On a very windy Oregon coast night, my friend decided to show me how to use her pepper spray. I bet you can guess what happened, yup the wind blew the spray into her face, but being very determined and a little put off by how much I was laughing. She decided that she must have had the spray pointed in the wrong direction, turned the container and took a full hit in the face. She screamed terrible things at me and dropped the can of pepper spray. I tried to help her but we were on the beach and a little tipsy so I grabbed the back of her head and put her face in the salt water. She did not see this as helpful. We are still friends but we don't carry pepper spray. She is still angry that I find it funny.

....and people think that rednecks are only in the south.=8)

Shiloh

....and people think that rednecks are only in the south.=8)

The difference is she did not say

Hey y'all watch this ......

:O)

Quote

Hey y'all watch this ......

Famous last words!

Rinse well as water inactivates urushiol. Soap is unnecessary, but after being exposed, you must douse yourself immediately with water as the oil will usually bond with the skin in as little as 15 minutes and water will become less effective. Rubbing alcohol is a little more effective initially than water but the important part is how quickly you rinse the oil off. Again don't use a washcloth and remember not to use alcohol if you will have more exposure that day because you is removes other protective oils too.
-- William L. Epstein, MD (chairman emeritus and professor of dermatolgy at the University of California, School of Medicine.

OMG, another over-educated person that never gets out in the field. How often do you have instant access to lots of running water immediately after coming in contact with poison ivy? Does he think the stuff grows in the kitchen? Note that water can spread the ivy sap as well, so if you don't have running water, forget it, you'll just spread it over more of your skin.

I am very sensitive to the ivy and am in it constantly (City Conservation Agent, trail volunteer, gardener, hiker...) I've been immersed in young, crushed, oosing poison ivy, right on my bare skin, and not gotten the rash after using rubbing alcohol. I do use a lot of it with lots of paper towels. I'll get bad poison ivy on other areas of my body that I thought were not exposed and didn't wash off. Soap and water was not been as effective - I'd wash and wash and wash and still get the rash.

The alcohol does dry your skin and leave it more exposed. I always try to put on some kind of lotion afterwards - sunscreen, whatever is at hand.

Maybe the good doctor figures that poison ivy grows next to fast running streams or old water pumps. Or he figures you will just use the old cure for jelly fush stings on it.

AceoHearts

Quote

OMG, another over-educated person that never gets out in the field.

I think the "good doctor" had in mind the situation where someone is doing yardwork and accidentally pulls up a big ol' hunk of PI with their bare hands. (Not that I'd know of anyone who's ever done that...)

If you're in your yard you'd have access to a faucet fairly quickly. Doesn't do much good on the trail though; however I confess that I tend to be more vigilant about where I'm putting my feet and hands out on the trail than in my own backyard. Yet another personality trait I should possibly work on... ;-)

Knit Wit

On a serious note, if you hike with dogs make sure you carry Benadryl with you.

Stinging nettles are extremely toxic to dogs and if ingested can kill.

Why would they eat stinging nettles? They are dogs and will bite at stuff that stings them.

If might give you a bit more time if your dog is hit by a rattler, and can help if they decide to take on a few bees or wasps (the flying kind).

Don

So, things I need to get to complete the ultimate 'boxing bag....

a whistle
extra shoes
a 2 year old (preferably a petite one)
geocache trinkets
a trained plastic-sniffing dog (for desperate measures)

I can skip the poison ivy remedies, so far I've been immune.
I can skip the Tide pen- I always wear my junky clothes.

You can always replace the whistle with a flare if that would make you feel more comfortable. I carry a whistle in my pack because I always carry one when I hunt in case of emergencies, so I set up my boxing pack with a few of the same things. But of course I left out the space blanket, fire starting set, MREs, tree saws, and gutting tools. But I always over pack just in case the worst happens and I get stuck, I am prepared for just about anything.

AceoHearts

what do you carry in your LB pack?

*logbook
*sig stamps in an Altoids tin
*at least two different pigment ink pads
*a few pens
*ziplocs
*clues
*compass
*first aid kit (band-aids, poison ivy wipes, bug bite relief, pain relievers, cloth sling, lighter, emergency blanket, Benadryl, etc.)
*at least 2 bottles of water
*bribes for my kids (also known as fruit leather, Z-Bars, chocolate...)
*a Gerber multi-tool
*my keys (with a small Swiss Army Knife)
*my phone
*a pedometer
*a GPS (sometimes)

:o)
3H

You carry chocolate in your pack in that heat? I tried carrying a Snickers once 2 weeks ago in NY and it was a bad idea. ;) I stick to fruit snacks and granola, for them and me.

AceoHearts

our EVENT LB Bag

Event BAG?!? I bring at least two full storage boxes. LOL! :o)

3H

Chocolate with a hard candy shell works best in the heat. Melt in your mouth, not in your pack!

Where do you stand on the use of jewel weed? I have never had to try it, but I have heard it helps. I KNOW it helps on nettle stings.

I have tried it and personally found that it does not help as much as cortizone ointment.

I am one of those people that only has to look at poison ivy to get it (as my parents used to tell me...), so I have tried everything, from scratching it until it is scabbed to using every any itch cream and lotion available.

Peter

Where do you stand on the use of jewel weed?

Never worked for me.

You carry chocolate in your pack in that heat?

You bet! Since when is melted chocolate bad? I've been known to place chocolate bars on my dashboard to let them melt, then lick the wrappers clean. YUM! ;o)

The proximity to the cool water bottles in my bag seems to keep it solid, though. :o)

3H

Nothing is wrong with melted chocolate, especially melted dark chocolate. I was just thinking that it could be a bit messy on the trail, but then again we all carry something to clean up with, so I guess it is a non-issue.

AceoHearts

Now I am craving one of those dark chocolate oranges that you whack on the table to seperate the wedges.

Nothing is wrong with melted chocolate, especially melted dark chocolate.

I knew I liked you. ;o)

My personal favorite are the little dark Hershey truffles that come in a tin. YUM! AND the tin can be washed for use as a HH. :o)

3H

Right now, in our LB backpack, you will find a compass, a dozen or so cooties, a hitchhiker, a few ziplock bags, my sister's sig stamp that I just carved for her and her new logbook, a 3-ring binder filled with clues for the next few weeks, inks, pens, and a contractor's clipboard that opens up (which contains our signature stamps and 8.5x11 cardstock.) Oh and my camera bag is clipped to it!

We don't have a logbook in the normal sense. We stamp onto sheets of the cardstock and then I scrapbook them along with photos of the hike to the letterbox or interesting things in the area. (No pics of where the box actually is planted.)

Jiffy

the little dark Hershey truffles that come in a tin

I LOVE those!!!

If we can talk about candy in this thread....I've recently discovered the Wether's Original COFFEE flavored caramel. I've never tasted any candy that was that good.

A son of liberty

I've recently discovered the Wether's Original COFFEE flavored caramel

Oooh! I'll have to look for those!
Around Valentine's Day, I found Trio Hershey Kisses--I put them in a jar, and my student with the best estimate won them. And now I can't find them again! I think they had milk chocolate, dark chocolate, and white chocolate...
My daughter is quite fond of Vertigo pops. I wonder how they would survive in the pack...

Kit Kat

Coffee Nips are better if you just want pure coffee flavor, and they travel very well in packs. I carry them while hunting. They do stand the test of time as well. I have forgotten to take them out after deer season and they are still good the next fall.

AceoHearts

Coffee Nips are better if you just want pure coffee flavor

LOL! That was my Gramma's candy of choice. She used to keep a big candy dish of Nips. When I visited, I'd eat the peanut butter ones (my favorite) and sit on my Grampa's lap. He HATED peanut butter. I loved to tease him. I think he made a big deal out of it just to entertain me. ;o)

If they weren't all full of artificial stuff, I'd add that to my pack in a heartbeat!!!! :o)
3H

I think that is why they survive season to season and year to year in my pack with all the extreme temperature changes.

AceoHearts

I'd say that's likely!!! LOL! :o)

3H

Quote

Nothing is wrong with melted chocolate, especially melted dark chocolate. I was just thinking that it could be a bit messy on the trail...

Ooooh! Use it to stamp in!

Okay, haven't seen anyone mention this, but besides the usual ink, cards, pen, box repair stuff, our most used item is kitchen tongs. We use them to dig junk off the top of boxes, reach into holes, overturn rocks, etc. On one trip, we used them to turn over a rock, and found several black widow spiders! Since then, when in doubt, we use tongs. We just have to make sure to put them back in our bag, since carrying kitchen tongs down a trail isn't necessarily being stealthy!

Ooooh! Use it to stamp in!

What?!? Not a chance! That's chocolate abuse! No drop wasted, I say!

None of that, now....

;o)
3H