You can make your own all natural mosquito repellent by using oils that have repellent properties in them. Some of the oils you may use include:

• Citronella
• Lemon
• Eucalyptus
• Cinnamon
• Castor oil
• Sunflower oil

To make your own formula from mosquito repellent plants, you may opt to make personal-sized or family sized quantities:

Step 1 – For the personal size, use two tablespoons of carrier oils or alcohol and mix this with ten to twenty drops of the type of oil you have selected for repellent.

Step 2 – For family size, use ten to twenty parts of alcohol or carrier oil with no more than ten percent of repellent oil.

Step 3 – Apply this mixture by rubbing or spraying on your clothes or skin, to naturally repel mosquitoes.

These essences are a natural mosquito repellent that make a safe and effective alternative to using chemicals when you are camping. The scents work together to repel mosquitoes from you and your family. Be sure to dilute these oils as noted in steps one and two above, with carrier oils or alcohol. Otherwise the natural oils can still irritate your skin.

Step 4 – Protect your children from mosquito repellent ingestion by keeping the mixtures in containers that are child-proof.

Step 5 – Use dark colored bottles to store your natural mosquito repellent, to avoid contact with light and heat.

Step 6 – If anyone in your family has allergies or asthma, be sure that you don’t use new repellents on them without checking with your physician first.

Using natural repellents against mosquitoes will give you a non-chemical-based way to keep the annoying little bugs away from you during all of your camping activities.

The first thing to know is the Mount San Jacinto State Park campground is actually split into two loops that are 6 miles apart. We were a little surprised to discover the Idyllwild campground is less than a mile away from the mountain town of Idyllwild. This made it really convenient for all the supplies that we forgot to pack grab a great meal before heading out of town. Many campers were seen walking the short distance to the many convenience stores. The Stone Creek campground, which we did not stay at, and was already booked, is 6 miles north along Highway 243.

Upon checking into the campground, we met the State Park ranger that, provided us with some quick highlights of the campground, an area map and a detailed account of the amenities the campground has to offer. She also let us know about current conditions on the mountain and offered to radio up to get a status update if there was still ice and snow at the top of Mt. San Jacinto. The ranger station also sells bundles of wood at $6 each. Knowing this or the proximity to town would of saved us some space in the SUV. Before we were ready to hike up Mt. San Jacinto in the morning, the ranger informed us of the icy conditions at the top and suggested another trail to Suicide Rock with some breathtaking views. It was very helpful.

We had reserved campsite #7, which on a map looks like the most remote campsite, however the map did not show you Highway 243, on the other side of a wooden fence. The road noise wasn’t terrible, but campsite 8 is very close. A few hikers who stayed in site #8 gave us a rude 5:30am awakening as they argued over the days schedule and activities. Campsite 6 also next door, was quite large and a large party of campers settled in there for some Cinco De Mayo festivities with their 6 tents. You know that it is a large spot if you can fit 6 tents easily; but back to campsite #7. It had room for 1 vehicle, and probably could of held 3 tents if you squeezed. The campsite had the basic picnic table, bear box and fire ring which hadn’t been dug out for quite some time. Over all a good site. I’ve stayed in worst and have stayed at much better.

The campground itself features some of the nicest amenities I have seen at a California State Park. There is a central bathroom / shower facility. There were probably 6-8 individual bathrooms; each tile, with locking door, flush toilet and sink. They were really clean and sanitary. I was impressed. Their were also 6 or so tolken operated showers. The tokens are available at the ranger station and were $1 each and were good for 5 minutes. A quick warning though… if you put $20 in the machine, you’ll get $20 of tolkens, and may leave with some Shower tolken souvenirs.

I could see how Mt. San Jacinto would be an excellent campground for any PCT hiker that was looking for a campground on the trail and featured some hot showers. This is probably why we saw so many Pacific Crest Trail hikers at the campground Friday and Saturday night. For the hikers out there, here is a hiking trail map to help them scout out their hikes, but would recommend picking up a topography map before starting your hiking adventures.

Idyllwild Campgrounds

• Mount San Jacinto State Park – Idyllwild
• Mount San Jacinto State Park – Stone Creek
• Fern Basin
• Boulder Basin
• Marion Mountain
• Dark Canyon Campground
• Black Mountain, San Bernadino Campground
• Idyllwild Campground

If you plan on camping with friends or family in an unfamiliar area, it’s vital that you learn how to read a compass. This is particularly true if you are going to be in a remote area without signal for your GPS unit or your cell phone.

The parts which help a compass to work include:

1. The housing – this is a unit on a base that can be turned, and is made from metal or other materials. This allows the needle on the compass to move easily, as caused by the magnetic north pole of the earth.
2. The direction of the travel arrow is located on the base, and will assist you in your navigation.
3. The needle is the next part of your compass. Using a compass means reading the compass needle, which always points toward the magnetic north pole of the earth.
4.  The orienteering arrow is an important part of your compass. This is at the bottom of your compass, in the housing and beneath the needle. It will point North. From that point, you’ll see that the West and East indicators are located at 90 degrees to either side of that orienteering needle. South is opposite of North, 180 degrees from it.

It’s important to be able to use a compass map combination, to find out where you are heading. Using both, you can determine your starting point and the place you are trying to find.

Step 1  – Rotate your compass housing so that your orienteering arrow points to North on the map.

Step 2 -  Rotate the compass and map together until the compass needle’s red end points to the North.

Step 3 – Follow the exact direction of the compass travel arrow, keeping the compass needle aligned with the housing’s arrow.

It’s best if you keep your map sealed in a plastic bag, and tie it off so that the wind can’t catch it.

Step 1 – Clean the skin off as soon as you can. If you can clean it off within ten minutes or less, there is a chance that you will rid your skin of the irritant before it penetrates your skin. You should use rubbing alcohol to cleanse the skin, and then rinse off with cool water.

-      Don’t scrub your skin or use warmer water. This can cause the irritant to get into your pores more fully.

-      Don’t use soap  as one of your poison ivy remedies until you have fully rinsed your skin. Soap can spread the irritants to other parts of your body.

-      Don’t go back out into any area that might have poison ivy, since rubbing alcohol makes you vulnerable to more poison ivy.

Step 2 – Be sure that you recognize your symptoms. If you did not quickly remove all the irritant when you were treating poison ivy, you may experience an allergic reaction within two days’ time. Your skin may be itchy and red, followed by a rash in patches or streaks. Then the rash will often develop into oozing blisters.

Step 3 – Do not scratch. You’ll only damage the skin, and the itch will remain. You may also expose yourself to an infection if you open the skin.

Step 4 – Wash your clothes and any other things that came in touch with the toxic plant, as one of your poison ivy remedies. This may include sports or gardening equipment, and also sheets, if you slept before treatment.

Step 5 – Take cool baths or showers and apply cool compresses, to give your skin welcome temporary relief. This is the step of poison ivy treatment that will keep you the most comfortable.

Step 6 – Keep the affected area of skin dry to the air. This will allow the itching to lessen, and minimize the blisters’ oozing.

Step 7 – Take antihistamines orally or apply them topically to treat poison ivy. These actually work only on the rash itself, not on the irritant causing it.

Step 8 – Use calamine lotion to ease the itch and soothe the skin. You can use this is often as you need it.

If you have been an avid camper, you probably are fairly familiar with the basics of survival, and you’ll want to take necessary items for emergency use with you, whenever you camp. The best way to ensure that you have everything you need for emergency use is to make an emergency survival kit, that you always have with you when you camp.

Know your camping destination before you head out, and be sure to pack your camping survival kit with you. There are optional things to include, but also some basics that should be in any camp emergency kit.

A First Aid Emergency Kit – you can buy these pre-packaged or make your own, but it  should include:

• 4” x 4” gauze pads
• 1” wide adhesive tape
• Antibacterial ointment
• Aspirin, acetaminophen and ibuprofen
• Antihistamines, in case someone has an allergic reaction to a bug bite, etc
• Various sizes of bandages
• A bar of soap
• Butterfly bandages to keep skin closed until you can get to a doctor, if an injury will require stitches
• Ointment for burns
• Cold pack for swelling
• Calamine lotion for itching
• Cotton swabs, for cleaning wounds
• Disposable gloves, for handling a bleeding injury
• Elastic wrap or bandage
• Eye patch
• Eyedropper and eye drops, for clearing eyes of foreign objects
• Foil blankets for extra heat
• Ipecac to induce vomiting, if a physician recommends it
• Iodine antiseptic solution
• Protective mouthpiece for mouth-to-mouth
• Non-stick bandages
• Absorbent cotton rolls
• Sugar packets for diabetic emergencies
• Safety pins to fashion bandages
• Sewing thread and needle
• Scissors
• Sunscreen
• Snake bite kit
• Triangular cloth pieces
• Thermometer

You should also include these other basics in your camping emergency kit:

1.  waterproof matches or lighters
2. a small mirror
3. a whistle, to alert incoming help of your location
4. a pocket knife
5. blankets for emergency use
6. rain gear and extra clothing
7. rope
8. cooking pot
9. hand saw
10. dehydrated food and other emergency foods
11. compass and map
12. LED flashlight with strobe and extra batteries
13. purified water or water supply
14. tablets for water purification

You can make modifications as needed to your camping emergency kit, depending on the area where you will camp, as well as individual needs. You may also wish to include flares, plastic bags, fishing line and extra prescription medications. You should be well-prepared if you have an emergency, understand the basics of survival and take along a camping survival kit, since you may be stuck without a cell phone or a computer to help.

OK, so you were never a boy scout? Don’t worry, you can still learn how to start a fire for your campsite. Even on summer evenings, it’s nice to have a fire, since it’s a pleasing place to gather with friends and relive the adventures of the day. Whether you just want to roast marshmallows or you need the fire to fry up a few freshly-caught fish, a campfire is an integral part of your camping experience.

The key to starting fire is not in the matches or the lighter. Or even rubbing two sticks together. It has to do with the way you set up the fire area, so that it will burn hot and engulf the wood you are using. You can’t just set up a pile of sticks in the sand and throw in a match.

Step 1 – Be sure that you can have fires in the park, if you’re camping in one. Many states have had several dry seasons, and setting fires is prohibited. In addition, don’t bring in firewood to your camping location if it is not allowed from your own area. Some woods contain the Emerald Ash Borer, and these are not allowed in many parks.

Step 2 – To get your fire going, you’ll need matches or a lighter, some kindling, a bunch of smaller branches and then some larger logs or pieces of wood. Be sure you use an area like a fire pit that is safe of any nearby vegetation. Some campers use lighter fuel or other flammables to start a fire, but using just matches or a lighter is more natural and more safe.

Step 3 – Your light-weight kindling will be the base layer of your campfire. This is what will generate the heat to get the rest of your fire going, You can use dry grass, bark, paper an

d dry leaves for your kindling. Add your smaller, dry branches as the layer on top of your kindling.

Step 4 – After your smaller branches are set, light the kindling with a match or lighter. You may light it in a few places, as long as you are careful. As the fire begins to burn more steadily, you can add the thicker branches and logs. These will become the longer lasting part of your fire, and give you the perfect charcoal bed for your s’mores or fish dinners. Add another log whenever you need it, to keep the warm coals going for campfire cooking, until it’s time to head for the tents and a good night’s sleep.

May the stars carry shine upon you,
May the flowers fill your heart with beauty
May hope forever wipe away your tears,
and above all,

May this New year be wonderful!

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The $30 annual Washintgon State Discover Pass permits Washington State residents access to over 7 million acres of Washington state-managed recreation lands. These lands include state parks, heritage sites, campgrounds, wildlife areas, trails and trailheads. The Discover Pass should be displayed when visiting any of the state’s recreation lands.

In addition to the Discover Pass the Department of Natural Resouces also received grant funding from the Offroad Vehicle Activities Program, and leveraged the assistance from local inmate work crews from the Mission Creek Corrections Center. Their effort help maintain the land with minor construction efforts, cleaning up litter and maintaining the facilities.

Additional information about the newly reopened campgrounds can be found at the Washington State Department of Natural Resource’s site: dnr.wa.gov/recreation

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