[pct-l] Allergies

[Dan McKean]

Well... it depends.  I have pretty bad allergies as well, and take Allegra,
which keeps them mostly under control, but at least once a day I'll get the
red eyes.  I've lived most my life in southern California.

The southern California sections really vary in altitude.  Lower altitudes
below, oh, 5000 feet you'll get lots of oak species--both tree oaks and
scrub oak--and a few other species here and there like walnut (my worst
trigger but thankfully not common!) and cottonwoods and sycamore.  Higher
up you'll get conifers--pines and junipers and firs.  Everywhere there's
grass, even in the desert sections.  The trail definitely goes up and
down--sometimes low altitudes will be great in April because all the oaks
are finished, sometimes it'll be cold late into April so some conifers will
be spewing out their green-yellow pollen everywhere.

Oh, and humidity is pretty low everywhere in the springtime, which seems to
start sometime in mid February here when the springtime wildflowers start
blooming and ends around the end of April when the green grassy hills turn
golden brown.  I'm usually on my allergy pills from Valentine's Day until
April 1st.

I'd say just push on through.  Because you're going through so many changes
of environment, from chaparral to desert to alpine to woodland to forest
and back, you might be miserable one day--but that'll change in a day or
two and things will often get better.

Dan in San Diego


On Mon, Feb 2, 2015 at 5:29 AM, Carolyn Barbee <cbarbee216 at gmail.com> wrote:

> I have the worst seasonal allergies ever, especially when it comes to tree
> pollen.
> I live on the east coast, and my allergies are awful usually from late
> March through May.
> The humidity makes the pollen stick to everything and every tree I'm
> allergic to is in very close proximity here in the valley.
> Anybody here have any problems with seasonal allergies in southern
> California up to Kennedy Meadows, particularly while hiking on the PCT in
> the late spring (April through June)?
> My allergies have been pretty nasty to me in the past, and I'm worried they
> might cut my thru hike short if I don't know what I'm up against.
>
> Also, any advice on hiking with allergies would be so appreciated!!!
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