Polar Bear Shower

One of the enduring areas of interest in our life here at Walden Puddle concerns our bathroom and bathing arrangements. Not bathing at all might be a good option as we would save a lot of water, but the downside might be that they would not let us into the stores in town. Our first strategy was to buy a season pass for the regional park near here. This worked ok for the first while, but was time consuming and inconvenient. Our next attempt at something better than a simple Navy scrub was made when E ordered in a couple of camp showers. These are simply a plastic water bag with a showerhead attached that can be hung up. The idea is that you fill it with water, hang it up and after the sun shines on it a few hours, you have a nice warm shower. This worked ok on a hot summer day. Hanging up the full bag anywhere high enough to stand under was challenging and a little dangerous. After a couple of attempts at hanging the full bag from my orchard ladder, I decided something better was needed. I built a rough framework on a base made from a salvaged pallet. It provided a framework strong enough that the water bag could be raised by a rope passing through a pair of pulleys. A boat style cleat provided a quick and easy way to secure the rope once the bag has been raised to the proper position. At first the framework was left open, but as the temperature started dropping, a tarp enclosure was added to shield the user from unwelcome breezes. We have enough privacy out here that modesty was not really the issue there. By heating the water on the stove before filling the bag, we were both able to keep using the outdoor shower well into the fall. At a certain point E decided to forsake the outdoor version in favour of an ever more sophisticated system of indoor washing up that includes multiple wash basins and specialised procedures.
Myself I still like to supplement my simple daily navy scrubs with a proper shower whenever the conditions seem favourable. I watch for warmer days, but the real important factor is wind. As long as it is a dead calm day, I have enjoyed my outdoor shower on days as cold as -20c. I am scheming about setting up something in the workshop for winter use (time allowing), but right now I have batter fish to fry. I have to get that bedroom insulated before the real cold arrives.