Nettles

[ridgewalker777]

Lots of stinging nettles in Vermont. Do any hikers experience more than a minor, and momentary irritating rash? Herbalists have a lot of uses for decoctions of the plant, in Spring, the new plant is quite good cooked like spinach.

[TIDE-HSV]

I hate the stuff. First, there's the spider web feeling, and then the burning starts. Once on an Salzburg, Austria vacation, my daughter was playing in the back yard of our little B&B with a couple of Austrian kids, when the ball rolled down into low hedgerow between each steeply-terraced yard. I retrieved the ball and the two Austrian girls giggled. I asked them in German what that plant was and they replied "Brenn Nessel" (burn-nettle). A few seconds later, I knew what they meant...

[Hikerhead]

A few weeks ago I stealth camped up above Gravel Springs shelter in SNP. That crap was everywhere, fields of it. I had to use the old poles as bushwhackers again. The old remedy is to spit in your hand and rub it on the affected areas. I really tested the old remedy out this time and I'm glad to say it worked.

[hootyhoo]

My wife's grandmother was Cherokee and she used Touch Me Not for all types of skin irritations.
Look for touch me not- it usually grows close by. The stems and leaves contain a substance similar to preparation H. It will provide instant relief. Also works on poison ivy.

[saimyoji]

My wife's grandmother was Cherokee and she used Touch Me Not for all types of skin irritations.
Look for touch me not- it usually grows close by. The stems and leaves contain a substance similar to preparation H. It will provide instant relief. Also works on poison ivy.

Does it work on hemmorhoids?

[TIDE-HSV]

Worth a try. Look for plants with three leaves...

[fiddlehead]

Didn't you even hear of the remedy for hiking in pain:

"To hike with an injury, try this little trick: Put a generous amount of red cayenne pepper on your toilet paper before using." Pieps


Just substitute stinging nettles for "red cayenne pepper"

[Moxie00]

On my thru in 2000 I stoped for lunch at the Clyde Smith Shelter. "Arrow" came in with a lerge bunch of nettles she had picked along the trail. She boiled them for lunch and shared them with me. It was the best lunch I had on the entire trail. She and I became instant friends and hiked pretty much together all the way to Maine. My wife picks and cooks wild nettles near our home. They are an excellent source of vitamins and are very good for you.
True they do sting so you have to handle them with care but along with fiddleheads and chantrell mushrooms they are one of the real great treats I can pick in the wild and enjoy on the at. I always pack Parkey and garlic powder and enjoy wild food along the trail. Just be sure of what you are picking.
(I'm in Chicago waiting to fly on to Beijing on Monday-then on to Tibet-back in August)