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  1. #21

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    Definitely learned my lesson.....don't poke stuff with your trekking pole. Especially foreign objects

    I think a bear or something had been messing with nest prior to my arrival. Hence the churned earth around the partially exposed nest. It was almost like they were just sitting there waiting for something else to mess with it. The explosion of hornets was immediate

  2. #22

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    Quote Originally Posted by blue indian View Post
    Definitely learned my lesson.....don't poke stuff with your trekking pole. Especially foreign objects

    I think a bear or something had been messing with nest prior to my arrival. Hence the churned earth around the partially exposed nest. It was almost like they were just sitting there waiting for something else to mess with it. The explosion of hornets was immediate
    Sometimes whatever animal digs up a yellow jacket nest kills them all or leaves a bunch of very angry hornets. With an active black bear and wild pig and raccoon population many of our nests are dug up and eaten---

    Trip 193 Pt 2 (81)-XL.jpg

  3. #23
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    Default Yellow jackets sting like hellfire itself

    I got lit up pretty good a couple years ago in SNP. My brother was taking lead and three times in about 20 minutes he stepped on yellow jacket holes and by the time I got there they were ready to strike. Thankfully, all the stings were to my lower legs which seems to hurt less and not swell up like stings to the face and hands.

    Now, I always carry benadryl with me
    You can walk in another person's shoes, but only with your feet

  4. #24
    Registered User John B's Avatar
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    ................................................
    Last edited by John B; 10-04-2019 at 17:40.

  5. #25

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    Quote Originally Posted by blue indian View Post
    A few years ago, in the Cohutta Wilderness in North Ga, a buddy and I were strolling down trail on a backpacking trip when something on the side of the trail caught my eye.

    The ground was churned up in a circular motion with a strange white structure in the middle of it. I stopped and looked at it for a minute and couldn't figure out what it was. The whole situation was strange and interesting. I got a little bit closer. It appeared to be a bleached turtle shell half buried in the churned up earth. My buddy was a way behind me and could not verify the strange object.

    What was this strange bleached turtle shell doing half buried on the side of the trail? Why was the earth around it churned up in a circular motion like a big mixing pot? I leaned in closer. My curious self proceeded to take my trekking pole and poke the bleached turtle shell to confirm the object...

    BOOM!!! An explosion of bald faced hornets erupted from the "bleached turtle shell" and proceed to defend their nest by stinging me over and over again. I ran out of instinct, hat falling off and adrenaline coursing through my body. I got about 40 yards away when I remembered my friend who was still a ways behind me. I stopped to yell out but before I could turn around I heard the screams.

    The poor guy merrily and unknowingly strolled into a pissed off bald faced hornets nets. He comes tearing around the corner, the both of us doing a hot coal dance trying to rid the lava like melting skin venom that had been injected into us. Out of breath and shaking we limped towards a stream for relief.

    Not even a mile down the trail, while crossing another stream, poor buddy got stung by another flying lava skin melter. A yellow jacket let him know he was not welcome at his stream bank. Ole buddy is not having a good time at this point. With venom coursing through his body we moved slowly towards camp. After settling in I began to explore around camp, observing the river and trees around me. All of a sudden, I heard and felt a thud on my back. Lighting jolted through my shoulder and into the rest of my body. What is going on!?! I turned to see a massive hornet fly towards a hole in a tree where the rest of the colony lie waiting for the offensive. I ran back to camp.

    Paranoid at any moving object at this point, we decided to turn to ole Jack Daniel for a little help. No longer enjoying our "peaceful" getaway in the mountains, we called it a night and retired to our hammocks. 2am rolls around accompanied by a rain storm. Ole buddy's tarp fell out while running away from the first attack by the bald faced hornets. Fantastic! We both get out of our hammocks and rig up a stacked system in which his hammock was under mine so he wouldnt get soaked. His face was swollen and he was feeling sick from all the stings he received. With all of the stream crossings and I didnt think it was safe to attempt a walk out in the middle of the night during a storm so we lay there till the morning brought us the opportunity to go home.

    Not sure why all the stinging creatures were so mad at us but Mother Nature kicked our asses. We made it back to the car without any more stings. Sure made for a decent story...
    An angry hornet will release an “attack pheromone” to mobilize other hornets in the nest.

    Excerpt from a Wikipedia article:

    “Materials that come in contact with these pheromones, such as clothes, skin, and dead prey or hornets, can also trigger an attack”

    The above might explain the subsequent attacks, after the first one.

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hornet#Attack_pheromone

  6. #26

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    While we are on the subject of insect stings and benadryl-does anyone know what the maximum dose of benadryl would be for an adult with multiple bites?

  7. #27
    Registered User 4eyedbuzzard's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Five Tango View Post
    While we are on the subject of insect stings and benadryl-does anyone know what the maximum dose of benadryl would be for an adult with multiple bites?
    https://reference.medscape.com/drug/...dramine-343392

    DISCLAIMER: I am not a doctor! But for pills (it's available as IM/IV injection as well), it would seem to be 50 mg, 4 hours apart - not to exceed 300 mg per day. That said, if one is more than normally sensitive/allergic to stings, they should probably have an EpiPen at the ready. Benadryl doesn't work quickly enough if a severe allergic reaction occurs. Benadryl also comes with some cautions for older folks.
    Last edited by 4eyedbuzzard; 10-05-2019 at 07:56.

  8. #28

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    Thanks,I always carry some just in case.Only been hit by the yellow jacket once so far but that cloud I saw was definitely an eye opener.

  9. #29
    Registered User NY HIKER 50's Avatar
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    It seems like they were disturbed somehow. I don't want to say I'm better but I havehad them just flying around my hands, flying around me in the Catskills and I've never had a problem. I've even walked through a whole swarm of them without getting stung (Hint:move slow). I guess I'll find out the hard way one of these days. Oh, and one was near me on a table while I was eating an apricot. She was walking around impatiently until I let her have some of the juice.

  10. #30
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    And I've walked through hornets. They were like little bullies but none ever got me.

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