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We so enjoyed putting out the K & P Ticket and Fauna series, that we thought we would continue along the trail. This time, the theme is the FLORA. If you see any of the trees or flowers mentioned, please feel free to take pictures and post them at the appropriate cache – but please, NO PHOTOS OF EACH CACHE (sure, the log if you have to).
BIKING is possible for the whole trail. This trail is NOT recommended for thin tires! Puddles may need to be crossed after wet weather.
If you don’t see any flora, then you are caching way too fast and not seeing the trees for the forest! Enjoy the ride and enjoy the diverse plant life.
POISON IVY - Toxicodendron radicans
Upright, climbing, or trailing shrub that bears small yellowish-white flower clusters; old stems, covered with fibrous roots, look hairy. Poison Ivy is extremely variable in form, occurring as a ground cover along roadsides, an erect shrub (especially in sandy coastal areas), or a large vine on trees. Red fall foliage is especially conspicuous.
Poison ivy rash is an allergic contact rash (dermatitis) caused by contact with an oil called urushiol (you-ROO-shee-ol). Urushiol is found in the sap of poison ivy, poison oak and poison sumac. It is a colorless or pale yellow oil that oozes from any cut or crushed part of the plant, including the roots, stems and leaves. After exposure to air, urushiol turns brownish-black, making it easier to spot. Contact with urushiol can occur in three ways:
Direct contact - touching the sap of the toxic plant.
Indirect contact - touching something to which urushiol has spread. The oil can stick to the fur of animals, to garden tools or sports equipment, or to any objects that have come into contact with a crushed or broken plant.
Airborne urushiol particles, such as from burning plants, may come in contact with your skin.
Once urushiol touches the skin, it begins to penetrate in minutes. In those who are sensitive, a reaction appears as a line or streak of rash, usually within 12 to 48 hours. Redness and swelling occur, often followed by blisters and severe itching. In a few days, the blisters may become crusted and begin to scale. The rash takes 10 days or longer to heal.
The rash can affect almost any part of your body, especially where your skin is thin, such as on your face. A rash develops less often on the soles of your feet and palms of your hands, where the skin is thicker. The rash does not spread, although it may seem to when it breaks out in new areas. This may happen because urushiol absorbs more slowly into skin that is thicker, such as on your forearms, legs and trunk.
Who's Sensitive, Who's Not
We are not born with a sensitivity to poison ivy. Sensitivity develops after the first direct skin contact with the oil urushiol. An allergic reaction seldom occurs on the first exposure. A second encounter can produce a reaction, which may be severe. About 85 percent of all people will develop an allergic reaction when adequately exposed to poison ivy.
This sensitivity varies from person to person. People who reach adulthood without becoming sensitive have only a 50 percent chance of developing an allergy to poison ivy. However, do not assume that you are one of the few people who are not sensitive. Only about 15 percent of people seem to be resistant.
Sensitivity to poison ivy tends to decline with age. Children who have reacted to poison ivy will probably find that their sensitivity decreases by half by young adulthood without repeated exposure. People who were once allergic to poison ivy may even lose their sensitivity later in life.
Some people are very sensitive to poison ivy. They can develop a severe rash with blisters and extreme swelling on their face, arms, legs and genitals. Such severe cases need medical treatment.
Learn to identify the poison ivy plant, and you will have taken the first step in avoiding poison ivy. The popular saying "LEAVES OF THREE, LEAVE THEM BE" is a good rule of thumb for poison ivy and poison oak.
Poison ivy can have different forms. It grows as a vine, climbing vine or low shrub.
These weeds are most dangerous in the spring and summer. That's when there is plenty of sap and the plants easily bruise. The leaves may have black marks where they have been injured. Although poison ivy rash is usually a summer complaint, cases sometimes occur in winter, when people burn wood that has urushiol on it or cut poison ivy vines for wreaths.
Know how to recognize these toxic plants in all seasons. In the early fall, the leaves can turn colors such as yellow or red when other plants are still green. The berry-like fruit on the mature female plants also changes color in fall, from green to off-white, and in the winter the plants lose their leaves. In the spring, poison ivy has yellow-green flowers.
What To Do About Poison Ivy
Prevent the misery of poison ivy by looking out for the plant when you are outdoors and staying away from it. You can destroy these weeds with herbicides in your own backyard, but this is not practical elsewhere. If you are going to be where you know poison ivy likely grows, wear long pants and long sleeves, boots and gloves. Remember that the plant's nearly invisible oil -- urushiol -- sticks to almost all surfaces. Do not let pets run through wooded areas since they may carry home urushiol on their fur. Because urushiol can even travel in the wind if it burns in a fire, do not burn plants that look like poison ivy.
Treatment--A Poison Ivy Primer
If you think you've had a brush with poison ivy, poison oak or poison sumac, follow these simple steps:
Wash all exposed areas with cold running water as soon as you can reach a stream, lake or garden hose. If you can do this within five minutes, the water may keep the urushiol from contacting your skin and spreading to other parts of your body. Within the first 30 minutes, soap and water are helpful.
Wash your clothing with a garden hose outside or in a washing machine with detergent. If you bring the clothes into your house, be careful that you do not transfer the urushiol to rugs or furniture. You may also dry clean contaminated clothes. Because urushiol can remain active for months, wash camping, sporting, fishing or hunting gear that was in contact with the oil.
Relieve the itching of mild rashes by taking cool showers and applying over-the-counter preparations like calamine lotion or Burrow's solution. Soaking in a lukewarm bath with an oatmeal or baking soda solution also may ease itching and dry oozing blisters. Over-the-counter hydrocortisone creams are not strong enough to have any effect on poison ivy rashes.
In severe cases, prescription cortisone can halt the reaction if used early. If you know you have been exposed and have developed severe reactions in the past, consult your dermatologist. He or she may prescribe cortisone or other medicines that can prevent blisters from forming. If you receive treatment with a cortisone-like drug, you should take it longer than six days, or the rash may return.
PARKING: One or two cars can park where the trail intersects roads, but pay attention to NO parking signs so as to not block entrances. A nice place to leave your car in Calabogie is at the end of the trail (N45 17.916 W76 43.033) which is at the local beach and Tourist Information spot. You may want a quick swim?
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