[at-l] Two (Indiana's Knobstone Trail)

[Tom McGinnis]

...legs. Two legs. That's the difference between ticks and chiggers. They even look the same under a low-power microscope. (I've been looking.) But one has eight legs, and the other has six. Chiggers are even classed as Arachnida. I'd say "Been there, been done by that; got the tee-shirt" but in fact I missed out on the tee-shirt.
http://www.dailyshirts.com/2007/04/29/chigger-please/ Chiggers make the tiny deer tick look like Goliath -- remember how the deer tick was so small, it was the size of the head of a pin? Well, chiggers are the size of the pointy end of that pin.

Great hike this past weekend on the Knobstone, leaving Delaney at 9:00am on Friday, hiking the clockwise section of the Delaney/Spurgeon figure-8. Hiked through 10,000°F heat/humidity to arrive at Elk Creek Lake 17 miles later at 6:30pm. We were completely gooey from the conditions, and frankly, I was worried -- weather-wise, today was supposed to be the *good* day -- in the mid-80s, while Saturday and Sunday were to be in the 90s. Ugh. This bode poorly. I think it was still 86°+ at 9:00pm.

We shooed burzzing "eye bugs" away past dark, and the slow mosquitoes that followed, and then the extra-large carpenter ants who so desperately wanted to traverse our exposed bodies all night, us too hot to even get into the bivy sacks. 'Long about 11:00pm came a half-hour of heavy rain that lowered the temperature a whole degree Fahrenheit. After putting up the pre-rigged tarp, we celebrated the rain's coolness by getting into our bivies. (This truly was nasty -- I think the hottest night I may have ever spent "out" -- ever. Ever. And nasty. Yuk.)

The next morning, temperatures had dropped to the lower 80s, but after a long night of whacking and slapping bugs (and the previous 17 miles of heavy hills), it was hard to just roll up and leave camp. We were walking at 7:00am, to Meet Up [ha!] with Mark and Gary at Leota Trailhead at 9:00am. Six of the toughest KT miles in two hours. We would have to go at Mark II (Mark is one quick hiker, and his passage defines it's own speed characteristics), and with today supposed to be even hotter than yesterday's gooey sweatbox, this was just NOT smart. 

We gave it a shot, at a pace I thought would not leave us "ruined" for the day at 9:00am, and proceeded up the trail, busting the cobwebs every hundred yards. When an hour had passed and we'd comfortably gone only two miles (this is a good clip on this section of the KT), it was plain we wouldn't make it to Leota by 9:00am, and the idea that we'd hold up Mark and Gary from making cool miles on what was to be a hot, hot day was just *no* good at all -- time to bail. 

When the trail popped over a ridge to run down the other side, we exited the trail to the west, following the ridge up to Lee Saylor Road, and following that to Leota Trailhead, arriving with minutes to spare. Cool. 

And cool it was! It was still barely 80°F, much less humidity than yesterday, and we were actually sitting in the sunlight when Mark and Gary pulled up. (And to make a long story short, weather-wise, the five of us enjoyed near-perfect "hot, summer" weather for the next two days. It was hot, sure, but it was entirely doable. We had to watch our hydration carefully (VERY), but nobody got into serious trouble. Gary got "uncomfortable" -- we think he may have gotten short of electrolytes, as he hydrated regularly but ended up with an ultramarathon-style queasy stomach -- but if we'd been hiking a third day, I think he would've had it down pat, and given the tough trail and the hot conditions, Yow, that's saying something.

Anywho, we took off from Leota (24.7) and marched south to IN160 (11.1) where we stopped for dinner (a small water source to take advantage of). We were amazed that the thick-furred brown dog who adopted the boys and I at Leota had followed the 5 of us all the way south. We did our best to not feed him or otherwise encourage him too much, but he was one fine hiker and it was hard to not appreciate him. He ranged quite comfortably around us, though, and we figured he was a "local" who regularly did the trail...

After dinner, we climbed up from the road and looked for a spot to spend the night. My first choice everybody (*everybody*) hated -- it was a narrow ridge that stuck out into the lowlands, but lacked a view or a grassy flat spot. BUT GETTING THERE WAS SO MUCH FUN[!] in that medieval sort of way -- we went a good 1/4 mile through prickers and vines. But talk about seclusion! (The other four were hearing none of it.) We left.

The night spot we did choose (~9.7) easily fit a party of five, and the boys and I plopped down and were quickly overtaken by snooze. Mark set up his Hennessy hammock between two trees, while Gary set up his tent. No late night partying here. Did I say the weather was perfect? It was, but it was still perfect for a hot, humid summer hike. Hot. Humid. We was wore out.

Sunday morning gave us even better weather (by a degree?), and a couple of royal steep climbs (did I mention that Mark and Gary were each carrying upwards of 30 pounds? The boys and I were toting 8-12 pounds.) We were all feeling it though, and slowly slowed towards the middle of the day. What looked like a 1:00pm finish slowwwed down to an eventual 4:00pm day. But what great company to sit around with hour-long breaks? The boys finished charging up front, and spent most of the afternoon with Mark, while Gary and I granny-geared up the hills, talking about life and software. A good hike 
http://backpackers.meetup.com/149/photos/?photoId=5031805&photoAlbumId=410199
even if my feet look like this:
http://www.dailyyonder.com/files/u2/chigger370_1.jpg

So:
1) You CAN learn to sleep with large creepy-crawlies creepy-crawling all over you all night. (Not that I recommend it.)
2) I'd forgotten that in really "HHH" conditions, having separate sleeping gear was a really good idea -- Mark had light cotten pj-looking things -- I once had a pair of silk boxers in my equipment box, why on earth did I take them out? Don't sleep gooey.
3) Don't forget your electrolytes. The boys and I paid hard attention to it, and made out rather well (cuz we didn't have much to spare). Gary hydrated well, but got hit (*perhaps*) by some need for Na/K.... Got to remember this on shorter hikes when food compromises may leave your favorite long-distance-hike sources of Na/K at home...
4) Chiggers SUCK. (Did I mention this?) I rarely use bug stuff, though we carry 100% DEET. I've heard about chiggers sure but, no lie, have never run into them. (Seriously!) Man, they're small, too. A bit o' DEET around the ol' sock tops would've done marvelous things. Lesson. Word.

Happy hiking, y'all.
sloetoe
recently anointed 
Cheerleader Boy