scrambling causes dirty hands, how do you wash clean when conserving water is utmost?

oh yeah the reason water conservation is utmost is because we are almost always climbing to a peak of a mountain meaning we are leaving behind the water sources near the foot of the hills.

Maybe wear gloves when scrambling?

Why do you need clean hands?

Hand sanitizer doesn't need water.

Rubbing my hands together vigorously gets most of the grime off. I use a scoop or spoon to touch my food. My bare hands never directly touch food. At most I need to get a few fingertips clean where they touch the spoon or scoop.

I do clean my hands more thoroughly after filling a cat hole.

I know this is probably not the answer you're looking for, but dirty hands comes with the territory with scrambling. Wash em when you find a water source, or if you must use snow or hand sanitizer, but a better strategy is just not to worry about it.

wipe them off on pants

I have found that years of regular climbing combined with a failure to wash my hands has resulted in a nice patina and toughening of the skin.
Go hard. Go without washing.

I can now start understanding why no other animal wipes their ass….it's the surefire way of getting sick.

Okay all info taken on board, thank you.

Mik.

Well … we don't get our hands all that dirty when scrambling, the dirt does not matter very much becasue it is not going to harm us, our cooking and eating are done with spoons not fingers, and …

But we carry enough water that we can wash and do wash with soap after going to the toilet, regardless of where we are. That's part of our water budget. A matter of priorities – and not getting sick is VERY high on our list.

Cheers

"I can now start understanding why no other animal wipes their ass….it's the surefire way of getting sick."

Ever watch a cat clean itself?

Not that I'm recommending that method…

I agree with Jerry. I wipe my hands on my pants. I get out in the wild to become one with mature. No better way than getting it all over me. I do not fear dirt contacting my food either. Just too many other things to worry about. All that said, I DO hate the coastal and high sierra dust coatings tha you can see more than feel. But, not much I can do. It reminds me where I am (which isn't the office). Yay dirt.

If my hands are really filthy, I wash using whatever sand or gravel is there (please, absolutely no soap anywhere near any water source!) in the nearest stream, lake, snowbank, whatever. Rinse. That gets the worst of the crud off. Air dry or use pants. Then, as always, I use hand sanitizer on my hands before handling food.

Then there was the time I slipped and fell full length in the mud while hiking into the Olympic NP wilderness coast. Because the streams were only trickles, I rinsed out my clothing and empty pack in the surf. They weren't clean, but at least most of the caked-on mud was gone.

i take a bunch of paper towels. your hands will get cleaner from scrubbing with a clean damp paper towel, than a used bandana or wiping on your pants. trying to wash it off will use more water. when the towel gets too dirty, burn it with fire. can't get more lightweight after that.

i also use a small container of antibacterial for my fork and pot.

if hands are going to get really muddy or dirty, wear those plasticy gloves.

also if water is that much of a concern, bring more water. yes it's more work, but ridges and peaks are not good places to get dehydrated.

"wipe them on your pants"

+1

If you are taking wet wipes anyway, just throw in a couple extra for hand washing duty. IMO having clean hands when eating is worth a tiny weight penalty… I have no problem with dirt, it's the other stuff you use your hands for that you should be worried about.

da da da dah, da daaaaaa! :)