When Mosquitoes Attack

“Mosquitoes remind us that we are not as high up on the food chain as we think”

-Tom Wilson

I Left early on Monday morning instead of Sunday. My mom drove me to a spot near Sheffield MA and dropped me off at the trail on the side of Holmes rd. She pulled into a muddy spot that functioned as a parking area and I jumped out of the car moving quickly, eager to be on my way. She opened her door and immediately said, “Holy shit.” And I asked, “oh you mean the mud?” and she replied, “No, the mosquitoes.”

It was then that I realized they were everywhere. Huge swarms thick and voracious in the humid midmorning air. I got my pack on quickly, said goodbye, and started off at a brisk pace up into the Berkshire Mountains. The first part of the hike was all up. I had myself convinced that if I could just get up high enough the tree cover would thin out and a breeze would take care of the bugs. So I pushed hard. It was during this sprint to the top that my heels began slipping and rubbing against my shoes. I should have stopped immediately and retightened them (I am still breaking them in so this wasn’t completely unexpected) but I didn’t. I was so maddened by the little stings and the inhalations of 3-4 bugs at a time which always sent me into a coughing and spitting fit, that I just kept going trying to outrun them.

I reached a point where I knew mosquitoes or no I needed to take care of my feet. So I stopped and endured the constant attack while I used moleskin to pad my heels and tightened my boots. Then I kept going, looking for some exposed patch of sun and breeze. I found it on a big rock that was marked on the map by a little camera symbol. I took off my pack and went out on the rock with my Gatorade. It was quite lovely, not only to get away from the bugs but to look down on the river and houses and woods below. It made it worth the trouble. I rejoined my annoying traveling companions and dashed to the next scenic view point just half a mile away. It was even lovelier than the first with a 180 view and 5-6 birds of prey circling in the area. I figured they either spotted a dead animal or could smell me.

I walked on to the shelter thinking at one point I must have passed it, but I hadn’t and arrived and went through the process of collecting and treating water. Another hiker arrived. Gary is a retired cop in his 50’s. He is 150 miles short of completing his second AT section hike. We made dinner and chatted then I set up my tent and went to bed. In removing my shoes and socks I also removed the skin on my heels. They were raw. I slept poorly and got up around 8. Gary had left. I dressed and made breakfast my heels protesting the whole time. I packed up and left.

The first part the trek away from the Tom Leonard shelter was a lot of tricky and slippery ups and downs. I was fine on the downs but every time I had to climb up it would force my raw heel against my boot and put me in agony. It got to the point where I had to psyche myself up for each uphill section. Also, the mosquitoes had returned with the morning and were still trying to suck me dry. I knew the trail to my next stop was all uphill for about 2 miles and I decided I couldn’t do it. I’ve had enough problems with my feet and I wasn’t going to let the blisters get any worse. I needed to rest them. So I called my Mom for an emergency extraction. I ended up getting picked up about 5 miles from where she dropped me off.

I am letting my heels heal for a couple days back in NH. I have determined that my backpack is way too heavy weighing in at 46 Lbs I thought I was dying, and at that weight it makes my hip belt slip putting all the pressure on my shoulders and back. Not fun times. I am going use this time to get my pack down to 30lbs. I’ll pack less food, clothes, book and electronics. I would rather not have an Ipod to listen to if it means carrying a ton of extra shit that goes with it like a solar charger and cords etc.

I’m also going to make a new sternum strap because the one I have keeps slipping and breaking off.

I have near 1000 bites on my body. This is not an exaggeration and might even be an understatement. All total I lost at least 1 oz of blood and I look like I have measles.

There is supposed to be a frost on Friday that will kill all the mosquitoes that hatched after Irene making the Berkshires a little more inviting.

I am probably going to hike Mt. Monadnock sometime this weekend just to make sure my heels are healed enough to keep going and to test out a lighter pack. I should be returning to the trail in Mass for a stretch early next week. Just in case I will be bathing in deet before I leave and wearing mosquito netting over my hat.

So while I didn’t hike the distance I hoped for I did learn a lot. I’m still game for the trek and I will keep going.