Date: 2012-06-21
From: Goddard Shelter

To: Black Brook Campsite
Miles today: 9.9

"Why didn't Noah swat those two mosquitoes?" - Author UnknownThe sky was just taking on a slight golden bit of color when I woke. My first thoughts were of the heat and humidity forecast for the day. I immediately started packing up. No one was stirring around the shelter or other tents so I didn't even eat breakfast before heading out, trying to be as quiet as possible. The insects weren't as bad as last night, thank goodness, so packing up wasn't the ordeal that setting up last night had been.The 0.3 mile climb up to the base of the firetower was not bad at all this morning, but I'm sure I would have struggled with it last night, as tired and hot as I had been. I knew I wouldn't like the height of the firetower, so I only climbed a couple of levels, and even those were enough to make me nervous. A step gave me a nice spot to have breakfast. At least I had a couple of minutes before the hordes of flying pests discovered me.About 6:30 I pressed on, hoping to make miles early and rest when it got hotter. The trail undulated along, now drier and less buggy, now wetter and buggier. I tried the bug jacket. The netting kept away the worst of the black flies and mosquitoes, but not the biting deer flies. Even though it was mesh it was awfully warm for hiking in. The mesh over my face also made it harder to see the details of the trail.I tried insect repellent. I'm concerned about the chemicals, so I applied it sparingly. It might have helped some.In the end, rushing along to keep ahead of the darn bugs worked out the best. When I was so puffed I had to stop to breathe I would fling down my pack and snatch out the bug jacket, frantically pulling it over my head. To eat or drink I would pull my arms out of the sleeves, essentially making a poncho out of it, and huddle behind the face covering, trying to keep away from the netting as much as possible so the deer flies couldn't get to me. Ack!I'm afraid I don't remember as much of the day as I would like. I recall passing Big Rock, and getting water near Kid Gore Shelter. I know that I frequently noticed the lovely scent of the fir trees and that I was hearing a lot more birdsong here than I did in the South. Is that because there are more birds? More birds that sing? June versus winter and early spring? Just that I happened to notice them more here? I spent some time pondering this to distract myself but never came to a conclusion.I reached Story Spring Shelter in the early afternoon. Here I could sit in the shade and the bugs weren't too bad, whether because of the shelter's setting or the time of day, but at least I could relax some. I filtered water from a nice stream nearby and got to work eating. Martha, a section-hiker I'd been leapfrogging with, turned up and we talked for a while. After I had rested I decided to go on. It was still early enough, and I was expecting tomorrow, with its climb up Stratton Mountain, to be difficult enough that I wanted to do the climb early, when it would be cooler and I would be fresher. In addition, the last forecast I had seen called for a storm the next afternoon. The astute reader of my journal will have realized that I really don't like being out in a thunderstorm, especially up on a mountain! All of these factors led me to pack up and head out to get a little farther along.I had planned on getting at least to Kelley Stand Road where a water source was marked, but first I came to a lovely campsite by Black Brook. It didn't take long to decide to drop my pack right there. The babbling brook sounded so soothing and provided a ready water source. At that moment the bugs weren't too bad. I took some water from the brook and poured it over myself to cool off and get some of the dirt and sweat off.   As I set up camp however, the witching hour must have come, for the black flies showed up about when I had finished setting up my tent. "To heck with dinner," I thought and dove into my tent. After a nap I got a snack from my bag but never really had dinner; by then the bugs were really bad. As I lay there I thought, not for the first time, how much I missed the cold weather of when I was hiking in the South earlier this year. The insects beat and whined against the netting just inches from my head. Eventually I got out my shuffle, jammed in the earbuds and bumped up the volume. Hah! That would teach those pests!