HikeArizona.COM

HI all - long time HIKEAZ guy, first time forum poster....

Let me preface this with a little background.

#1 -I grew up in AZ and hiked EVERYWHERE in the desert. NEVER have I come across poison oak or anything similar as I made my way through bushes, scrubs, etc...

#2 - I lived in Oregon for 10 years and have seen my fair share of poison oak. I'm very much allergic to it and can recognize it anywhere. I've been plagued by poison oak rashes MANY times.

Before posting any pictures of my rash, I hiked North Mountain in Phoenix 2 weeks ago and got off the beaten path. I was wearing shorts with ankle socks. That night, my legs began to itch. All the classic symptoms of poison oak. The next morning, I would have sworn I walked through a huge pioson oak patch. The front of my legs were riddled with red stringy bumps consistent with poison oak. It looks EXACTLY likle poison oak....The rash broke out and I've been on Predisone since.

My question - WHAT DID I WALK THROUGH AT NORTH MOUNTAIN!!!!?????

Surely there's no posion oak there. What's poisonous out there?

Thoughts anyone?

I have seen poison ivy in AZ, though not in huge quantities like we have it here.

Lots of poison ivy and poison sumac, though usually it is in riparian areas and not the open desert.

I've had bad reactions to certain types of grasses, shrubs and cactus spines found in open desert. Some of them have made my skin red and itchy... Were you bushwhacking?

There's large patches of poison ivy on Lemmon, Graham, and down near Patagonia so I would guess that it can be up there, as well...Some of the agave plants cause a nasty skin rash...

I would be flabbergasted if poison oak is anywhere near North Mountain. North Mountain is in the lower Sonoran Desert, and there's nothing even remotely like a riparian area there.
Creosote?

Jame I think you probably had a brush with fiddleneck, it's all over in the preserves now. The tiny hairs on it are itchy city.

Poison Ivy and sorts are more of a tree/shrub and can't survive in the valley deserts. Lots of it nearby in canyons that support micro climates, have more water and a slightly higher elevation.

joe bartels wrote:Jame I think you probably had a brush with fiddleneck, it's all over in the preserves now. The tiny hairs on it are itchy city.

Poison Ivy and sorts are more of a tree/shrub and can't survive in the valley deserts. Lots of it nearby in canyons that support micro climates, have more water and a slightly higher elevation.

Thanks for the input. I will do some research on it. Wonder if anyone else had a run in with Fiddleneck.

Never heard of it before, but this rash is out of this world. Classic, small string-like bumps that eventually swell, weep then dry up.

For the record, I was doing no bushwacking. Just climbed down the east side of the Cloud Nine ruins. Maybe occassionally plant touching with the legs, but selective where I walked. This is an absolute mystery to me. I'm going to see what fiddleneck rashes look like....

So I Googled Fiddleneck and instantly recognized it. I'm sure it's all over the North Mountain Preserve. Wikipedia says it's irritating to the skin. This makes sense, but was wondering why my reaction is so similar to poison oak. It didn't specify if the plant caused similar symptoms...

How high up on your legs did you have the allergic reaction?

Jim Lyding wrote:How high up on your legs did you have the allergic reaction?

It's from the top of my ankle socks to my knee. Everything exposed, and mainly in the front like I walked through something..

I would guess that fiddleneck is more likely than creosote because the former grows low to the ground while the latter grows a little higher.

Scorpionweed also causes allergic reactions. That's why it's called scorpionweed.

Since moving here I have had that same thing twice and only in the spring. I have had poison ivy really bad in the past and this was just like it but not as severe.

We have a LOT of poison oak/ivy (it is almost the same plant) up here in the White Mtns. but I almost never catch it because I know where it is, even in winter when the leaves are gone.

But I was out in Calif. mtn. biking at Xmas and got a really bad case of either poison oak or other plant in riparian area along bike path in Oceanside, San Luis Rey River. I still have red patches on my legs, and there is one by my knee that is still pink and it still itches once in awhile. During the worst of it I had the leaking pustules that kept spreading, and the itching was horrendous. I was putting anti-itch ointment (there are several kinds) on it and taking Benedryl (diphenhydramine). Both of those things are what you should use, unless it gets infected, in which case you should see the doctor. The diphenhydramine will make you sleepy, though. I also bought large dressings to put on it where it would rub against my jeans.

Awful!

Al_HikesAZ wrote:Scorpionweed also causes allergic reactions. That's why it's called scorpionweed.

There seems to be a difference of opinion on this one:

"Scorpionweed gets its name from its curling flowerhead, which resembles a scorpions tail."

http://www.toddshikingguide.com/FloraFauna/Flora35.htm

One thing I forgot to mention: Whatever I got in the riverbed in Oceanside lasted WAY longer than any poison oak I have ever had before. I got it on Dec 20 and still was treating it in late January, although it had improved a lot by then. Nasty pumpkin...

jeffmacewen wrote:There seems to be a difference of opinion on this one:
"Scorpionweed gets its name from its curling flowerhead, which resembles a scorpions tail."
http://www.toddshikingguide.com/FloraFauna/Flora35.htm

Yeah that is a major part of it, but rub it all over your legs and see if you are allergic or not. Most people are allergic to it to some degree.

Al_HikesAZ wrote:Yeah that is a major part of it, but rub it all over your legs and see if you are allergic or not. Most people are allergic to it to some degree.

Oh, yeah, right, YOU'RE a great friend! :roll:

I wonder if canyon ragweed might cause a reaction like that: http://www.hikearizona.com/dexcoder.php?dex=1&PID=508

Or bursage: http://www.hikearizona.com/dexcoder.php?dex=1&PID=509

Both are common in the Phoenix area and are members of the ragweed family.

There be poison ivy growing along the stream at Reavis Ranch so be careful if your tip toeing down through the tulips to take a dip in the stream.