A great reminder!

Sometimes it's the little things that 'do you in' so to speak.

Chapped lips, mosquito bites, poison ivy, or a sunburn, are all things we need to prevent and can sneak up on us.

Good info.

Sunscreen isn't good for you. Wear a big sun hat and cover your skin. Especially during the hot part of the day. While it sounds nice sunscreen ingredients react to the sun and can cause skin cancer.

Alicia, if I wear 2 Trailspace hats at once(Sherlock Holmes style) does it double my UPF rating? :)

Old sunscreen can become very bad.  When using sunscreen, use new and not too high of an SPF rating.  I don't have the specs to quote but have heard that above SPF30 is not necessarily better because the ratings are not that correct and the ingredients can be bad.

I believe that SPF 30 blocks 97 percent of UVB rays, while SPF 50 blocks only 1-2 percent more. So for most people, the super high SPF's aren't necessary (ask your doctor though, as I am not one).

I personally try to use sunscreens with zinc oxide, versus loads of chemicals, especially on my kids, plus hats, sunglasses, etc. to keep the rays off.

Rick-Pittsburgh said:

Alicia, if I wear 2 Trailspace hats at once(Sherlock Holmes style) does it double my UPF rating? :)

Rick, we would be able to sell so many hats if that were only true. If nothing else, it would be a look.

When I was in Utah, very few folks wore sunscreen.  Almost all wore light colored/lightweight long pants, sleeves.  The climbers I worked with all wore large brimmed hats when they weren't on a pitch.

The Environmental Working Group's annual report has been my source of info on sunscreens for several years now -- it rates based on effectiveness and health risk based on active ingredients. They favor zinc and titanium.

I'm still easily fooled and lean toward high SPF, especially at high elev as I was last weekend. I'm fair-skinned so I try not to take chances.

Take a gander at the hat I am wearing in my avatar photo.   I've worn that (and a couple 'Planter's Hats' ) hat waaaaay before "Indiana Jones" and "Crocodile Dundee" were on the scene.  I've sweated through about 3-or-4 hatbands.  Was just tawkin' to a local "leather-guy" about making me up another hatband.

As a life-long surfer, sunscreen is a problem.   It's OK on your backside, but not anywhere on the front of your body.   It migrates to the top of the board's surface (deck), and the slipperyness makes standing impossible.

Zinc-oxide on the nose and lips.  There is a product called "Zink-a" that is zinc-oxide for the lips and nose, and it comes in vibrant neon colors.   Kinda cool.

I seldom wear hiking pants in the Summer.   Maybe, a brief few days with shorts, to get a little tan on those hideously white legs and feet.  Long-sleeve, light technical-fabric ("Cool-Max", etc.) shirts with modest SBF factor protection, and now, also "Insect*Shield" and "Buzz-Off" treated.

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~r2~