Andrew Skurka - In My Pack: Six Items for Rain & Ticks in West Virginia

With temperatures in the 40’s through 60’s, I’m expecting some mosquitoes. But I’m more concerned about ticks — May is prime time for them, and the mid-Atlantic is the epicenter for Lyme disease according to the CDC.

The most effective method to repel ticks is full-coverage clothing (i.e. long-sleeve shirt and pants, with pants tucked into socks) treated with permethrin, which may be branded as Insect Shield, BugsAway, Insect Blocker, or similar. That will be my outfit in late-June for more trips in the Brooks Range, but I’m struggling to imagine that outfit in the steamy East.

Read the full article by Andrew Skurka on his website here.

Adventurer, Guide, Speaker, Writer

Andrew Skurka

I’m a 41-year-old adventure athlete, guide, and writer, and live in Boulder, Colo. with my wife Amanda and two feline fur children, Esmerelda and Luxor.

As a twenty-something I was a prolific long-distance thru-hiker. My most notable trips were the:

Alaska-Yukon Expedition (6 months, 4,700 miles),
Great Western Loop (7 months, 6,875 miles), and the
Sea-to-Sea Route (11 months, 7,775 miles).

Before and between these trips, I completed a number of smaller ones, including the Appalachian Trail, Colorado Trail, John Muir Trail, and Hayduke Trail.

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Del Escuadrón

Conversaciones de campamento con nuestra comunidad, desde los miembros del escuadrón y los embajadores hasta los socios de marca y el equipo de Sawyer.

Del Escuadrón

4 MIN

Menciones en los medios de comunicación

I’m also a fan of the venerable Sawyer Squeeze. Just collect water and drink!

Trey French

Escritor

Menciones en los medios de comunicación

Sawyer’s picaridin lotion lasts a long time, stores well in survival kits and cars, and doesn’t have the laundry-list poison control label like DEET sprays.