Avoiding poison ivy on the Lick Brook & Treman FLT course (and in general)?!?

Hi All—

The talk of poison ivy on Lick Brook FLT has me a little scared/concerned. I grew up out west, and I’m not good at identifying it.

What is the best way to avoid coming in contact with poison ivy (besides not running trails! :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:)? Has anyone used the post exposure soap that is supposed to remove the oils?

Also, those you have seen the poison ivy, on what section of the trail is it?

Thank you!

I haven’t been on that trail yet, so I’m not sure what people have seen. However, I didn’t grow up with it either (just outside of Ithaca, but high enough up on a hill that there was no poison ivy) and didn’t learn to identify it until after the first time I got it. That was unpleasant enough that I learned quickly. This Web page has some good pictures.

All that said, my advice is generally just to wear longer socks if you’re worried (and peel them off without touching the outsides if you think they’re contaminated), and stick to the middle of the trail. Generally speaking, you have to leave trails to get into a patch.

If you do think you’ve gotten into some, the key is to think of the urushiol oil like grease and remove it using dish soap and washing with a washcloth. The key is to get all the oil off, and scrubbing (not hard) with a cloth will go a long way. This is a good overview of how to deal with it. Since I’ve been following this advice, I haven’t any trouble.

@adamengst Thank you for the information!! In my previous experiences with poison ivy, I didn’t have an obvious ‘run in’ with it. Since I know it’s out there, I’ll make sure I wash well.

Does anyone know for sure if there’s poison ivy on the course, and if so, where is it? I ran this two days ago and didn’t see any, and don’t recall ever seeing any on these trails ever before.

Others had posted on their Lick Brook Treman FLT stories that there was poison ivy between Woodard Rd. and the turnaround. Since I’m not good at spotting poison ivy and my previous run ins usually result in a prednisone treatment, I asked for more information.

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