Off we go…
Jack and I enjoy finding new places to explore so this morning we tried a new trail that had been recommended to us by a friend. The entire trail stretches 3 km which is a longish walk for both Jack and I, but we had water and a snack and I planned to have a rest or two along the way. The morning was warm, but not humid and we set out full of the spirit of adventure. The trail winds through an area of mixed hardwood and fir trees and it’s beautiful. Everything was going along well until we came upon a pond. That’s when things started to go wrong. The area around the pond was humid and full of mosquitoes so we veered away from it and somehow got off the main trail. We clambered along a small path for a bit still being chased by vampire insects until we finally found a larger path and took it in what I thought was the direction back. The mosquitoes stayed with us though and poor Jack’s nose was being bloodied by the damn things. I was faring better because I had on DEET, but they were biting through my shirt and pants to the places that I didn’t bug spray. We stopped for water twice, but couldn’t really rest. I finally saw a clearing ahead and sighed relief that we had made it back to the parking lot…only it wasn’t the parking lot. It was a field of grain. I should mention here that there was no field of grain anywhere near the entrance to the trail so we were obviously off course. The mosquitoes weren’t too bad though so we did finally stop for a good rest. I pulled out my cell phone, found a map of the trail and figured out that we were actually on a totally different trail that connects to our original trail and that the only way back was the way we just came…through the mosquito tunnel until we picked up the main trail again. Thankfully, by the time we got going a good breeze had come up which helped control the mozzies a bit and our way home was long, but not intolerable. I even stopped at the pond for a few photos because it really is incredibly beautiful, we were already uncomfortable and I won’t be back this way anytime soon. I’ll try to get them up in a day or two, but right now Jack and I are crashed and recovering from a bit more adventure than we bargained for.
To quote Tolkein, what do the mosquitoes do when there are no hobbits (er, people and dogs) to eat?
An adventure! I’m so sorry about the damn mosquitoes, they are thick and heavy here too, and voracious. Well, they aren’t hanging out in Bismarck, but back home this weekend, Jayne and I didn’t go out much, we were being bitten half to death by the bloodsuckers.
The trail looks grand though, but I’m sure there are better times of year for exploring.
Out here we have ticks and no mosquitoes. I used to give my dogs advantix because otherwise the ticks would cover them. It never seemed to hurt them so I used to mix the stuff in some almond oil and use it for skin lotion if I was going where there were lots of mosquitoes or ticks. It seemed to work great and lasted for days. And now I can shoot laser beams out of my eyes.
That’s good thinking Marcus. Crazy, but good thinking. Of course, I’m not one to talk. I used my insulin for my diabetic cat. He lived for years and years, the fearsome great orange beastie did. Pumpkin, the Greatest of the Third Millennium Tabbies. My animals and children aren’t allowed outside without repellent. I see way too much Anaplasmosis and Babesiosis to risk those I love.