[pct-l] Sun Protection

[pct@meinfelder.com (Edmond Meinfelder)]

At 08:18 PM 3/22/2002 -0800, Nina Baxley wrote:
>Umbrella? Long sleeves and long pants? Great big hats?
>What has worked most effectively for y'all?

On the JMT, I wore long (convertible) pants and a long-sleeved shirt (both 
polyester) by Columbia with a ball cap having a foreign legion-esque flap 
(granite, water and snow can reflect the sun's rays). I am fair skinned, 
blue eyed, do not tan well and had no problems.

Though I took sunscreen lotion, I opted to not use it. The horse dung from 
the pack trains was all over the trail and, I imagine, in the trail dust. 
Sunscreen leaves my skin tacky, making me a trail dust magnet, so passing 
on the sunscreen wasn't difficult.

Last June I hiked Joshua Tree and, with my new respect for the Mojave sun, 
I'll be taking a sun umbrella this time out.

I'm also going to try the non-DEET bug repellents (citronella). I'm not 
usually ravaged by bugs, but I don't like using DEET. Anyone try these?