View Full Version : SunScreen on the A.T.
Hi i start my long sect hike on June 4 do you guys think i will need sunscreen or is their enough trees not to worried about it. I seen some light weight bug candles at a walmart
got try them out at home they work petty good. Would they be worth bringing on the trail with me they only weight 4oz. each one last about 9hours burn the whole time.
:-?
Blissful
04-24-2009, 14:29
Carry some sunscreen. Skip the candles and just bring DEET. Every ounce counts.
bigcranky
04-24-2009, 14:40
I put a squirt of sunscreen in an old 35mm film canister. (Remember those?) Weighs less than an ounce, and it's lasted me a long time on the trail.
Whether you need it in June depends on where you are hiking. Out in the open you'll want some. In the "green tunnel," not so much.
I wouldn't find the candles very useful, but YMMV.
vamelungeon
04-24-2009, 15:12
I like a lightweight brimmed hat. It protects the face from the sun and you can spray the DEET on the hat. My grandmother always wore a goofy wide brim straw hat when she was in the garden and it kept her from getting sunburned. I don't like putting chemicals on my face.
I always take sunscreen, but I have fair skin so i get burned very easily. Check out walmart, they may have some travel size containers that dont weigh that much.
Leave the candles at home and carry some deet +1
Chaco Taco
04-26-2009, 11:23
Sunscreen! Just got back from a hike and am fried!
Shortly the trees will be in full leaf so you should only need it occasionally on some of the spacious balds. Use time lapse DEET such as:
http://www.rei.com/product/686229
I read an article somewhere stating that the time-release lower dosage is more effective than high-level dosages and far less DEET absorption into your body. I think we have a WB member or two who can speak to this on a professional level (chemical engineers).
Kerosene
04-26-2009, 12:52
I certainly have found that I don't need to apply sunscreen if the trees are leafed out and the Trail isn't crossing miles of open fields. However, I typically bring an ounce or two and may also bring sunglasses.
Forget the sunscreen. You will be in the woods--and hence in the shade-- 99 percent of the time anyway.
DavidNH
MintakaCat
04-26-2009, 13:19
Sunscreen! Just got back from a hike and am fried!
Same here. I was at Standing Indian yesterday and I wished I had some. The sun was unreal up there.
barefoot
04-27-2009, 11:14
Bring it. I've gotten burned the first days of week long section hikes both on Roan Mt and Grayson Higlands. It made sleeping torturous.
Forget the sunscreen. You will be in the woods--and hence in the shade-- 99 percent of the time anyway.
DavidNH
You won't always be in the woods. An ounce of prevention.......... That one hour hike across a bald could leave you in pain for days.
Bring the sunscreen.
best thing is come prepared,I blistered in VA one summer and let me say water blisters suck.ky
garlic08
04-27-2009, 18:52
I don't carry sunscreen or DEET anymore. I do not like putting chemicals on my skin, either. A good hat, long trousers, a long sleeve shirt and a mosquito head net work fine for me.
I started my AT hike in early April and had no problems with sun or bugs with that clothing. In June and July, I coated the shirt and trousers with Permethrin (tick killer) and that worked fine, too. I never pulled off a tick.
In our 20 day section hike in April, we got sunburned on 4 days, frozen for 4 days, and had about 12 days of clouds, sometimes rain. Bugs were a problem now and then, but not if you keep moving. We bought sunscreen at NOC; yucky white cream. Better to bring clear evaporating gel from home. Yes if you burn easy you need sunscreen!
A good hat, long trousers, a long sleeve shirt
I believe in clothing instead of sunscreen as well. Lighter, more effective and sure to keep you in true sartorial splendor. In the lower elevations while under tree cover, I don't bother with my dorky sun hat and keep my sleeves rolled up.
("Olive oil" in my blood stream helps, too. ;) )
Chenango
04-30-2009, 12:04
Was out for two days in VT this weekend. My nose is peeling right now and it itches. I wish I had brought sunscreen.