BUG CONTROL I’ve already given you an earful about the bugs. Now, some information about how you can make your stay in the Everglades as bug-free and painless as possible. About insect repellant; I don’t care what anyone says, 100% (give or take a couple points) DEET is the only thing worth bringing. It works on no-see-ums, biting flies and mosquitoes. Here’s the catch, DEET is a poison and despite what the deet.com website tells you, I will not put the stuff directly on my skin. I had an experience after spraying DEET directly on my legs and feet due to the fact that I was wearing shorts and getting bit all over by no-see-ums. I recklessly applied the DEET on my skin because I was itching like crazy and couldn’t stand it. I risked the poison exposure for the relief it would surely bring. Within a few minutes I began feeling very faint and somewhat nauseous. I could feel my blood pressure dropping rapidly. I got to the car and turned on the A.C and laid back (we were at the Outdoor Resorts marina in Chokoloskee). My partner brought me children’s benadryl and within 5 minutes or so, I was fine again. My blood pressure normalized and the itching stopped. I am not sure if this reaction was from the bugs or from the DEET, but nevertheless, one of the symptoms of DEET toxicity is hypotension. The moral of the story, do not apply the repellant directly to your skin if possible.
This brings us to the topic of clothing. At the campsite in the evening, I keep myself covered with long pants, socks, long sleeved shirt, bandana around my neck and a brimmed hat. I apply the DEET to my clothing rather than my skin. A good trick is to apply it on the underside of your hat brim, the bandana, and the socks. This seems to work 90% of the time. For the other 10%, I wear a mosquito net that covers my head and neck and cotton knit gloves. The clothing I wear at the campsite includes the following: polyster or wool socks, nylon pants, cotton or polyester shirt and cotton bandana. I dress to stay cool when it’s hot and warm when it’s cold.
The only other time bugs can be a problem is at the initial launch site (Flamingo, Chokoloskee Island or Everglades City). While loading the boats, I wear my paddling clothes, nylon long pants, nylon long-sleeved shirt, water shoes, a bandana or buff, and a Tilley hat (wide brimmed all around). Because of this, I always have the DEET handy by keeping a bottle in my deck bag so I have access to it at all times. I keep a second bottle in my cook kit for the campsite.
The bugs are always worse around dusk and dawn. The severity of the bug situation will depend primarily on temperature and wind velocity. I find that if the winds are a good 5-10 knots or more, the bugs are not much of a problem. 5 knots or less, the bugs will dominate the campsite. Some people are more tolerant to no-see-ums and mosquitoes than others. But I have seen the most tolerant person cry in despair while camping at Graveyard Creek. The moral of the story is, be prepared. Get into your no-see-um netted tent during the period when the bugs are worse and wait them out. I find that on beach campsites, if the bugs get bad at dusk, I can go hide in the tent for awhile, watch the sunset from there with a glass of wine and some cheese and crackers. By the time the sun disappears, so will the bugs. This is not always the case, however. I find certain campsites to be notoriously buggy even in the dark, like Graveyard Creek.
Do not leave your tent door open at any time after you’ve set up camp. This is a sure invitation for bugs and you will regret it when it comes time to hit the sack. Sometimes, you can’t help get no-see-ums in the tent, simply getting in and out will give them that opportunity. Here are three tips to relieve some of the problem. Tip #1: try to use the door that will get the most breeze, the bugs have less opportunity to get in that way. Tip #2: if they do get into your tent, you can get rid of the no-see-ums by wiping them off the tent walls with a wet bandana. Shine a light on the tent and they will congregate there. Tip#3: carry some children’s benadryl. I take 2 pills (one adult pill is equivalent to 2 children’s pills) when needed. This also works with ant bites that make me swell up and itch. The children’s benadryl does not make me too drowsy to paddle. Another quick remedy is rubbing alcohol (or hand sanitizer), which calms the itching.
One good thing about the no-see-ums and mosquitoes, once you are on the water, they are not a problem. I also find that the itching from the no-see-ums is temporary and once I am in my boat safely away, the itching has already stopped. A word of caution; if you want to get out of your boat or seek shelter while paddling, beware of the bugs swarming in the mangroves, especially during summer months.
One last thought on bugs, my camping experience in the Everglades begins in November and ends in early April. I spend time paddling during the day in the summer, but never camp during those dog day summer months. Thus, my bug experience does not include the insane bugfest that takes place in the heat of summer. Camper beware, I do not recommend camping in the glades anytime between May and October. Not only do you have the bugs, but you have daily summer storms, peak hurricane season, and the heat. If the bugs don’t get you, the heat will. I’m just saying…
MORE ON CLOTHING I’ve already described the importance of clothing for bug protection but there are other things to protect your body from, the sun being the first on that list. If you are from the north, I can certainly understand your desire to expose your skin to the sun, which you have not seen or felt in months. But please, use sun-screen. I really don’t pay too much attention to the brand of sunscreen I buy, but I do use spf 30 or higher. I also have lip balm with spf 15. The lip balm and sun screen are kept close by so I can apply as needed while paddling.
For paddling, I always wear long sleeve shirt and always wear nylon or polyester for quick drying. Forget cotton clothing for paddling, it will never dry. If it’s chilly, I’ll put on my Marmot rain jacket over the shirt and that is usually sufficient. Most of the time, I wear the nylon shirt that is popular with fishermen, it has pockets and vents. I always wear a bandana or a buff. The buff is hot in warmer temperatures, but is great for covering your face if you are getting too much sun exposure. I wear a Tilley hat, wide brimmed and it seems to not ever feel too hot or cumbersome. On my feet, I wear Teva water shoes with socks. Yes, your heard correctly, with socks. I use the Coolmax anklets and they feel wonderful even when wet. The socks give you the feeling of dryness despite being totally wet. Why wear shoes out here? Mostly to avoid stepping on a sharp oyster shell in the Ten Thousand Islands. Also, the Teva shoes do not get sucked off in knee-deep mud. They are comfortable when paddling, well ventilated, and they keep the sand and rocks out.
I already mentioned what I wear at the campsite, but for inside the tent, there are two types of sleep wear out here. One is for those 60+ temperatures, when cotton shorts and a short sleeve nylon or cotton shirt works well. Otherwise, I have long silk or polyester underwear for those cooler evenings. For those long trips, I prepare for cold weather and bring gloves, wool hat and nylon turtleneck.
HYGIENE And now for the topic that no one wants to talk about. But I will, because I’m a girl. And unlike boys, girls do not like to get dirty. I’m being a bit sarcastic, but in many ways, its true and we all know it. Guys do not put much thought into hygiene while camping; so if you are a guy, maybe this next section is of mild interest to you. But guys, if you are going out here with a female, you might want to read on. And of course, male or female, we all need to deal with human waste, so read on.
The one thing I will not compromise and will bring in quantities beyond necessity is toilet paper. I will not, under any circumstances, be without toilet paper. Remember, some of the beach sitess do not have port-o-lets (which is not necessarily a bad thing). If you are lucky, all your campsites port-o-lets will be clean, fully stocked with toilet paper and low on waste volume. But this will never happen, I guarantee it. You may have port-o-lets, but A), toilet paper is not guaranteed, and B), there is no guarantee the port-o-lets are fit for use. This past camping season was the worse I have ever seen in terms of port-o-let service. The park service has a few “honey barges” that go up and down the park to service the campsite pottys. During the busiest times of the year, a port-o-let can fill up quickly on the largest campsites, like Watsons Place. This past year, we camped at two different campsites each where the port-o-let was too full to use. And many times, the pottys have been without TP. The problem this year was that one of the honey barges was broken and the park service, which runs on a shoe string budget anyway, could not keep up with the demand. It also seemed to be one of the busiest seasons I’ve ever experienced. The moral of the story is, be prepared to go primitive.
Some of the beach campsites do not have port-o-lets, so there is no choice but to go primitive. If you find yourself at a backcountry ground site that has an out-of-service port-o-let, you’ll need to find an area in the woods to use and that is not easy to do, especially if you are sharing the site with several other people. This happened to me on Lopez River. Get as far away from the campsite as possible and dig a hole. Remember, the deeper you go into the brush, the more likely you’ll encounter bugs, so be prepared. There is a rule that you must dig at least 6 inches and that you must pack your toilet paper out. A large shell or rock works well enough for digging. To urinate only, you should go directly in the water when possible (especially easy to do on beach campsites).
For hygiene purposes, I carry small bottles of instant hand sanitizer, one in my cook kit so I can apply before handling food and another in a plastic zip lock bag with the toilet paper. I also carry a package of wet wipes in the plastic bag. To make the toilet paper more hygienic, at home I remove the cardboard roll from the middle. Then I take the end of the toilet paper from the middle and pull it out from the top a few inches. When I use the toilet paper, I pull the middle end, thus using only the untouched end of the toilet paper. I keep the toilet paper, hand sanitizer and wet wipes in a gallon-size zip-lock bag. I have another bag for paper waste. I keep all this handy when paddling.
When camping on a beach site, you can make a campfire and this is great for getting rid of paper waste. In fact, I’ve sometimes started a campfire for the sole purpose of burning the waste. Ladies, this is a great thing when you are camping during that time of the month. If you cannot take care of waste through burning, DO NOT bury the items, take them out with you.
The last thing I want is to get sick while out here, so staying clean is important to me. Disinfecting my hands before I cook or eat and after using the toilet is essential. Some may scuff at this and think I am overzealous with germ phobia; but so be it. I have not been sick once in the past 5 years and have never been sick while camping. The hand sanitizer may not be the reason for that, but it at least makes my hands smell clean!
What about bathing? I have a great tip for you! Campmor sells a product called No Rinse body wash that comes in a bottle. I’ve also found No Rinse wipes on-line as well. No Rinse products also include shampoo, hair conditioner and body bath, but the body wash version works just fine for both skin and hair. No Rinse is a wonderful NASA invention that allows you to clean your body without having to rinse off the soap. It smells great, it feels refreshing and it does not leave a soapy feeling or make your skin itch. I carry a small bottle of the stuff and I have a collapsible bucket that I fill with about a ½ liter of water. I add a capful of No Rinse to the water. Inside the tent, I lay out a 3 X 3 ft plastic sheet on the floor and use that as my bathing area. I have a bandana for bathing and a small microfiber tower for drying. After a bath, I put on my clean camp clothes and it feels so delicious. Now, I am ready for dinner and wine! Every other night, I take some extra water with No Rinse and run it through my hair. The No Rinse works well on skin and hair, I swear it’s the greatest thing since sliced bread. It feels incredible to wash off the salt and sweat from the skin, and you’ll sleep better. And more importantly, if you share a tent, you won’t offend your tent mate. There is no excuse for being dirty out here! I also have a net bag that I use to put all my hygiene items such as deoderant, toothbrush, floss, toothpaste, comb, soap and lotion. I also carry a small bottle of Dr. Bronners soap, for washing my hands. And last, I have a small spray bottle for cleaning my eye glasses. I use a lens brush to brush off sand before washing them to avoid scratching the lens.
LOCAL KNOWLEDGE Getting out of your tent at night may not be easy because of bugs, lack of privacy, rain, or you simply don’t like the discomfort of leaving your refuge. So what do you do when you have the urge to urinate? Bring a quart-size, wide mouthed, screw-capped bottle and pee in it. A plastic quart-sized Nalgene bottle works perfectly. In the morning, dump it in the drink and wash out your bottle with salt water to rid it of smells and you are good to go. Be sure to immediately screw on the cap after urinating before setting it down in your tent. Being clumsy, I can imagine a knocked over open bottle in my tent.
No comments:
Post a Comment