For my 12th birthday, my parents decided to get me contact lenses. This gift was a total game changer for me.
Up until that point, I was just the nerdy tween girl with glasses. But, I really liked being outdoors. I loved swimming, and horseback riding, and so many activities that were just a little bit more difficult with glasses. Contact lenses freed me from those constraints.
Over the past few decades, I’ve been a devoted contact lens wearer. I’ve done just about everything in them, from scuba diving the Great Barrier Reef in Australia to running the Great Wall Half Marathon in China.
And to be honest, I really only wear my glasses nowadays when I’m lying in bed reading at night. The rest of the day, I have my contact lenses in, and I’m on the go.
Hiking with contact lenses
I’m a BIG advocate of hiking with contact lenses! You don’t have to worry about your glasses fogging up in the rain. There’s no need to pack prescription sunglasses (or modify your regular eyeglasses). My peripheral vision is better. Overall, it’s just a more enjoyable experience for me.
Despite the many adventures I’ve completed with my contacts lenses though, I’ve been wondering if maybe I’ve finally found my kryptonite.
In May 2019, I began my thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail. This meant spent virtually every day for 4 month camping in the woods. And, I’ll be honest here. Before I started this hike, I was a little bit nervous about trying to wear something as delicate as contact lenses for that immense duration.
Wearing my contacts while hiking and backpacking wasn’t new to me. I’d been on numerous overnight backpacking trips where I wore them. I even successfully wore them during my 8-day climb up to the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro (and yes…I took them out while sleeping each night).
But, now I was gearing up for a 2,200 mile thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail. That was a much bigger undertaking.
Cleanliness in the backcountry
My biggest worry with wearing contact lenses was whether I could take the painstaking care to make sure my hands are super clean in the wilderness.
Cleanliness is a major prerequisite when taking your contacts out or putting them back in. But, hiking is not a particularly clean activity. You already know this fact if you’ve tried to tidy up with wet wipes after a long day on the trail.
Marginal cleanliness is about as good as it gets most of the time. Your hands always seem to be grimy. And there’s no bathroom with running water nearby. Simply put, the backcountry is about as far from the pristine white optometrist’s office as you can possibly get.
While doing my pre-AT shakedown hike on the Lone Star Hiking Trail, I started thinking on this problem quite a bit more. My main focus was figuring out to how to set up sanitary enough conditions to wear contact lenses safely. After all, no one wants pinkeye, corneal ulcers, or some other infection.
Here’s what I learned:
Step 1: Filter extra water in the evening
The best way to keep your hands clean is with good old soap and water. So, while other hikers will only collect enough water to drink or cook with in camp, contact lens wearers need far more. I recommend gathering an extra half liter of water just to wash your hands before your daily contact lens routine in the evening and again in the morning.
Step 2: Avoid hand sanitizer
Hand sanitizer can kill germs, but it doesn’t actually clean dirt off your hands when they are visibly dirty (and they WILL be dirty). Most sanitizers are alcohol-based too. So, using them before your contact lens routine might to lead a strong burning sensation in your eyes. The better option is just washing up with soap.
Step 3: Go with liquid soap
Using hotel-size soap bars might like a convenient option because they are small and light. But, getting the bar back in its container while your hands are sudsy is a nightmare. Consider trial size bottles of liquid soap instead. My current favorite is Dr. Bronner’s, which is more environmentally friendly than some other suds options. Plus, you can use Dr. Bronner’s to clean other items, like washing a pair of socks or cleaning the dried-on food in your cook pot.
Step 4: Practice washing without running water
Rinsing your soapy hands with just a water bottle can be harder than it sounds. You don’t want to wait to try to perfect your technique when you’re in the backcountry. It’s far better to use the weeks leading up to your thru-hike to practice washing and rinsing your hands without running water.
Another option when water is really sparse is to wipe the bulk of the dirt off with wet wipes (I always carried a travel pack of Wet Ones). This allowed me to wipe down my hands and then rinse them with water afterwards.
Step 5: Have a dedicated “clean towel”
After your hands are finally free of dirt and debris, you’ll need to dry them off. Wiping them on your hiking shorts or funky shirt isn’t a good idea. Instead, pack a small clean piece of fabric that’s only for drying your clean hands. This doesn’t need to be anything special or even particularly large. It can be a bandana or even a tiny baby washcloth.
Other things to know about contact lenses
Using these five steps should definitely help keep your hands clean enough to insert or remove contact lenses while on trail. But what other issues need to be in the forefront of your mind?
Contact Lens Supplies
Contact lenses wearers need to carry some additional “comfort items” on trail. At a minimum, you’ll need to pack a contact lens case, saline solution, an extra set of lenses (just in case), and eyeglasses. You might also want to consider eye drops to keep you eyes moist while on trail. Brands like Systene make special eye drops for contact wearers that not only moisten lenses, but also help remove extra debris that causes eye discomfort or irritation.
Mirrors
After wearing contacts for years, most people don’t actually need a mirror to safely take remove or insert their lenses. Nonetheless, more than a few people still feel the desire to follow this habit. You don’t have to bring a small safety mirror on trail to fill this requirement though. Just use your smart phone’s camera (in selfie mode) as a makeshift mirror instead.
Resupplying
If you opt to wear contact lenses on trail, you’re going to need to replace them regularly. It’s a good idea to purchase your lenses ahead of time so you can have them mailed to you in a resupply box. Or use a “bounce box” to send them ahead of you and pick them up at regular intervals. Either way, make sure to always keep and at least some extra lenses with you, just in case you unexpectedly tear or lose one.
Weather
Weather is definitely a major consideration when wearing contact lens. You definitely don’t want them freezing overnight when you’re hiking in cold conditions. Safeguard your lenses and supplies with the same care as your water filter. For example, insulate them with a towel, hat, or clothing, and keep them in your sleeping bag overnight to ensure everything stays thawed.
Cleaning
Unless you’re wearing a daily lens, you’ll need to clean your contacts on a regular basis. This could require bringing extra supplies on trail or cleaning them in town every few days. But, it’s also a good bet to start using a multi-purpose saline solution designed for cleaning, rinsing, and disinfecting your lenses each day. Many of these solutions (like BioTrue) even come in 4 oz. travel sizes so you don’t have to carry a large bottle on trail.
Do you really need to bring glasses?
In my opinion, the answer to this question is a resounding YES!! Even if you plan to wear contact lenses during all your waking hours, you may still want to give your eyes a rest while you’re in town. Plus, having a pair of glasses as a “backup plan” when your eyes get irritated is well worth their weight.
Final thoughts
If you’re thinking about wearing contacts for a long distance hike, discuss this adventure with your local eye care professional. Some contact lens are better for extended wear in the outdoors. For example, you might want to switch to contacts you can sleep in or even daily disposable contacts, depending on your personal preference and vision needs.
And if you’re worried about wearing contact lenses for 2,200 miles – then do what I did. Mentally break your hike down into smaller, manageable chunks, and deal with them one at a time.
After all, you will have the opportunity to go into trail towns regularly along your Appalachian Trail adventure. Thinking of your thru-hike as a series of smaller 3-7 day backpacking trips can make the logistics seem a little less daunting.
Happy hiking!
