High Sierra Topix

On our hike up to the top of Stag’s Leap last week, we had a bit of a misadventure. The problem was, we didn’t know how much of a misadventure until more recently.

We followed the use trail, and it climbed straight up to the top of the ridge, then clambered over every single rock and hummock on the top of the ridge. That made for great view of the scenery, but we got a little tired of the constant up and down.

So on the return trip I suggested that we parallel the trail below the top of the ridge.
Now the West side of the ridge is sheer cliffs in many places, so we stayed on the East side. And the plan worked perfectly for quite a while. And then we came to a hillside covered with brush that lay between us and the final descent into the valley.

We poked away at game trails for a while, but like most game trails, they didn’t go where we wanted to go. And so I finally decided to break through the brush for about fifty feet, and did so. On the other side, the trail waited for us calmly.

Yeah, I thought about poison oak when I did it. And I knew that poison oak can affect you even in the winter, when it has no leaves. But this didn’t look like poison oak to me—at least most of it. And I also seemed to remember that poison oak was a bit uncomfortable, but nothing to really worry about. And besides, we were close to home, and ready to hop into a shower to soap up immediately after we got home.

So what have we learned?

I was right. Most of what we hiked through wasn’t poison oak. Thank God. Because a week later a few of those scratches on me were bad enough that I had to go see a doctor about getting some kind of help. The heavy use of Benadryl and Cortisone cream was making no headway.

And all the rest of that stuff I remembered about poison oak? Forget it. A quick and intensive session with soap and water did not prevent the poison oak reaction. And poison oak is a lot more than a little uncomfortable.

And yeah, yeah. I know. You told me so.

You can thank me now for NOT posting photos

But you can read about the hike on our blog...

My worst case ever of poison oak was in the winter of '75. Yeah, I'm that old Your post had me looking at my arms again to see if I could still see the scars.

A friend and I went to Rockville park (near Cordelia) when we were teens. slept overnight (illegally). Poison oak everywhere.

When we got home, he decided on steeping in a bath instead of a shower. The next morning, he was in the ER as the steam carried the poison oak soup into his lungs.

Me, I never got anything.. Haven't ever, even though being knee-deep in the stuff on occasion. Guess I'm one of the lucky ones. I do hate allergy season though.

I occassionally get a mild case. Especially when I am bushwacking and looking for rock art sites in the local range. 4 or 5 days and it clears up.

However, justice was served one trip...I was packing out of one of the local trails and I spotted a mountain biker tearing down the trail. He sees me and starts screaming for me to get out of the way. Starts waving his arms and yelling to let him get by. I step off the trail and watch him go shooting past me. The trail had a canopy of poison oak and his face and shoulders were at a height that allowed the poison oak to slap him occassionally. I didn't say a word and wondered how miserable the SOB was later.

Okay - - the LAST time was in the summer of 1963. I was working on a road building project in the hills east of Berkeley, setting grade controls for road construction. But it was a doozie, and unavoidable because we were in contact with the stuff every day for a while. Fortunately for me, it was never more than a mild irritation, but I thought it would never end. I can sympathize with anyone who has had to deal with the full effects, tho; what a pain! I guess I've been lucky in that respect!

I am fortunate to have some immunity, although I have got a light dose on a couple occasions in my life. Being raised in a family of Oregon backwoods foragers, I was taught early on to identify and avoid it. I'm not sure if its the avoidance or the immunity which really works and would prefer not to test it.

An incident from my childhood to this day reminds me of how fickle people's reaction to the stuff can be. I was on the school's playground and told a couple of girls that bush there was poison oak. As could be expected of 7 year old boy-hating girls, they denied the supposition, and after some verbal sparring decided to prove their point that the bush "was not" poison oak. They did this by picking several leaves and rubbing them thoroughly into their faces. I was horrified. I was even more horrified when the blonde came to school next day seemingly unaffected. I thought how could I have been so wrong? The brunette didn't show back at school for a few days, but when she did I was vindicated. Her face was a miserable mess, although not miserable enough for a 7-year old boy to fee sorry for her. It took me a while longer, but I eventually learned what may be useful information to some, is just plain dangerous to others.

I am highly allergic and have had this affliction multiple times since childhood. I got it just last year. I pulled up some poison oak saplings in my own back yard that I did not recognize at the time and became infected on my face and hands. But that was not my worst case. I waded waist high flood waters in Montecito to help out a friend and got it from the waist down, even on the tops of my feet. That was over the top misery for two weeks. On the top of my feet was the worst.
The itching sensation that poison oak exposure causes deserves a place on the banks of the Styx in Dante's hell.

Every time I fish the Pit river I get a bit of it. It is all over the place there.

Anyways, Poison Oak soap is a must have addition to any mid elevation hiking kit. Use it after exposure and you will be safe. If I bushwack through some I will even wash my exposed clothes with it. I use the Burt's Bees Poison Ivy Soap. If you use another brand make sure it has kaolin clay in it since the clay will actually neutralize the irritant, not just wash it off.

I swear by this stuff. I use to have rashes that would persist for weeks.

-Bill

When I was 19 I was exceptionally stupid. I was at a swimming hole on the Kaweah River just inside Sequoia NP. I found a vine and proceeded to use it to make a grass skirt and ran around acting like a cave man wearing nothing but the skirt. I used the vine for various other things over the course of the afternoon. A few days later it started and over the next few days I developed patches everywhere...and I mean everywhere. It was excruciating. I don't think any other illness has ever been as miserable as that. My friends still like to tell the story to anyone who hasn't heard it---my penance for my stupidity.

Since then I've never broken out despite many times I thought I'd get it for sure. (I don't know how I avoided it last year at Point Reyes.) I know what it looks like in any form any time of year. I've made more than one stupid mistake in my life, but never the same mistake twice.

Like many here, I have had monumental cases of poison oak, most all of which resulted from Sierra foothill escapades involving river or creek swimming. I am now to the point where I can spot it in any season, leaves or no leaves, etc. In fact just thinking about it make me itch- yikes!