Variation of a blurb I write every spring:

Long pants. Long sleeves. Wear gaiters (with pants tucked inside) or tuck pants into socks. Button up your collar nice and snug. As the films they showed us in the 1950s in school told us, if the tick can't reach your skin until it gets as far as your neck, you'll feel it crawling and can remove it. Excuse me, right now my neck itches like crazy just thinking about it!

These days we have new tick-spread diseases, especially Lyme (back in the 1950s it was just Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, often fatal until antibiotics were invented that zapped it). We do have an effective weapon not available in the 1950s. Spray your clothes with permethrin. It's a pesticide, not a repellent. Be sure to follow label directions and keep far away from cats! Spray in well-ventilated area and let thoroughly dry. Don't inhale spray or get the wet stuff on your skin. Once it's dry, no issues. This also works great for mosquitoes (but not biting flies). The bugs-off treatments sold with outdoor clothing use permethrin, and, if you don't mind paying a higher price, last a lot longer than using the spray.

DEET works fairly well on your skin as a repellent, to supplement your permethrin-sprayed clothing. A thin line at the collar and cuffs will do (be careful not to get it on your watch!). Probably a good idea to wear a hat (sprayed) and put a line of DEET at your hairline.

Ask your vet for a recommendation for your dog. Around here (Columbia River Gorge) we've found Frontline (used to be the best) not so effective, and are using K9Advantix (which has permethrin--again, keep away from cats!). Note that these treatments do not repel ticks but kill them once they settle down and find a place to bite. If your dog has thick fur, the ticks may crawl around for quite a while before finding a spot to dine. If your dog has thin hair, the ticks will bite right away and you may have to remove them at every stop.. The stuff kills the tick supposedly before it upchucks its stomach contents into the dog's skin, but usually takes a half-hour or more after the bite..

As you can see, there will be ticks on your dog. Take a comb along and comb him thoroughly before putting him in your car or tent. When you get home, comb him again and check for ticks before letting him into the house.

Check yourself, too, clothing outside and your skin in the shower.

When removing a tick, don't grasp its body (use tweezers on the head) and don't use stuff like vaseline, gasoline, hot match heads, etc. All these will cause the tick to disgorge its stomach contents into your bloodstream, which is exactly what you do not want!

A deeply embedded tick requires a trip to the ER (or vet, for your dog). Also consult a physician ASAP if you develop a rash at the bite (the famous Lyme birdseye), or develop a body rash and fever (symptoms of Rocky Mtn. Spotted Fever).

Some places just have lots of ticks and are best avoided, especially in spring when they're most active. The worst places I've encountered are along the California coast. I'm going to be down there in a few weeks for a birding festival and plan to treat my clothing before I go!

For more info, here is an article I helped write.