We walked passed tons of lakes- some big and blue and beautiful, others more stagnant and nasty than anything. We were able to find some breaks where a breeze was blowing and the mosquitos weren't so bad, which made taking breaks a bit more enjoyable.
The trail wound through rolling, tree-covered hills. Somehow we missed a chunk of our group at lunch (or rather, they missed us since we stopped first), and we didn't see most of them again until camp.
I could tell I was at my whits end because I had woken up already dreading going to bed that night amidst all the mosquitos. Since we have a tarp and not a tent, we don't get any refuge at night. Our friend Flippy, in regular Flippy fashion had decided to pull a rediculously long day (43 miles) and head all the way into Elk Lake Resort, where the rest of us would end up the next morning. Often when he does this he ends up "cowboy camping" (sleeping under the stars) and not using his tent. So, in a brilliant and desperate moment, as he's walking away from getting water, I yell, "Hey Flippy! What are the odds that you are going to set up your tent?" He says he doesn't know how bad the mosquitos will be so he's not sure, and heads out. Disappointing for sure.
Less than 2 miles later we come upon the rest of the crew in camp. Flippy's hanging out and he says he's decided to leave us his tent (he later said he could tell how much I didn't want another night of mosquitos). It only has one pole, which he'd lost, so long story short, you can use his umbrella instead. So he leaves us his umbrella and tent, with promises to return them in the morning. Let me just say how amazing it was to climb inside that tent and have no mosquitos buzzing around my head all night. It was a true gift. However, sometime in the middle of the night we wake up to rain, and we groggily realize that we have Flippy's tent AND unbrella! We felt horrible! All we could do is pray he found shelter somewhere and hope he wasn't mad (he wasn't). Despite the rain, we slept well and dry and bug free all night. Thanks again Flippy!
PS:Scroll down a few entries to see a few pictures!
Total Miles:1951.7
Miles Today:32.0
Camp 96:Flippy's Rainy Tarp Tent
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2 comments:
Great story-telling! I was lol as I read these 4 new entries. Everyone can relate to that nasty high-pitched buzz of those irritating mosquitoes! Brings back memories of my GS camping days...there was just NO escaping them! I admire your endurance! Mom S.
Hey guys...Brooke and I can totally relate. It was a last second decision for us to take the tent instead of the tarp on the Wind Rivers hike. It was a HUGE relief to know that we could bunker down at night in the tent. We experienced several days of stage 2 and 3 mosquito action ;-)
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