Going to the Amazon with the RAT Team.

Go to the doc and get strong hydrocortisone cream for bites.

2nd the fungal treatment. Womens yeast infection cream works great for all that stuff.

Tinactin foot powder for crotch rot, nasty stuff, keep the boys clean and dry sans knickers.
Good sports sandles excel in this environment, I suggest Chaco brand.

DEET and MORE! DEET. Did I mention DEET?;)

Antibiotics Cipro, Zithromax or the like, the runs will ruin your trip.

A decent FA kit geared towards bites, skin issues and infection.

Skam
 
Thanks everyone.

First about the blades. Yes I can buy something localy but I was told by Mike Perrin that I might not have enough time to sharpen and mod the handle like mine is. I have broken mine in with a sander and a file already. I won't get to Peru until the 2nd sometime and we leave in the morning so I didn't want to spend all my time working on a machete. I will be taking my Mora 2,000 and with that combo Jeff said it would be an interesting addition to all the blades everone will have. The ontarios will be for abuse use and my friend ron hood said take some cheap blades and asprin for trade with the locals if I need to. As far as RATs go. The TAK is my favorite knife but before I decided to go to the Amazon I removed the coating wich makes it too risky to take. I will be getting an RC-3 after the trip is over from the RAT Team. By the way I think Jeff uses a $3 Tramontina. I will be bringing back some South American machete/blades for real cheap.

I have a thread on another forum for knife/sheath makers who want me to test something for them and write a review with full pictures. If you want me to take something just know that Jeff Randall and Mike Perrin will also get a chance to use and test them too.

I am known for my picture posting outdoors/blade threads on some other forums but I have a little trouble posting here. So far this past year I have hiked all the highest mountains in California including Mt. Whitney. Also did the Grand Canyon in may. This will be completely different in every way. There isn't much I can do as far as my normal prep. but hike in the hottest places and get used to that kind of heat. Can't do anything about the humidity. I will give a full report.

What is Sawyers permethrine military clothing dip????

Any Jungle tips are very welcome. My biggest fear so far would be my feet.

Dr. Bill we gotta talk.
 
Sounds like fun. About 9 yrs ago after my divorce, I did something impromtu and hired a guide and went ourselves on a little Amazon trip. I think everything was covered on what you need. Drink plenty of clean water, a couple of good compact lights and extra batteries, & take a pr of comfortable sandles and wear them when you can, you'll know when. It helps air your feet out. My watch battery went dead and I sure did miss the time. Dumb I know. I bought a Sieko self winding when I got home. :-)
 
Good to see you over here bear.......On a side note. do you have a good flashlight to take along with you to cut thru the darkness?


Cerberus
 
The Saywer's Military Clothing treatment is a really effective insect repellent that actually bonds to the cloth and stays active for six weeks. Permethrine is absolutely lethal to ticks and chiggers as well as a host of other little nasties. It also breaks down in contact with skin so it doesn't absorb into your system that way. It is used worldwide to treat mosquito nets and tents. It has been around for a long time too, it's nothing new.

The treatment is easy and only costs $5 - $7, the best money you ever spent before a bug infested trip. All you do is mix the little bottle of Permethrin diluted with a bottle measure of water and dump it into the bag they provide. Roll your pants and shirt and slide them into the mix, let it soak in and wet all the fabric. Then you just hang it and let it air dry. The stuff doesn't have any real smell once it dries.

In my area of Brazil we have tick and chigger populations that are off the charts. I have gotten as many as 150 chigger bites in one long weekend when not using protection at the height of the season. After that experience, and it was miserable, I looked into a solution (no pun intended).

At the same time of year and the same location with the Sawyer treatment I got zero bites (as in none). I was also using DEET on my lower legs and around my waist. A friend on the same trip only used DEET and got about 30 bites. I couldn't even find chiggers on my clothes. The larger ticks would wander on and then wander back off. I forced one to walk around on my sleeve and it died.

The only criticism I have is that one treatment just barely treats the clothes they say it will. I would buy two and make sure everything got really soaked. I also treat my socks as I find chiggers rip into my ankles more than anywhere else. Mac
 
pict,
Does the treatment discolor or harm the clothes in any way? I know I made the mistake of spraying some OFF insect repellent on a nylon fishing shirt (I think it was a Columbia) and it sort of melted part of the shirt. It was on the pocket and wasn't real bad, but it still sucked. Last time I did that.
 
Wow...that would be so much fun. I wonder if grubs taste like chicken! ;)

I am jealous!
 
Just found this thread.

We are pleased to have Bear going with us on the trip in November. From my email communications with him he seems to be someone that's really interested in learning and getting the most he can get out of the trip. Our kinda folks. On this trip we are allowing tents since shelter building takes so much time and maintenance every day, and we want to use that time for other skills. We will be teaching shelter building though. So, the trip won't be "bare bones" but the participants are basically going to be limited to clothes on their back, water purification and storage container, light, knives, personal first aid kit, poncho, compass, fire building tools (lighter and ferrocerium) and camera gear. We will carry a small amount of food in for the first night but after that we either go hungry or eat what the jungle offers.

As for permethrin, let me give you one of our odd experiences using it. We treated our clothes with it during a Costa Rica trip once. Mike, myself, and a few others were up on top of a mountain rapelling down a waterfall. Of course we got soaking wet. After going off rope and getting back in the dry and sun, Mike started to develop an allergic reaction to the permethrin and had to remove his shirt and wash off before getting better. Not being sure if it was the permethrin he put the shirt back on and the reaction started again. So, we're not 100 percent sure it was the premethrin but since then he has not been able to wear any clothing treated with it. No one else was bothered by it. Anyway, since that time we have advised all of our jungle participants of the "risks" associated with using treated clothing.

Jeff Randall
 
Jeff,

Allergies aside, what was your experience with it concerning insects? I know I'm sold on it for Central Brazil ticks/chiggers (I live in Minas Gerais). I'm also not allergic to it either, I imagine that would be a serious drawback to using it. Our tick/chigger season is in the winter/dry season, so I don't bother treating my clothes during rainy season here as it just isn't necessary.

If you have never had 150+ chigger bites on your lower body let me tell you it is an experience. It made sleep almost impossible. This was just a short 3 day trip and I don't think I slept more than a few hours total.

I do not get chigger bites where I use DEET (without treated clothes) but you have to
stay on top of applying DEET and they will wander around until they find a spot you missed.

AustinTXshooter,

I can't speak for all fabrics but I treat my OD BDU's, socks and, long sleeve T-shirts with it and there is no discoloration. The effect is durable. I have used the same clothes a month after treating them and it still worked 100%. Mac
 
Permethrin works, no doubt.

I have had my share of chigger bites and I do know the feeling ;) Again, we just stay on top of it using DEET, but we're not allowing any DEET on thie trip. We will use other means, such as live termite mounds, or just suffer through.

Jeff
 
No DEET! That's hard core. That isn't survival training, its survival, you guys ain't fooling around!

If measured by the gram insects are the most dangerous animals in the bush. I ask people all the time, what would you rather face, one kg of mammal/reptile or one kg of mosquitos? Its the difference between eating dinner and being dinner. Mac
 
Survival is a hard thing to teach, in fact it's almost impossible due to any training always being in a controlled environment for safety reasons. Adding little things such as no comforts of DEET, adds realistic stress to the situation. With that said, we are taking DEET (just like we're carrying an expanded first aid kit) but it won't be used unless someone wigs out or a mdecial reason kicks in. In the end, the participants paid money to get this training. If they choose to use DEET or carry candy bars, then they can but they're only robbing themsleves of the full training. We will not dis-allow it, but they're cheathing themselves if they use more than our standard "tool" list. I've been through many of these jungle survival deals. It's real tempting not to break down and use something other than the tools for the trip, but after you get through you're always glad you didn't. We've had more than one person tell us "I Hated it" when asked if they liked the trip, but they always add, without fail, "I wouldn't take anything for the experience." We had one guy that told us he was going home and burn his passport and never leave the U.S. again, but he was over-joyed at himself for making it through the trip. This particular trip will not be that bad. It's only a week. Those 3 week survival expeditions are what really kick you in the ass and make you want to go home to momma. ;)
 
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