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View Full Version : Yes, you DO need sunscreen on the AT!



DrRichardCranium
04-03-2010, 16:24
Just sayin.'

6 days into my thru-hike and I am sunburnt. And have bites by deer flies.

Oh while I'm talking: I now have a trail name: "Homebrew."

Lauriep
04-03-2010, 16:48
Homebrew,

It'll be interesting to see how much your color changes over the next few months. Most thru-hikers lose that early-season color as the tree canopy fills in, unless they make a habit of taking breaks during the day at overlooks.

Be sure to say hi when you reach ATC in Harpers Ferry. It'll be nice to see a local guy coming through!

Laurie

skinewmexico
04-03-2010, 16:49
DrRichardCranium is a little long. Not even going there on that name shortened.

WILLIAM HAYES
04-03-2010, 16:56
never used sunscreen but then again i do not have a fair complexion try tying your bandana to the top of one of your trekking poles the motion will help with the deer flies -i personally hate using deet but will if the little pests are really bad
hillbilly

Gaiter
04-03-2010, 17:36
yeah, i blistered a layer or two while hiking

bus
04-03-2010, 17:46
As someone who has spent a lot of time in the sun (mainly while surfing) and when younger, a lot of those times were without sunscreen, let me say that having skin cancer cut off of your face or having pre-cancerous areas frozen off sucks- unless of course it is close to Halloween and you are going for that zombie look.

I think mild bug repellent that also has sunblock is available at your local drug mart.

Tinker
04-03-2010, 18:20
I have a few of the dreaded dime sized white dots on my skin from having suspect lesions removed. Nothing serious so far.
I use sunscreen most days unless it's raining.
For the bugs, try using permethrin on your clothes. I noticed that mosquitoes land, sit for a second, then take off. I haven't had as good luck with blackflies. They crawl around on the fabric and fly off (but they can't bite through the fabric). Deer flies, otoh, are vicious. I heard someone compare their bite with being pinched by a white-hot pair of pliers. Pretty accurate. They don't seem to like permethrin, either, but it doesn't stop them from flying around your head over and over. Eventually I stop and try to swat the suckers with poor results, usually.

garlic08
04-03-2010, 18:26
Either sunscreen and DEET, or a good hat, shirt, and trousers. Dose with chemicals or not, your choice.

Kerosene
04-03-2010, 18:49
I always bring some amount of sunscreen, but typically I only use it consistently use it in early Spring and late Fall. I also apply before crossing balds and other sections above treeline. I also find that those are the only times that I need sunglasses also.

Roche
04-04-2010, 19:37
Being first generation Irish, we burn walking past a mirowave. SLIP on a shirt, SLAP on a hat, SLOP on sunscreen. One knows how sensitive they are and should take the appropriate precautions.

sasquatch2014
04-08-2010, 08:08
Forgot the sunscreen on my short two day hike during these past record breaking hot days. Got burned pretty badly on my calves and one side of my arm and neck. If I had switched and hiked Sobo half the time the burn would have been more even.:-? Putting some in my pack for the next go round.

Spokes
04-08-2010, 08:38
Yet another item that divides people into opposite groups- the sunscreen people or the non-sunscreen people.

Count me in the latter.

daddytwosticks
04-08-2010, 14:43
Sasquatch 2014 is dead on...just completed my AFSP to Neals Gap hike. The sunshine was brutal and hot. Pack an ounce or two of sunscreen. Those little nasty bugs that hoover around your head and fly in your ears and eyes are not the deer flies I'm used too growing up in NJ. They are some sort of biting gnat. :)

Chaco Taco
04-08-2010, 15:40
DrRichardCranium is a little long. Not even going there on that name shortened.
As if everyone else dont get it:rolleyes: sheesh

Yea i left tuesday with no sunscreen. One ridgerun and no leaves later, my arms are tattooed and my face looks like a tomato. Wayne and Dan at Bluff Mtn took one look at me and said "yep, he forgot the sunblock". Alas, sometimes it is the price we have to pay

ChinMusic
04-08-2010, 16:23
Folks that need sunscreen know who they are (I am one of those). If you sunburn at ALL, and the leaves have not filled in, you need sunblock while hiking on sunny days.

Ignore that at your own peril.

Cookerhiker
04-08-2010, 16:34
I did 2 brief section hikes in April of '05 (http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=92493) - one in Virginia north of Pearisburg, one in the southern half of Massachusetts - and both featured sunny days (a real treat for April) sans leaf canopy. Needless to say, I acquired a shade of pink!

sasquatch2014
04-08-2010, 21:16
I like to think that I just got my base layer of burn out of the way early for this year however my folks were not nearly as resigned to the burn as my dad is currently dealing with melanoma.