But first, the best protection is to learn how to identify the woody shrubs and vines that cause these rashes:

Toxicodendron radicans (Poison Ivy),

Toxicodendron diversilobum (West Coast Poison Oak)

Toxicodendron pubescens (East Coast Poison Oak)

The allergic reaction is caused by urushiol, a surface oil found on the entire plant including the stems. Poison Ivy/Oak can lose its leaves in winter, making the task of identifying it nearly impossible. If undisturbed, urushiol will not break down for 10 years. Put on a contaminated jacket that brushed against some nondescript poison stems 9.5 years ago, and the rash could come back to haunt you. You can have eyes like a hawk and still miss it, though it is a tradition in the group I hike with to verbally announce and point to it. If you’re bushwhacking, good luck.

If you are allergic (15% – 30% of people are not allergic), each time you get a poisonous plant rash, the reaction intensifies; hence my chronic affliction. You are only contagious if urushiol is still present on your skin from direct contact.

After exposure, you have about a 20 minute grace period to completely cleanse yourself. It doesn’t hurt to wash on the trail if a water source is nearby. You are not contagious after you properly wash the urushiol off your skin; the best method is to scrub your entire body with lukewarm water and dish soap. Make it a good scrub. If you don’t see a rash within 2 days, you won’t get it.

Weeping blisters, while very itchy, are not contagious, because they do not weep urushiol. The rash may seem to spread, but it is likely just a new development from the same incident if you have properly washed yourself and your gear. Like a developing polaroid, certain parts of your skin will “develop” faster than others. Scratching the rash after properly washing does not spread it. Scratching can lead to other potentially serious conditions like inflammation and infection, so I don’t recommend it. Mind over matter.

The red leaves are seasonal.

Typical cases report an uncomfortable, itchy, blistering rash for 7-12 days, but severe cases can last 30 days, or more. I had a severe case after a trip to Honduras where I made an ill-fated trudge to the top of a hill for a video shot of the village below. A crippling rash and 11 ticks later, I had ONE video shot and a summer of agony.

People with severe cases, like rashes on the face, genitals, or more than 50% of their body should see a doctor with the prescribed use of steroids to strengthen healing. If the plant is burned, the rash can occur internally when inhaled and requires hospitalization.

Here’s a big one: prevention. Bring some Ivy Block. That can solve a lot of problems before they even start. But, what if you didn’t have access to Ivy Block, and you’re hit?

I’ve tried all the leading creams, over-the-counter treatments, and special washes. Some are quite costly and none seem to give true relief. However, I’ve found some really useful natural remedies that do.

These remedies will be more effective the sooner they are applied after the onset of symptoms.

A small company in Maine called “Nature’s Poison Ivy Relief” offers a bag of wild Maine sweet ferns. It cost me $15, which included shipping to California. After the sweet ferns are boiled, the tea is applied directly to the skin with a pad. It definitely dried up the rash faster than usual, and offered some immediate relief. The tea can be kept refrigerated for a year and frozen indefinitely. The owner personally corresponded with me after my purchase to let me know when it was shipped. I highly recommend this product. I love how it is reusable!

In North Eastern climates, “jewelweed” or Impatiens can be used to treat the rash. Poultices and salves can be made from a blended mixture of fresh jewelweed, which is extremely effective in drying up the rash in a matter of hours.

I wonder what using both the sweet fern and jewelweed together would produce? I need to get my hands on some jewelweed! FAST!!

Hang in there. I know from that summer after Honduras that it can severely impact your quality of life. If you’ve itched and scratched and the rash is bothered, a cold shower can significantly help. Also, if you’re having difficulty sleeping, taking oral Benadryl will do the trick and can help reduce the reaction.

There are many remedies out there and everyone reacts differently, so let me know what works best for you in the comments below!

Special thanks to Greg Ross for help editing this piece.

Cold Springs:
* $12 a night – operated by National Park Service
* 39 sites and 9 walk-in sites
* 7,500 ft. elevation
* 23 miles from 198
* 2.5 miles to Silver City, which has a restaurant and showers.
* closer than Atwell Mill to trail heads in Mineral King Valley

Atwell Mill:
* $12 a night – operated by NPS.
* 21 sites
* 6,650 ft. elevation
*19 miles from 198
* 1/2 mile to Silver City

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Originating from the hearts of stars, this element is thought not to have formed on our Earth. Aeons of cosmic chemistry seeded our planet with this wonder. It has caused great strife to our human condition, unlocking the Pandora’s Box of our greed. Its shiny metallic structure is highly malleable, conductive, and non-reactive, often occurring in nature in its most basic form. It has served as a universal currency for thousands of years.

Please excuse my cheesey intro. By now, I’m sure you are keen on what element I describe. Yes friends, GOLD. The pursuit of gold can be dangerous to man and the environment, both creative and destructive. Most importantly, gold prospecting should be about loving the outdoors, getting exercise, and enjoying what nature has to offer by closely examining geology.

• Gold is 19 times heavier than water. During the sluicing and panning process, the weight is advantageous to concentrate heavier material, and wash away dirt.
• Recreational gold prospecting has very limited impact on rivers and streams. Responsible prospectors try to emulate nature’s process and leave no trace. Gold collects where the river current slows, like in bends in the river, roots, boulder eddies, and at the bottom of waterfalls.
• Placer gold (small flakes and nuggets found in streams) are eroded remnants of a hard rock “source,” which typically is found in quartz veins upstream.
• Hard rock mines gather ore from quartz veins. Ore is then processed at a stamp mill (crushes ore into finer material) and is sluiced. Gold also appears with different minerals across the world, but on the West Coast of the United States, it is primarily found in quartz and surrounding layers.
• Ancient and active river beds can be sources of placer gold.

If you have ever carried a 5 gallon bucket full of dirt, or have bent over beside a river for a long time, then you know that gold prospecting can be back-breaking work.

Dredging automates part of this process, but is still quite taxing with maintaining, hauling, and working with the equipment. A motor draws suction through a tube, which sends dirt over a floating sluice box. Dredging is a very powerful and effective way to recover gold, but it is now heavily restricted on public lands due to concerns from environmentalists. They point to the impact that dredging has on stream beds and they wish to protect sensitive aquatic species.

It is the author’s opinion to personally forego the use of a dredge in leu of sensitive aquatic species. The role +of these species in the ecosystem and the untapped knowledge we can learn from their study, is far greater in value than gold. Not all will agree, but that is my opinion. I’ve read some opposing views, and most of them cite that this practice is time-honored, these are hardworking people, and it’s an invasion of liberty for the Fed to deem it unlawful. I understand all of these points, and I deeply respect them, but I feel differently. I side with Mother Nature.

The practice of hydraulic mining is far worse in terms of impact, and it has been outlawed in California after many rivers and streams were heavily scarred. Hydraulic mining involves high pressure hoses which blast canyon gravel deposits into a massive array of sluice boxes in the river below. This method is not particularly efficient, but recovers large amounts of gold because of sheer volume. Prospectors can still find gold in the tailings of former hydraulic sites.

First, paydirt is classified by removing larger rocks. This is achieved by a screen that fits over a 5 gallon bucket, I use size 12. Dirt falls through, and larger rocks are washed with water into the bucket. This material is then fed into the sluice box.

A sluice box creates artificial rapids over riffles that sit on a grate and a wool-like piece of material called miners moss. The gold falls out of the rapid and into the grate and miners moss. After several buckets of material have been processed, the sluice box is raised out of the river and the contents are emptied into a pan. Gold is then panned from the remaining material. It all comes down to panning (video).

The process of panning can be practiced with small lead pellets (be sure to recover all of your lead), which is close to the weight of gold. It’s best to imagine the heavies falling to the bottom of your pan, and you need to think about what motion would cause this to happen. The motion can be an oval rotation, a back and forth shake, or any combination to allow the gold to sift to the bottom. In the beginning, mixing the dirt with your hands in the pan allows for even distribution. After you have sifted, mimic the waves of the ocean at a slight tilt to wash away lighter material. It’s OK to let dirt go. Gold is heavy. Repeat your sifting technique. Waves of the ocean. Sift. Waves.

Eventually, you should turn up a concentration of black sands in the bottom crease of your pan. The object is to sift your heaviest material into the bottom crease. Sift until you have several grams of heavy concentrate, and begin to swirl layers away in the pan with water. If gold is present, it will be in the bottom of the crease after you erode what’s on top of it. A sniffer bottle is used to collect small flakes that would be difficult to grasp with your fingers, or if many flakes are present. I have indeed found a whole 5 flakes of gold in San Gabriel Canyon.

Be aware of local regulations and do research before setting off for a stream. Here are some Southern California favorites:

Article about East Fork San Gabriel River Prospecting

Mariposa Museum & History Center

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Images used under Creative Commons
Credits (in order of usage):
Nicolas Emmanuel-Emile
Nick Ares
Thomas Fisher Rare Books Library

• 14 miles roundtrip
• 3,000 feet of elevation gain
• A great overnight trip
• Beautiful views, an alpine lake, big trees, and solitude. What more could you ask for?
• In Golden Trout Wilderness
• Overnight and campfire permits required, found at the link above.

Summit Lake from Shake Camp (Mountain Home) at EveryTrail

Trip Report:

Friends Taylor and Sasha had flown from the East Coast to visit. Our adventure in October was immediately following a snowstorm, but the day we arrived was much warmer and sunny. Warmer temperatures allowed the forest to thaw at elevations around 6,500 feet, creating an amazing steaming effect that spiraled off the ground and sequoia trees, a living and breathing atmosphere. Comparatively, we encountered a four foot pack of snow and temperatures in the teens that night at Summit Lake, around 9,500 feet.

The hike began on a somewhat somber note, as we learned that three hikers had been missing since their permit exit date three days prior. The storm caught them off guard. A whole unit of sheriffs, helicopters and dogs went in search to their listed destination area around Maggie Lakes. Upon descending, we learned that the hikers had been found after spending a few cold nights weak and exhausted.

The lower lying meadows were warm and inviting, with patches of snow dotting a beautiful landscape. The ground was quite soft in some sections from melting snow, but mostly clear and easy hiking. The incline began quite gradually. Travelling through the meadows, you’ll cross the North Fork Middle Fork Tule River twice. The first and only trail fork is right after the second river crossing, and is about halfway in terms of distance, but the rise in elevation is far greater during the second half. The slope becomes steep switchbacks in thick forest. Soon, the trail became mostly and then completely covered in snow.

The trees begin to thin and a prominent rock shelf of several hundred feet is all that stands between you and the lake. The last few steps were hard on us, since the temperature had dropped, the snow was tough to trudge in, we had heavy packs, and didn’t have time to acclimate coming from sea level. I felt the physical effects of altitude as the sun set behind Moses Mountain, but it was light and somewhat enjoyable.

We filtered water at Summit Lake using the Katadyn Hiker Pro (review), but camped in my REI Half Dome Tent (review) within the boundary of Golden Trout, which is a short walk away. The temperature dropped dramatically after the sun had gone down. We had a small fire that slowly melted through several feet of snowpack. I slept comfortably that night since we were mostly protected from wind. We packed our bags underneath the rainfly next to the tent, but the next morning half of my pack was exposed. There were beautiful ice crystals covering exactly half. Taylor had brought two pairs of footwear, but left one pair exposed, and they were frozen completely solid.

Handy Tip:Do not set a pocket rocket stove with a small gas canister directly on top of packed down snow. The canister gets very cold when the stove is being used due to the release of the gas. Putting this on top of packed down snow will surely freeze it in place.

We left in the morning and were greeted with another warm day. We had packed some well deserved hot dogs and a larger grill in the car, so wasted no time descending much faster on the way back. I love to think about food when I hike, it’s a great motivator.

Although signage throughout certain areas state that a fee is required to park, the fees have always been under “voluntary compliance,” meaning you could park without a pass and not pay the ticket left on your windshield. The decision by the 9th Circuit ruled that the fees were in violation of the 2004 Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act.

Opponents say that the fees prevent poor families from entering the forests, and that the fees are a form of double taxation, since tax payers have paid for the land already. Some have questioned how the revenue is managed, pointing to a 4% annual increase of revenue that leaves the forests and goes to Washington.

A 2005 article from the Angeles Chapter of the Sierra Club outlines some of their criticisms of the fee program, including how the fees subsidize mining and logging.

Further reading:
LA Times article

The filter made quick work of it. It has a convenient, nalgene sized hose attachment to easily fill up bottles. It has separate bags to keep your inlet and outlet tubes segregated.

Upon returning home, I bought one for James, and together we have used it many times in different locations. We estimate about 100 gallons with no maintenance/no complaints. It is lightweight, economical, and absolutely essential.

Full Product Specs:

• Long lasting AntiClog pleated cartridge requires no maintenance or cleaning
• Very large filter surface for fast output
• Easy to use because of minimal resistance whilst pumping
• Active carbon core reduces unpleasant tastes and odors from the water
• Small pre-filter on in-hose protects filter cartridge life in turbid water
• Compact design and easy operation–fits in any backpack or travel bag
• Easy Fill Bottle Adaptor attaches directly to a drinking bottle
• Ideal for 1-2 people

Feature Detail:

• Technology: AntiClog Technology with 0.3 micron glassfiber and activated carbon granulate
• Output: ca. 1 liters/minute
• Cartridge Capacity: Up to 750 l (depending on water quality)
• Weight: ca. 310 g
• Size: 7.6 x 16.5 x 6.1 cm (3 x 6.5 x 2.4 inches)
• Includes: Prefilter, bottle adapter and carry bag

The company claims that it is the best selling water filter on the market.

Katadyn Hiker Pro Water Filter on Amazon

• 9 miles
• Amazing views of Yosemite Valley
• Indian Rock is a unique arch formation

North Dome – Porcupine Creek at EveryTrail

After having burritos in Yosemite Valley, we got in the car and drove up 120 to the Porcupine Creek trail head. I was very happy with both the burrito and the beautiful drive. The hike begins at about 8000 ft, so depending on your fitness, be aware.

The trail begins in a mostly wooded area with no views. You’ll have to work for those, but the payoff is well worth it. It is easily accomplished in an afternoon, or as a leisurely overnight (there are sites), with potential spurs to other areas. I was very impressed with this trail, both by how it was maintained and 360 views that center you in Yosemite Valley. It is quite a sight to see.

As you approach the rim of the valley, glimpses of Half Dome and peaks beyond start to appear. As you get closer, the roller coaster climbs begin, which make for good cardio. By the time you hit the the furthest vantage, you’re feeling on top of the world from endorphins and incredible views.

Indian Rock is a feature along the way, which offers a unique natural arch. The spur is well marked on the left as you approach.

We packed a good meal for the trail, and took time to wash in Porcupine Creek. Once you’re on the Dome, there is a lot of sunlight exposure, so pack sunscreen and a good hat.

As with any trip like this, be sure to watch the weather closely, and study cloud formations near Half Dome and North Dome. Do not tempt fate in an electrical storm. You will lose. People die in Yosemite each year, even experts.

We had perfect weather. I wish I could have stayed and watched the sunset, but we had plans with beer, meat, and a grill. I can definitely see the advantage of staying out there overnight on the granite.

This must be the best view of Half Dome, apart from Glacier Point.

Thanks for your help!

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Recreation.gov Mt. Whitney Permit Lottery

(Image used under Creative Commons)