Date: 2016-06-03
From: War Spur Hostel

To: Stealth Camping at 677.9
Miles today: 11.1
Weather: broken clouds

After a good nights sleep that was needed after yesterday's hiking was awake at 8.00 and on the trail at 9.30.Downhill for a mile before a two and half mile steep climb up Johns Creek Mountain and then a steady descent to Laurel Creek Shelter where I had a quick snack.Nice downhill hike through pastures and open land to reach Keffer Oak, the largest oak tree on AT in the south, over 18' around and over 300 years old.Steady climb through fields and then a steep one mile climb up Sinking Creek Mountain, by the time I reached the top I was exhausted and the next shelter was about a mile away and 0.4 mile off the trail.Found a nice spot overlooking the valley below where I set up my hammock and made dinner.I read somewhere that hiking in Virginia is easy and you can hike many miles in a day, perhaps somebody can tell me where it gets easier as so far it's been as challenging as Georgia/North Carolina and Tennessee.Looking forward to some easier days.Have been warned about bears, snakes and now the smallest of creatures...Lyme disease is known to wreck lives and strike when people least expect it.Transmitted from ticks, it can take years to diagnose, leaving people suffering painful symptoms doctors are unable to explain.On any ranked list of nasty diseases transmitted by mosquitoes, ticks and fleas in the Western world, Borrelia burgdorferi, would have to lie near the top. These bacteria cause Lyme disease, which was first recognised in the US in the early 1970s among patients in Lyme, Connecticut. Lyme disease is one of the fastest growing diseases in the Western world ¢ the threat it poses has become increasingly apparent in recent years.Estimates suggest that more than 300,000 people are diagnosed with the disease each year in the US and more than 65,000 cases a year are diagnosed in Europe. Humans can become infected after being bitten by an infected tick. However, as Ixodes ticks can also transmit other bacteria and viruses, it can be hard to diagnose Lyme disease.This is because it is one possible illness among the potentially large number of infections that may have been contracted as a result of the tick bite, meaning it often goes untreated.But it¢s not just ticks we have to worry about. Lice, fleas, and mosquitoes have also been found to contain Borrelia. Some people develop a bull¢s eye-like rash, called Erythra migrans, after being bitten by a tick.It normally appears between 3 and 30 days after infection. As infection spreads, Borrealia can also affect the skin in other areas; the nervous system; the joints or the heart.The brain becoming infected is a rare but potentially serious complication, arising in 15 per cent of untreated Lyme patients who go on to be very ill.This can also cause permanent brain damage.Because of this wide range of non-specific symptoms, patients often don¢t get a clear diagnosis or treatment options.When Lyme disease is suspected, laboratory tests to detect specific antibodies against Borrelia burgdorferi can help confirm the diagnosis ¢ although these are far from perfect. Some patients, about 10-20 per cent, can develop a debilitating chronic condition called post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome.They suffer symptoms including arthritis, fatigue, muscle pain and minor cognitive impairments such as headaches and sleep disturbances.Unfortunately, there is currently no vaccine available against Lyme disease - but there are measures we can carry out to reduce the risk of infection.These include avoiding tick-infested areas, wearing protective clothing and insect repellent to reduce the risk of being bitten.