[Dante]

I've been to Crawford before and thought it would be a nice trip to take a former boss/mentor on. It's relatively short trip with a little off-trail travel. My old boss and his dog picked me up before 7:00 a.m. and we headed to Mercer Island to pick up another guy and his dog, then we stopped for breakfast and gas. We were at the end of the MFK around 10:00 a.m. There were 12+ trucks and SUVs in the parking lot, including 2 Forest Service Vehicles (but none of the vehicles, including ours, displayed a NW Forest Pass ). The Dutch Miller Gap Trail is in the best shape I've ever seen it in. There is a relatively new bridge over hardscrabble creek and it is clear the trail has been recently and extensively maintained (new drains and boardwalks, brush cleared well away from the trail, etc. etc.). Given the plans to close the road, this seemed odd to me--why maintain a trail few people will use after the road closure. About an hour into the hike the dogs started acting funny and then my old boss and the other guy got stung by yellow jackets. My old boss is somewhat alergic, so we stopped and gave him some benadryl and marked the welt so we could monitor its progress. He was feeling fine, so we continued to hike to the campsite at 3.6 miles, which is near our jumping off point. We had lunch and waited a full hour there while monitoring my old boss's sting. It continued to swell, so after an hour we aborted and headed out. Saturday was perfect and it was a great day for a 7+ mile day hike in a beutiful subalpine valley even with overnight packs. We ran into Curt up there. He was doing part of the Alpine Lakes High Route. Hopefully we'll hear from him soon

[Ice Girl]

When i was out the other day, two weeks ago i got stung twice by the same yellow jacket, spent some time with my face in the creek, hurt like a bugger. Still have a red spot on my eye lid, where i got it. i also saw lots of them last time were we out. Ice Girl

[Dante]

I think there were a lot of them this year. I got stung when Tom and I went up to Cement and Boner Lakes and there seemed to be more of them than normal when we ate outside or with the windows open this Summer.

[Bushwacker]

I got tagged about a month ago at the top of Dickerman. The SOB got in my boot and nailed me right through my sock. Kind of scary because when I was younger, I was highly allergic. Hadn't carried my benadryl in years, but am scheduling a refill with my doctor just to bee safe. BW

[Allison]

There's that Epi-Pen thing too, it's a one shot shot thing that you carry and your partner can shoot you full of whatever the bee antidote is. It's easy and fun. Ask your doc for details. PS. Benadryl is over the counter now. It HAS been years!

[Tom]

Getting off topic but does Benadryl help for mosquito bites? I'm itching like crazy .

[Sore Feet]

I just heard this somewhere, have yet to try it out, but apparently soap (like a bar of soap) is supposed to quell mosquito bite itching instantly.

[Dante]

My boss had an Epipen. They autoinject you with epinepherine (sp?), which your body converts to adrenaline. That's good enough to get you out or get you through an episode if it's not too serious, but I think turning back was the best call in our case. If things kept getting worse, I wouldn't have wanted to shepard a light headed guy down a mile/1,500 vertical feet of talus. I'm thinking about adding a small container of baking soda for my kit for first aid (bee stings) and tooth brushing. I don't know if Benaryl helps mosquito bites, but I read in Wilderness Medicine (I think) that an itch is just a pain impulse. The author suggested Percogesic, which was the GP pain killer he suggested for kits. Lot's of hikers take Ibuprofin to stave off that post-hike soreness, anyway, so you might try that.

[tk-421]

[ajgoodkids]

We got nailed this weekend. We were most of the way to Enjar Lake when I took hits in the forearm and the eyebrow and my son took four hits in the upper arm. It was scary having a fifty-pound kid get four stings at once. I gave him a dose of Benadryl. He had no reaction beyond the usual and even that went away surprisingly fast. The Benadryl put him out early for the night. Ultimately, we all enjoyed the trip despite the stings. It's been twelve years since I've taken an on-trail hit, so I'd almost forgotten about those little bastards. Twelve years ago, we ran into one stinging swarm after another on the way to Boulder Basin. Everyone got stung multiple times. Those little buggers sure get ornery around mid-September. I wonder if this is a bad year.

[Mike Collins]

Hey Dante, Epinephrine is the exact same thing as adrenaline. In Britain it is stilled called by its older name, adrenaline. Once in the body it does not need to be converted to anything to work. It is used to treat either severe or the threat of severe reactions, principally to wasps, bees, hornets, and yellow jackets. It shouldn't be used for mosquito bites which create a localized skin reaction, not a life-threatening generalized anaphylaxis.

[Dante]

Well, it's been over 20 years since I took biology. I did not mean to suggest it should be used for mosquito bites, if that part of your post referrs to one of mine. I just got an e-mail from my old boss. The sting continued to swell and got much larger than it was when he dropped me off. He ended up taking a lot of Benadryl, but did not have to go to the ER or use his epipen.