+thehoomer Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 Went caching yesterday(quite infrequent these days)and actually enjoyed walking ankle deep in the dreaded gloop for most of the day. We have been kicking up dust on the trail for a couple of years now and the mud was well......kind of a novelty. My memory is probably clouded but I'm sure we used to have the boot cleaning saga after every trip when we first started. This is probably my favourite time of year for the game. Its not too hot/cold, the trees aren't in full leaf and the insects haven't arrived yet. Quote Link to comment
+Lieblweb Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 Went caching yesterday(quite infrequent these days)and actually enjoyed walking ankle deep in the dreaded gloop for most of the day. We have been kicking up dust on the trail for a couple of years now and the mud was well......kind of a novelty. My memory is probably clouded but I'm sure we used to have the boot cleaning saga after every trip when we first started. This is probably my favourite time of year for the game. Its not too hot/cold, the trees aren't in full leaf and the insects haven't arrived yet. But the ticks & poison ivy are waiting for you...... they're evil! But yeah, this time of year is nice for hiking. March is a nice time of year to get those 'bushwhacking' kinda caches. Winter is nice for those 'muddy' caches (although, I hate the cold weather). I hate ticks and poison ivy. Every time we go out, we have to prepare for it..... but still fun and we're getting better at preventing the evils. Quote Link to comment
Neath Worthies Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 But the ticks & poison ivy are waiting for you...... they're evil! Not in the UK they're not! Nettles maybe but they're just "part of the job" Quote Link to comment
+Chief301 Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 But the ticks & poison ivy are waiting for you...... they're evil! Not in the UK they're not! Nettles maybe but they're just "part of the job" Not in south Louisiana either...poison ivy, yeah, but while Geocaching and then back years ago when I used to hunt, ticks are just something we don't encounter down here. Sure, they exist, dogs will pick them up every once in awhile, but the woods aren't just infested with them like they seem to be up North. I finally discovered what you all were talking about when we took a vacation to Arkansas last summer and we got a ton of them on us on one particular cache. I don't know why but they just don't seem to be that big a problem down here. Now, mosquitos are another story... Quote Link to comment
+pendragon9321 Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 But the ticks & poison ivy are waiting for you...... they're evil! Not in the UK they're not! Nettles maybe but they're just "part of the job" Ticks are here in UK Shudder!!! I do like this time of year tho for some of the reasons you say, nettles and spikeys aren't in full spike yet and the days are getting longer and longer Quote Link to comment
+thehoomer Posted May 6, 2012 Author Share Posted May 6, 2012 Charlie has had 3 or 4 Ticks in the past few years. Horrible creatures but easy enough to remove with a Tick puller. The human complement of Thehoomer has so far, been Tick free. The nettles thing is an easy one for me, I just wade through them. When I start trying to tread carefully, that's when they usually get me. Those huge wood ants are one of my pet hates. Stand still for more than a few seconds and you are instantly on their menu. The main downside of the summer months, is being able to carry enough water for the 3 of us. We tried Charlie with Panniers but he....errr......disagreed with our proposal . Quote Link to comment
Langy Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 With all the rain we have had recently here in East Anglia there is plenty of the squelchy stuff about. That's fine if you can go out in the evening or a weekend, just means more washing as it tends to go all over the trousers. The real downside of this time is though when you want to go out in your lunch break and work in an office. The choice of which caches you visit is limited on the weather. Not sure about ticks etc but the nettles are all starting to take a hold already, hopefully caches are in a reasonable area where you don't have to go down footpaths that are rarely used. Langy Quote Link to comment
+Shanghai Joe Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 I would rather roll naked in a bed of nettles than have another brush with poison ivy. I was working in Kentucky last year and must have been in contact with some poison ivy when bushwacking to a cache. It didn't help that I didn't recognise the symptoms and only worked out what it was after a few days and a bit of internet research. The rash is caused by an oily extract from the plant and spreads if not washed off with an alcohol rub or something similar. I didn't know this and soon my delicate skin was covered in an unsightly rash and blisters. And the itching was nothing like I have ever experienced before. Once I worked out what it was I tried a few off the shelf creams but it wasn't until I got a steroid cream that I found some relief. Do any of our US cousins have reccomendations for treating a poison ivy attack? I'll be back out in KY in a few weeks time but this time I will not be bushwacking in shorts and a short sleeve shirt. Quote Link to comment
+The Hornet Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 Do any of our US cousins have reccomendations for treating a poison ivy attack? I'll be back out in KY in a few weeks time but this time I will not be bushwacking in shorts and a short sleeve shirt. In KY? How about covering yourself in KY Jelly?! Quote Link to comment
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