Scrubbing Up at our Fourpeaks Backcountry Camps. How do we do it at camp with limited water and no electricty? With a new-fangled portable shower. That's luxury camping! Or we just have fun with the time-tested oldfashion ways of years ago. CLICK & GO! (On this page.) Bathing Years Ago. The Portable Shower Bath The Bucket Bath The Tin Washtub Bath The Saturday Night Cowboy Bath The Outdoor Shower Bath The Brook Bath About Limited water supply at our Backcountry Camps. Guest Notes: "The tin washtub method (not cowboy bath) was exquisite." "the candlelit bath I took in the Wash House was the most unforgettable bathing experience I've ever had" ". . . ..the cowboy bath-who knew you could have so much fun in 4" of water." 
Bathing Years Ago. How did they do it years ago with no power or running water?
Hand pumps. Spring or brook water. Collecting water in cisterns (holding tanks). Bathing at home even on main street was pretty much the same as at our Fourpeaks camps today. Only big cities had water systems with remote reservoirs. No water pressure to speak of. No showers at all. The bathing method depended on the season and the setting. Here are a few recipes that have been handed down though the years plus some new twists with modern day camping showers.
The Portable Shower Bath. for folks who really appreciate the convenience of bathing in a shower, portable battery operated and/or pressure tank portable showers are standard equipment at Fourpeaks camps. Battery operated: Heat 4-plus gallons of warm/hot water (you decide) and pour into a five gallon plastic pail. The battery pack is fitted to the side of the pail. The pump body is at the bottom of the pail. Tap the switch and Voila! A hot (handheld, of course) shower. Pressure tank: Take just 2 gallons of water. Operate pump handle to start and then again as when required for pressure. Careful not to lose gasket (see photo). You may shower standing in the bathtub at camp, in a big tin washtub in front of the fire, or outdoors any place. Enjoy. (CLICK HERE for bigger picture of scenic bathing with portable battery-powered shower, showing details of apparatus.)
The Tin Washtub Bath. Nice and cozy by the kitchen range or woodstove? Feel like having some bathing fun? Just set a 15 gallon tin washtub on the floor and fill it half full of tempered hot water. Step your feet into the tub, get a rag soapy wet and scrub yourself all over. To rinse off, get the rag soppy wet with water from the tub and drizzle the water over your head and body until rinsed of soap. Take care soaping up and rinsing to let the water run back in the tub, not onto the floor. Kids and some folks can fit right in the tub sitting down. Try it. There's one of these big washtubs at every Fourpeaks camp and this is an efficient method for bathing at camp--less time, less water than a full bathtub. Sunny summertime idea: Fill the tub with water in the morning and set it in the sun. By the end of the day it's just right for a backcountry bath. [CLICK HERE for fullsize image of Mom giving Junior a washtub bath by the kitchen stove, circa 1890.]
The Saturday Night Cowboy Bath. In a room that's fitted with an old-fashion clawed foot tub, heat up 10 gallons of water hot as you can on either the kitchen range or woodstove. Pour the hot water into the bathtub and add 5 or 10 gallons of cold water or whatever it takes to temper the water for bathing. Get in and scrub up with soap and a rag. Slunker down to rinse off. Takes time to pump and heat the water. Years ago folks only did this once a week. There's an old-fashion bathtub like the one pictured above plus an efficient gas stove for heating water at four Fourpeaks camps (The Cabin, Sugar, New Camp and Ridge).
Cowboys know lots of tricks it's fun to learn about.
[CLICK HERE for postcard picture of a cowboy Saturday night bath at a Fourpeaks backcountry camp.] Outdoor Shower--Summer Only. Fill a store-bought plastic shower bag (like "Sunshower") with water and set it on the ground for 4-6 hours in the sun. End of the day hang the bag on a tree and let the water run on you till wet. Soap up good with a rag. Rinse the rag with fresh water and let the water drizzle over you till rinsed. Ask to borrow one of ours if you don't have a shower bag of your own. More fun (if you have someone to help pour) if you use an old fashion tin watering can. We have a supply just for the purpose.
#1095 "The tin washtub method (not cowboy bath) was exquisite. Thanks you Martin, Irene and George (the charmer) for making our stay here at Gypsy comfortable We had a lovely time getting lost in the woods and trying out the battery shower (cowboy showers are definitely the best way to go!). We hope to see you again, when we'll have more time to chat and ask questions-- We never get a chance to be alone and really appreciated the privacy. Take care, Julia From: Your Adirondack Guiude Date: Tue, 14 Oct 2003 07:33:31 -0400 To: u*****a@hotmail.com Subject: Re: Your Fourpeaks visit 10/10/03 to Gypsy Camp Dear Julia, Thanks for your nice note. I couldn't tell from it if you used the battery shower or not. Was that your cowboy shower? Need feedback. Let me know. Thanks. Please visit again. Best wishes, Martin Subject: Re: Your Fourpeaks visit 10/10/03 to Gypsy Camp Date: Tue, 14 Oct 2003 11:06:36 -0400 From: "julie c" To: Your Adirondack Guiude Hi Martin~ I had to revisit the website--guess I had some of my terminology mixed up. To clarify: the tin washtub method (not cowboy bath) was exquisite. We warmed up some water in the sun, thanks to the great weather, and mixed it with some water we boiled on the stove. Just sat out in the tub in the sun and took turns pouring pitchers of water over each other. This was all of a bath I needed and it was nice and rustic--appropriate to the surroundings. We used the battery shower to rinse off with. It felt like more of a novelty; I can't say that it was necessary. It's very simple and fun to use, however, and I 'm sure there are some guests who would appreciate it. I'll add some other comments in the guest book, but just wanted to let you know how much we loved Gypsy. We definitely picked the right place, with the gypsy trailer adding a certain playful element to the whole experience. We felt like carnies traveling from fair to fair, and imagined that there was a big festival taking place in the field around us. Obviously, it was fantastically inspiring for us to be there. Thank you, again. Have a wonderful autumn. Julia #1570 "the candlelit bath I took in the Wash House was the most unforgettable bathing experience I've ever had" Subject: Re: Your Fourpeaks visit 10/16/01 to New Camp Date: Thu, 01 Nov 2001 From: "Diana S***t" To: VisitUs@4peaks.com Dear Martin, Thanks for your email-- and sorry it's taken me so long to respond. First let me say again what a wonderful time I had at Four Peaks. I keep thinking about the quiet I experienced there-- internal as well as all around me, some old peace that settled itself into my body, out of the woods and mountains. When I was at New Camp I wrote two poems every day and never got in my car. I'd brought my laptop, but after a day and a half, I couldn't bear the thought of driving down out of my private world to a power source to charge it up, so I just sat out on the porch wrapped in blankets and wrote in my journal instead. And the candlelit bath I took in the Wash House was without a doubt the most unforgettable bathing experience I've ever had-- sounds of trickling water from the well below the floor, shadows on the wooden ceiling, and the awareness that there was no need to rush, I could stay there for hours filling the tub with more pots of hot water if I wanted. And so I am hoping to come back-- and hoping maybe to stay at Ridge Camp (with a friend) if it's available. I wonder if I qualify for a returning guest discount? Is there any chance that Ridge might be open for 3 nights Nov 29- Dec 2? Let me know what the story is-- and thanks again for all your help. Best, Diana p.s. I am working on poems from that week (revising). If you like I can email you some other poems another time. #0249 ". . . ..the cowboy bath-who knew you could have so much fun in 4" of water." Subject: Re: Your Fourpeaks visit 07/25/03 to Sugar Camp Date: Tue, 29 Jul 2003 From: carla p*** To: VisitUs@4peaks.com Sorry too, Martin, that we did not catch you before we left...we looked in all your usual places but to no avail. We enjoyed our backwoods camp immensely..the cowboy bath-who knew you could have so much fun in 4" of water..the beautiful vistas...the rolling breezes through the trees...hard rain on a tin roof. We enjoyed many a fine meal, reading by gas lamps and even completed a jigzaw puzzle! We took a small hike and stayed on camp until around 4 o'clock on Sunday. We hoped to go swimming, but with the rain..we missed the opportunity. All in all, it was totally relaxing and romantic. You really come to realize how much waste there is in the world and how much fun can be had with so little. We also discovered what a prolific poet you are-a sensitive man hiding in that gruffness. I especially enjoyed "Pretty House." Thank you, thank you, thank you for providing such a wonderful place of beauty and grace. Hope to do it again. Carla & Jimmy .  Are you in this picture? Fourpeaks hosts now welcome paying guests to a 700-acre rest and playground for vacations in the Adirondack Great Camp tradition. Couples appreciate Fourpeaks secluded settings. Outdoor loving families have fun exploring our accessible wilderness. Folks with dogs enjoy the open spaces to run their pets. A private nature rereat. For a vacation away from it all. Are you in this picture? CLICK HERE to find out! [More about this at Frequently Asked Questions.]  Inquire about a Fourpeaks Adirondack Vacation/Getaway. (Easy Inquiry Form.)
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