What to Know About Poison Ivy

Poison Ivy is a plant common in our area that grows most abundantly in the edges of the forest, in hedge rows and anyplace someone hides a geocache. About 75-85% of people have an allergic reaction to the oils in the plant. It's these oils that cause many mysteries to be attributed to this plant. You have probably heard someone say "I can get a rash just from looking at it!" In reality, these oils can remain on clothing, animal fur and tools for extended periods of time and can then be transmitted to your skin without you even realizing it. Susceptibility also can change with age or exposure. When I was young, I used to get poison ivy rashes all the time. My mother would have to bathe me in calamine lotion until the pink lotion dried and cracked on my skin and the itching subsided. Now I hardly ever notice any symptoms from being exposed to poison ivy, even when I've been so bold as to pull the plant out by the roots to dispose of it. Although one should keep in mind that susceptibility can change with repeated exposure and someone who has never developed a rash before can find themselves scratching at red bumps on their arms and legs if exposed to a concentrated enough dose of the oils.

Identification; what to look for

"Leaves of three, let it be"

The old adage goes "leaves of three, let it be". Sometimes the two outer leaves look like mittens with the center leaf being a little bigger. The plant can be found growing close to the ground or climbing up the side of a tree, it can completely cover a rock pile and can even grow thick woody vines and hairy stems that seem uncharacteristic from the younger plants. In the fall the leaves turn a bright red and orange. Mature plants can have small flowers and develope whiteish berries in the fall.

I always look for the thumb shaped lobes on the outter leaves and the hairy stems and avoid it when I can.

How to spot this cache

At the first waypoint you will come to a trailhead kiosk/information board. You will need a special (digital) tool to find the coordinates. A Near-field Communication  device might help. This will start you off on a short walk to final coordinates. You are looking for small plastic ammo can and while this may not technically be considered "winter friendly", I'd say that there's no way you would miss it, even with a lot of snow on the ground.