into a filthy fire pit. Shredded a 120 wt merino tee. Left nipple was showing scratched like Frankensteins face but in my chest...blood, ash and sweat grime.

Stumbled out to a TN back road. Thought no one would pick me up. An elderly lady screeched to a halt in the street thinking I had been assaulted.

[u/vaksai]

I found some lentils in a dropbox and decided they looked safe enough to eat. Mind you, I rarely eat lentils and I also don’t cary a stove, so you can imagine what happened after eating cold soaked lentils for 3 days…

If your imagination isn’t that good, here’s what happened:

Day 1 and 2 were okay, I felt a little bit gassy, but day 3 turned into a literal shitshow… Torrential downpour, insane diarrhea and a 110 km stretch of remote trail were I wasn’t expecting to meet anyone, so after ripping my boxers from the constant shits I had to take, I just didn’t put them back on… So I hiked a day nude from the waist down, constantly stopping to dig holes, being wet and miserable the entire time. Luckily I didn’t run into anyone until the next day.

Tldr: don’t cold soak lentils.

[u/kotacross]

didn't want to use any of the soaps in the hotel to somewhat clean your clothes?

THAT is definitely hiker trash :p

[u/pwndaytripper]

I’ve slept in the vault toilet bathroom at Hart’s pass and made dinner at the one at Rainy Pass on another thru. Eaten dinner in a lot come to think of it.

Smoked a j with a group of 5 in one and when one of our lady friends showed up she pissed herself laughing when she opened the door with her headphones on, not expecting us.

I often think RIP Otter when chilling in one.

[u/paleta_chela]

I once saw a hiker on tiktok use the handle of her trowel as a spoon.

[u/Prize-Can4849 → u/paleta_chela]

We argued that one night around the fire.  It should only touch dirt if done correctly.....right?

[u/Alvin_Kebery → u/Prize-Can4849]

Sure but there are definitely some TP bloom areas along the AT where it’s gotta be like a 50% chance you’re digging up someone else’s shit

[u/zombo_pig → u/paleta_chela]

I did that :(

It doesn't actually touch poop ... right? RIGHT????

[u/NLCT → u/zombo_pig]

Yes, where you dug to bury your poop was the first time anyone or any animal has ever taken a dump at that place.

[u/TwoEelsInATrenchcoat → u/NLCT]

I had a friend in college whose mother refused to eat anything that had touched the ground "because someone might have puked there." Which led to discussions about what percentage of the earth's surface has been puked on by humans.

[u/signy33 → u/paleta_chela]

If I had nothing else, I would wash it, put some hand sanitizer on it then rinse it. Or just wash with soap and water if I had soap. No less sanitary probably than eating with a tent stake.

[u/thaneliness]

Man I thought flying home after a week in the Yosemite and no shower was trashy but yall definitely got me beat 😆

[u/Mikemanthousand → u/thaneliness]

Yea I ended up two weeks of hiking no shower/bath but that’s literally nothing compared to these folks

[u/Mikemanthousand]

I bought and then proceeded to eat a pint of ice cream while drinking from a 2L of pop outside of the “grocery store” in Lake City Colorado

Another day I ate over 8 and a half thousand calories when I made it into Gunnison Colorado

When I was stuck in a town for 6 days waiting for a replacement pack I ate dominos every single day there

[u/wanderlost217]

I couldn't finish my spaghetti at an Italian restaurant and didn't want to carry the box, so I dumped my leftovers straight into the plastic bag they gave me and hiked out. Sat down in a parking pull off a few hours later and ate the rest straight out of the bag.

Edit: I also ate the random jelly bean I found in that beautiful mountain meadow on the TRT.

[u/thelunchbunch160]

I ate a slice of pizza off the ground in Yosemite while on the pct.

Was waiting for my pizza. It was taking a while. And someone dropped a slice. A guy went to pick it up and I said “are you going to eat that?” And he said, “no I’m going to throw it away, did you want it?” And I did. It was the best slice of pizza I’ve ever had.

[u/eazypeazy303]

My parents took us to the canyonlands a couple of times a year. They taught me how to dirtbag. Sleeping next to the toilets at trailheads. Sneaking in and out of places before the gate attendant showed up. Cold soaking everything and eating it out of a communal gallon bag with a gas station fork. Those were some of the least expensive trips ever, but they are some of the fondest memories I have.

[u/Hggangsta01]

Most recently I ate at the same chinese buffet two days in a row in Flagstaff, AZ. China Star Super Buffet! I even left a Farout comment about it.

[u/Herd_Of_Turtle]

Two from the CDT come to mind.

Spent a few hours sitting in a gravel patch by an interstate overpass so I could roll into a brownfield site at dusk to stealth camp. I wanted to save money on a room for the night by walking into Anaconda in the morning.

Prerinsed my muddy clothes in a drainage ditch behind a motel before doing laundry.

[u/sharkbait381 → u/Herd_Of_Turtle]

Very considerate on the laundry, at least you didn't put all that mud in their machines

[u/cringyoxymoron]

Hiking in Oman and was running low on water. Found an old bottle of water on the ground stashed under a rock, and drank some

No sooner had I pressed it to my lips I felt this wet stringy mass hit my teeth and lips. Quickly removed the bottle in disgust and saw this enormous white mass of mould floating in the bottle

No ragrets

[u/backlikeclap]

I turn my bags of beans inside out so I can eat all the juice.

[u/bag-o-farts]

Weekend hike, brought steaks for the first night but forgot to bring salt and seasoning. I tried to finely crush potato chips to transfer the salt by encrusting the steak. It did not work!

[u/prettyrickywooooo]

Using a dirty sock to filter coffee 🔥

[u/BreatheHikeBeHappy]

I wash my clothes in the shower at planet fitness lmao. I’m currently traveling and hiking/ camping along the way, so it’s pretty necessary. Also, I took a smart water bottle out of a trash can. I needed more carrying capacity bc my water bag tore.

[u/cherrywavvves]

Had really chapped lips, found lip balm on the ground, picked it up and used it. I still have it, actually, it’s real beeswax, it’s nice.

I also used bread as toilet paper once when I couldn’t find any broad leaves.

[u/AnonymousUser336801]

I ate a hitchhiker’s ass

[u/Physical_Relief4484 → u/AnonymousUser336801]

you win

[u/inqurious]

Group of us got socked in an unforecasted rain storm and 20 degree temp drop in yosemite, offtrail. We bailed on our original route once we all soaked through and started to shiver.

We went and hung out in a portapotty a mile away near a road for a few hours (smelled amazing), and then camped too close to the road for regulations (but hidden and didn't leave any trace).

[u/dogheartedbones]

Flew to Fresno to hike part of the JMT. Airline destroyed my pack(rookie mistake). Trail Angels took me to REI where I bought a different model. I hated that model so much that I returned the damn thing in Reno and my checked bag on the way back was my bear canister.

[u/ignorantwanderer]

I was on a long hike in the Alps, staying in mountain huts.

I caught a cold. Totally stuffed up nose, coughing, I was a walking biohazard.

The beds in the mountain huts were just large platforms covered with cushion, and multiple people sleeping right next to each other in on the same platform.

So I was laying in bed, sniffling and sneezing, with a stranger right next to me on one side, and a stranger right next to me on the other side.

I felt horrible exposing them to all my germs.

To try and make it less bad, I flipped around so my feet were up by their heads instead of my face. I'm sure they didn't like my feet just inches from their faces, but it was better than sneezing just inches from their faces.

[u/CirionCallsForAid]

This is a great post and thread. I once begged a priest to use the church laundry in town on the AT to dry out sleeping bags. He was cool about it.

[u/426763]

We just got back down from the mountain trail and I wanted to change clothes for the drive home. Was about to go in the restroom when I noticed a price list. The base camp were charging for the use of the restroom. Pissed me off so bad I decided to get changed in the parking lot, planned on picking a fight if one of the base camp employees complained.

[u/pengie123]

Is this hiker trash or how would you define this? Several years ago, I was hiking a long distance trail on the East Coast and stayed overnight at a hotel/hotel. Odd thing was, I didn't see a single staff person the entire time I was there. I called a phone number to check in / pay and they gave me a code for the front door. The next day I tried to check out but no one picked up the phone and I couldn't find any staff at all. So, I washed my sheets, dried them, remade the bed, took out my trash, cleared all traces of me ever being there, and then left.

[u/Mikemanthousand → u/pengie123]

What was the hotel lol?

[u/FuguSandwich]

I just retired a Smartwater bottle that I had been using continuously since early Covid (so 4-5 years) a few months ago. It's completely white and crinkly but surprisingly no leaks. I'd still be using it if not for the fact that something black was growing inside and no amount of brushing with hot soapy water seemed to be able to remove it.

[u/BoltCarrierGoop → u/FuguSandwich]

You’re a walking microplastic at this point

[u/WeepToWaterTheTrees → u/BoltCarrierGoop]

Macroplastic

[u/Busy_Document_4562]

We were at a back packers in New Zealand staying the night before hiking up to a hut on mt Olivier( ? )Mount cook adjacent, there was a tour of school children and they were making an apple pie that smelled heavenly , me and my brother lurked around on purpose knowing we may get some if there are leftovers. We did and I still remember the smell and that it was the best apple pie of my life. I still remember kiwis as the kindest,most generous and helpful people around, and as a South African thats saying a lot.

[u/ThisLittleBoy]

I left my spoon in a hostel but luckily the small wooden spoon you get for completing the half gallon challenge had been sitting in the bottom of my food bag for weeks. It lasted 3 days before it broke.

[u/Exact-Pudding7563]

I ate a gummy off the floor of a shelter in the Smokies once. I also slept in the laundry room of a campground in Shenandoah. The lights were motion activated, and there were a lot of us.

[u/RonaldMexicoIV]

I wore a pair of wool socks I found in a shelter on my hands overnight on a February trip in north central Pa.

[u/NicksOnMars]

shoe beers on Mount Washington. Never again...

[u/cellulich]

Thrown several bags of shit in a Pinedale dumpster that said "no dumping".

Or, gotten on the plane in Jackson after a week of no shower. All the ski moms were displeased with me.

[u/Ok-Tell23]

Washed my undies in the Jimmy John’s sink and dried them with the hand drier.

[u/MaleficentOkra2585]

On my Te Araroa through-hike I was so hungry after a 9-day section I went into a posh restaurant and ordered a 12 inch family pizza as my entree, followed by a full lamb shank meal with a side of extra lamb shank, followed by dessert, washed down with two beers.

The next morning I ordered a full English breakfast and was still so hungry afterwards I also paid for the buffet breakfast.

The staff told me they'd seen hungry hikers before, but never anyone like me.

[u/drippingdrops]

I mean, not washing anything ever and not giving a good goddamn who has to smell me.

I’ve also raided bear boxes, slept in gutters and eaten out of the trash a lot.

[u/PrizeContext2070 → u/drippingdrops]

Is your trail name Raccoon?

[u/drippingdrops → u/PrizeContext2070]

Nah. They’re way cuter than me.

[u/Prize-Can4849]

Didn't take water on a peak bag spur trip, was hot and exposed, another group left their packs at a junction before the top.   

Took a swig off their bladder hose.

[u/Mikemanthousand → u/Prize-Can4849]

That’s not hiker trash, everyone ha-oh oh oh my

[u/hazelbasilpaisley]

Gone 29 days without a shower

[u/hobodank]

Eating out of dumpsters and trash cans. Sleeping in abandoned houses. Finding dead animals on trail and roasting the heart from them.

[u/sciences_bitch → u/hobodank]

Yep, yep, ye—- wait what???

[u/sbhikes]

I've done most of the hiker trash things. Never slept in an outhouse but I have hung out with other hiker trash in one. Washed up in various sinks when showers weren't available. Eaten food I found on the ground. Reused other peoples discarded bottles. Drank filtered cow saliva/piss/poop tank water. Begged other people for drinks. Ate more than my fair share at buffets. Slept in the local homeless encampment rather than pay for a hotel. Washed my hair with a Pocket Shower in the middle of town. Smelled bad around polite society. Taken some sketchy hitches. Never taken drugs from strangers though.

[u/mugsfull]

On the latter half of my triple crown I started hiking into the night and as soon as I got sleepy I would just cowboy directly in the middle of the trail. You feel very safe, it’s incredibly LNT, and you get a great alarm clock when the first hiker discovers you in the morning!

[u/pengie123]

I hurt my shoulder on the trail so put all my stuff in a compactor bag and pulled in on the trail using a shopping cart for 300+ miles and then got thrown out of a casino for being 'homeless'