Hunting Insulators in the Wild

Tools Needed

• Saw - To cut off crossarms or pins
• Wrenches - to unbolt pins
• Oil filter wrench - to remove stubborn pins
• Tack claw - for pulling circuit code tags on crossarms
• Climbers - for going up poles
• Ladder - the easier way to climb poles
• Insulator grabber - an insulated extension pole with a gripping end used by a collector on the ground to remove insulators high up on a crossarm
• Bolt cutters - for cutting guy wires attached to Johny Balls
• Backpack - for carrying insulators out of the wild
• Duct Tape - 1001 uses: An aid for dealing with blisters, a way to seel ripped plastic if caught in the rain, a means to hold insulator pieces together, provides some cushioning if wrapped around pieces, could be used to hold a splint together if your break a leg.

Maps and locational devices

• Global Position System (GPS) if you have one
• Paper bags - You can write on these the location where you find whole insulators or pieces and know where to return to get the rest of the pieces when you have time or when they are pushed to the surface
• Maps
  • Road map to find the general location of your hunt, parking places, and existing railroads
  • Abandoned railroad maps
    • Winterrich, Julie A. 500 Great Rail-Trails:A Directory of Multi-Use Paths Created from Abandoned Railroads. Los Angeles, CA: Living Planet Press, 1993.
    • Nielsen,Waldo. Right of Way: Guide to Abandoned Railroads in the United States. Bend, OR: Old Bottle Magazine, 1974.
  • Sanborn Insurance Maps

Medical Advice

• Mosquitos
  • Best Insect Repellent for Mosquitoes , a 2003 Consumers Report article hosted by WebMD
  • Insect Repellent Review by Good Housekeeping
  • Insect bite protection Insect barrier clothing and repellent
  • CDC Adopts New Repellent Guidance a 2005 press release from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

• Poison Ivy, Poison Oak, Poison Sumac
  • What does Poison Ivy look like? Wikipedia picture.
  • More pictures at different times of the year and lots of information. Poison Ivy, Oak and Sumac Information Center.
  • FDA Recommendations on causes, prevention and treatments
    
• Skunks: If you get sprayed by a skunk, the following recipe is the current, best way to get rid of the smell. Mix 1 quart of 3% hydrogen peroxide, 1/4 cup sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and a teaspoon of liquid detergent. Bath with this, rinse with water and repeat if necessary. Use this mixture immediately and do not store in a closed container because the rapid release of oxygen from the mixture produces a great deal of pressure. This formula may result in bleaching.
  
• Dehydration
  • The Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC), Boston Club has the following advice: If you're dehydrated by even 5%, you can experience a 20 to 30% decrease in your metabolism, an effect you certainly feel. Mild dehydration results in headache, weakness, fatigue, irritability, loss of appetite, and decreased resistance to hot and cold. To estimate your state of hydration, check the color of your urine. Clearer means that you are better hydrated - darker yellow indicates dehydration.

    When you exercise, particularly in cooler weather, the thirst mechanism becomes suppressed, and it often requires conscious effort to drink enough. On a typical day hike, you will lose four liters of water (about one gallon), more than you probably drink. Most hikers load up on water (and calories) before they head out, perhaps by drinking a liter of water with breakfast, and they hydrate again when they get done. You should still drink two to three liters of water during the day hike. A caution: don't drink too much water at once. You can not absorb it that fast, and it will go right through you.

    Along with water, your body also needs electrolytes. Your body fluids contain minerals such as sodium, potassium, calcium, and others, which are responsible for muscles contracting and nerves working. So called "sports drinks" help replace electrolytes, as do certain foods such as bananas.

• Blisters
• One web site suggested "when you develop a blister, put a piece of duct tape on your foot, covering the blister. You can also put a piece of tape on the offending spot inside your boot as well. This quick fix will keep your blister from getting worse and will see you through to the end of your hike."
  
  

Last updated May 29, 2008