78 J R at ionsSt anda rdI s sue8

Adventurer’s AlmanacTips, Tricks And noTions For GeTTinG AlonG in The ouTdoors

by Lisa Godfrey

illustrations by Jason Ludy

Name Your Poison…Andwe’ll bet the farm it

ain’tivy.We’retalkingpoisonivy,thatubiquitousplantthat

canleaveyouinsanelyitchywithweepingblistersthatspread their torture withevery scratch. The entireplant—leaves,stems,roots,berries—containsthetoxinurushiol,whichadheresto

everything that comes incontact with it and cansticktoyourclothingandbootsforayearorlonger.

The f i r s t s tep toavoiding poison ivy

agony is to learn torecognizetheplant inallit s forms and then to

di l igent ly avoid it . Thesecondstepiseffectivelytreatitifyouareexposed.CortaidhasrecentlyintroduceditsPoisonIvyCareTreatmentKit.Thistwo-stepkitincludesRemovalScrub,whichbindswiththetoxintoremove it before symptoms appear. The second step is theTreatmentSpray.Simplyapplytotheaffectedareatostoptheitchanddrytheblisters.Formoreinformationonthisproduct,gotowww.cortaid.com.

Bare Naked JeepingForsomeofus,theonlywaytoJeepistogotoplessandwith

thedoorsunhinged.Buthowdoyoukeepyourgeardryandsafelystashediftheweatherturnssoggyorthetrailbecomesunruly?One reliable solution iswaterproof/submersible duffel bags.Severalmanufacturers(andlotsofretailers)offeravarietyofbagsin rounded and squared profiles, suitable for day trips andweekendadventures.Among themany available features arewaterproofzippers,shoulderstraps,outsidepocketsandbuilt-inloopsthatallowthebagstobesecurelycinchedtoyourcargofloor’stie-downloopsorrollbarstokeeptheminplaceduringtechnicaltrailsections.Ifyoudon’twanttotradeinyourfavoriteduffelbagforanewone,youcanwaterproofitscontentswithaninexpensiveHydroLinerfromSeattleSports.Forabout$10to$14,thisclearPVClinerletsyouseewhat’sinsidewithoutopeningit,andfeaturesfullyweldedseamsandathree-rollhook-and-loopclosureontop.Itcomesinsizessmall,medium,largeandextra-large.Whatevermethodyouchoosetoprotectyourgear,there’snoreasontohavetofaceasoakedsleepingbageveragain.

Backcountry VittlesAnimalsknowhowtopartakeofthebountythatgrowswildin

thebackcountryeachautumn,sowhyshouldn’twe?Infact,aharvesttrailruninsearchofthesoftandhardmastthatcomesintoseasoneachyearcanbeawelcomechangeofpacethatalsoputsyummyfallfareonthetable.Headoutpreparedwithplentyofcontainers tohaulbacktheharvest—afewgoodscorescanaccumulatequickly.Lookforblueberriesandhuckleberries(canyousay“fresh,organiccobbler”?),wildgrapes,plums,persimmons,mountainpeaches and theuglybutdeliciouspawpaw, a.k.a.custardapple.Chestnuts,beechnuts,butternutsandwalnutsareamongthehardmastyoucancollectthistimeofyear(andhavefunwatchingsquirrelsandchipmunksscamperaboutstoringuptheirwinterrations).Abandonedfarmsandhomesteadscanbevirtualstorehouses,whereyoucanoftenfindlong-forgottentreesandvegetationthatfaithfullyproduceeven50-plusyearslater.You might be happily surprised at what appears on yourdessertplate.

No-Sweat TopoGetting the perfect

topo map can be time-consuming and evenimpossiblewhenyou’rechartingintounfamiliarter r itory. When wewere preparing for anoff-road adventure inColorado last fall, wefoundtheanswertothisdilemmaatalocaloutfitterretai l store: a Nat ionalGeographicMapMachinekiosk.Thisistrueinteractivetechnologywithadatabaseofmorethan50,000quads.Usinganeasy-to-navigatetouchscreen,youcandesign,customize and print U.S.G.S. topo maps on tear-resistant,waterproofpaperinminutes.Abuilt-insearchenginehelpsyouquicklyfindanyfeature.Choosefromavarietyofscales,zoominandout,addUTMorlatitude/longitudegrids,toggletheshadedreliefonoroff.Youcanevencenteryourcustommapoverafour-mapintersectionandscrollseamlesslyfromstatetostatetocreateatopomapspecificallyfortheareayouneed.Mapsincludeascalebar,northarrow,tickmarksandcontourintervalsandoptionaldetailssuchasforestserviceroadsandcurrentweatherconditions.You can find theMapMachine atREI,EMS andmanyotheroutdoorretailstoresaroundtheU.S.Wepaidabout$15fortwomaps, and the systemworked great. This one gets a J Ratsapproval.