Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Ticks, Snakes & Not Much Climbing...

Seriously, I think I would have rather subjected myself to potential avalache terrain...

I managed to get up Lamont Peak again, but the tick flicking made it a nearly miserable experience.

I failed to make the summit of two other peaks I had planned to climb and the afternoon was unbearably hot, so I settled for the one.

Some photos:


Owens Peak, north side.
I really wanted to climb this before the snow melts out, but conditions with the critters makes it unlikely I'll head out there.



Rattlesnake on the Aqueduct.
The first one I've seen in about two years.



I'd guess about three feet long.



Snake in the grass.


The rest of the photos.


I picked up a tick (First time in 55 years!) and have a few questions:

1. The head broke off when I tried to ease it out. All the online advice says I NEED to go see a doc. Is this an Emergency Room type of situation, or can I wait until Monday?

2. Any recommendations for Tick Repellant? I once laughed when I head someone ask about a Flea & Tick Collar, but if I'm going to head out, I need some type of protection.

3. Why does there seem to be such an infestation this year? I've done a lot of Spring climbing in the local mountains and haven't had a bad experience until this year.

Oh, and if you've heard my jokes about looking like a Korean, you'll know I go out covered up.

Richard, first, thanks for all your postings over the years! I had a tick about 4 years ago. Let me tell you, I was really ticked off by the experience!!! Should be no need for emergency, however it may get very sore, which then may translate to emergency. I went to Urgent Care because a "mole" in my scalp was very sore, they referred me to dermatologist because it looked like a bad mole. Dermatologist poked at it with tweezers and it moved!She brought some nurses in to see what a tick looked like! She consulted with other docs and me and decided to give me cipro, just in case. Got the tick in the San Gabriels and probably didn't need to worry about Rocky Mtn Spotted Fever, but decided to err on the side of caution. Take care.

Bob

1. not an emergency. The head will need to removed, as it is a foreign body that will cause infection if not removed. Some brave souls dig around with a needle, but it is hard to do without the wound being numbed. In the meantime, wash several times a day with plain soap and water, and apply neosporin (but leave open, if possible.

2. The combination of Permethrin on your clothing (which should only need to be done once a season, as the chemical is persistant), and DEET on you skin is HIGHLY effective at repelling them.

3. It's Obamas fault.

I've only gotten one tick, about 10 years ago on a JMT hike, at the intersection of the Charlotte Lake trail, when I took a nap for a couple of hours. Didn't think there were any at that altitude.

Thanks Bob, thanks Doc.

If fouung this in a search:



The reference to uniforms is because this was a DoD study.

Protection and population reduction... Sweet!

Ordered some from DoMyOwnPestControl.com.

Permethrin is effective but if you have cats or fish, use with caution as the literature says it's quite toxic to them.

As a cat owner, I extensively checked this out some time ago. This apparently does not apply to casual contact, such as coming into contact with my clothing, but to spraying or rubbing onto the cat directly. My cat does not usually wear a uniform.

Oh, it should also be said that Permethrin plus DEET is the most effective mosquito repellent, just amazing.

On a practical note, I've found that when spraying permethrin on clothing, it is neccessary to get the clothing quite wet, not just a light spray.

Just a quick look-through of the instructions lead me to believe that you need to create a solution (or maybe it ships as a solution) that you'll soak the clothes in.

Ken - Am wondering if the toxicity occurred when owners put a flea/tick collar designed for a dog on their cat, with lethal results as it contained Permethrin? I recall reading a few accounts where the collar was thought to be the culprit.

Richard - REI sells a spray (various sizes) which can be found here. Am thinking of spraying around the outside of a large tent I use for much of the summer.

I live in tick country and have had no problems when the head breaks off. I just wash often and let it go it clears up on its own. From my experiance DEET works, and I also try to do a tick check every half hour, catching them before they have a chance to dig in. There seems to be some years when they are thick and some where they are not seen all season.
Up on the Lost Coast one spring we had about 6 ticks per person every half hour on one section of trail. Just had to keep doing tick checks all day there and shakeing them off. Thats the worst I have ever seen. We did not have any DEET with us.

Thanks for the warning, sounds like not the place to be.

I concur with observation #3 of my fellow health care professional.

Also, as a MCV/VCU grad, I say GO RAMS! in today's Final Four.

Thanks Kevin. When I run out of the stuff being shipped, I'll just ask Mike to pick me up some more from the Rancho REI.

As a test today, I headed up on the "east" side which seems to be hotter and drier than the "west" side. When I got to the Trailhead for Chuckwalla/Cross, I pulled my pants up as high as I could and sprayed a bunch of Deet on them. I then put desert gaitors on and sprayed them, my boots and my pants up to my knees. (Don't know whether deet does any good when it's on material instead of skin?)

Long story short: I don't know whether it was the better protection I provided myself today, or the drier conditions on this side, (Although I did walk a few canyons that still had running water.) but I didn't see any ticks today.

BTW: If you aren't getting out into the hills, you're missing out on some SPECTACULAR wildflower displays.

BTW II: Cross / Chuckwalla is a TOUGH double!, even though they are barely over 5K'! My legs haven't hurt this much at any time this year.

BTW III: You can ride in a lot closer to these moutains. A lot of the trails are NOT off-limits to riding.

BTW IV: Take a look at the photos in my album tomorrow. Neat stuff.

BTW V: Let's start a Let's Complain About Obama Thread (and I wouldn't) somewhere else. I have an insult about "short attention spans" that I'd love to throw out there.

I personally really like the fact that permethrin kills the nasties, doesn't just keep them away (esp mosquitoes), and that I only have to apply it once a season. I find that I use about 1/10th as much DEET when I'm in permethrin clothing.

(BTW, I am an Obama fan, I find it funny that the loony right blames him for everything, including snow levels and brush height.)

Here on the east coast, tick populations vary from year to year. For us, wetter typically means more ticks.

Doing the same yardwork every spring, I have had as few as 0 ticks, and as many as 18 over the 2 month season.

No panic. Do frequent tick checks, and try to remove them before they burrow in -- they usually like to crawl around and find a nice out-of-the-way place first before attaching.

I don't use pesticides on my body or clothing, but others can pick their poison.

Ticks usually hang out in predictable spots, so I either avoid those, or if I have to go in, I do a tick check afterwards and remove before they attach.

Don't know about Rocky Mountain Fever, but here Lyme disease is endemic, so a bullseye rash means head to the doctor right away.

Once, down in New Jersey, we took a walk under some pine trees, and I watched as tick after tick dropped onto the white shirt of the person in front of me. We all ran back to where we were staying, stripped naked and tick picked many many of the litter buggers in the shower.

I was wondering whether they key in on lighter colors? Or like leeches, do the key in on body heat?

Don't know anything about the color/body heat question, but I'll add one data point to the discussion.

We have a mosquito magnet in the yard. It gives off a small plume of carbon dioxide, which lures the mosquitoes into a net where they dehydrate and die.

I can ALWAYS find several ticks hanging out sitting on the propane tank attached to the mosquito magnet. It is a light tan metal, and it's generally quite warm to the touch (because of sunlight). But the ticks don't hang out anywhere else on the mosquito magnet, just on the light, warm tank.

Are they attracted by the carbon dioxide, as the mosquitoes are? Do they like the warmth of the tank? The color? All of the above?

I don't know, but whenever anyone asks what a wood tick looks like, I can go get them one (in season).

I'm afraid to say what I did this wknd...I already have a stalker reputation! LOL. No ticks or snakes to report

Three things I like about the High Sierra:
No ticks
No poison oak
No rattlesnakes

Ya shoulda kept to plan A.

Ticks, snakes and poison oak are our friends.

Sounds like a wild weekend Richard, what is that double you mentioned? Was that on tick day?

Maybe I should have just said two peaks in one day.

Cross/Chuckwalla as a combo is a popular hike/climb among the HPS crowd. I thought it was really tough for only about 11 miles at 5K'.

That was yesterday. Today I pretended it was National Trails Day and did some much needed maintenance on Owens Peak. You can actually hike the lower section without the detours now. Just watch your head thru the worked section because I decided I'd rather not cut the trees that may recover with warmer Spring weather (hoping the sagging branches will rise above their current low level).

The remaining tick parts can be removed using a 3 or 4 mm punch biopsy instrument. This will take a swath of skin around the tick part. The wound can then be closed with 1 or 2 stitches. An in an out procedure which can be done in urgent care. Hope this helps.