Date: 2008-07-07
From: Pine Swamp Brook Lean-to

To: Salisbury, CT
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: few clouds

Maria Francesca Maier and her HusbandsPine Swamp Shelter to Maria¢s House, Salisbury, CT 17 Miles The night was great. The temperature was nice and I slept well. The Mosquitoes were so dense in the area that you could hear a hum emanating from everywhere. I woke up and there were several Mosquitoes sitting on my tent fly, presumably waiting for my exit to seize upon any bare skin or even clothed skin that they can fit their proboscises through. I have been bitten through two layers of clothing several times in the last few days but today took the cake. My back felt fine and I decided to try and go it without any acetaminophen. When I¢m in camp I wear long clothing including an anti-mosquito sweatshirt that covers my hands too. It¢s a pretty effective system but the Mosquitoes have been known to bite through the pants and my thick wool socks, believe it or not. I don it like a beekeeper¢s suit as soon as I get washed up in camp and I don¢t take it off except in my tent or just before I take off in the morning. I suit up before I slip out of my hammock and it¢s pretty effective. The swarm was on me all morning; in fact, I thought it was because of my proximity to the swamp so I moved on without eating breakfast. I managed to get out of camp with only ten or twelve bites. I probably killed twenty of the bastards but for some reason they are very tough to kill even though they fly pretty slow. I got on the trail and it was damp everywhere. This rain has been causing a lot of problems. The Mosquitoes are absolutely unbelievable. I¢m moving at an average of three miles an hour, that¢s a pretty fast walk even without a pack and these guys are biting me at will. Right through my Under Armor, my hat, my legs are fair game even though they are always moving. There are deer flies and green head flies too which were landing on my hat and biting me through it. It makes me move faster up the hills and as soon as I¢m out of breath and slow down, BAM! They¢re on me again. It¢s dangerous trying to hike up these crazy hills with poles attached to my hands and trying to slap my arms and legs as I walk over treacherous and slippery rocks. Every once in a while a pole will fly between my legs or catch on a tree and jerk me around because I was trying to defend myself against the hoards. It was a tough day with the bloodsuckers and the kamikaze gnats that seem to aim right for my eyeballs just as I¢m about to go over a technical rock field or down some ridiculous decline. I¢m going to have to start wearing my Natives again. Hopefully that will help. I was trying for Salisbury CT to get a few items and possibly stay in a real bed for the first time in over a week and although it was only 16 miles, it seemed pretty long. I had to use a Privy something fierce and there just weren¢t any anywhere so I had to pull a stealth deposit off-trail and I got bit EVERYWHERE. It was horrible. I got in to Salisbury around 4PM and walked in to town to get a sandwich at the local deli. Thank God I¢m in the Northeast. Sandwiches are marvelous here and the delis have great food. Oh how I have missed thee, fair East Coast of my Youth! I got a hold of Maria Francesca Maier, a woman who puts up hikers at her house and she¢s a hoot. She¢s an eighty-year-old woman, originally from Germany/Italy/Austria area, with two former husbands and lots of ex boyfriends in the local cemetery, she drove by her last husband¢s grave just to show him she had three men in the car with her. Ha! She¢s crazy and I have had a great time here. You have to hear her Austrian accent as she rants about this undt dat. She took us to the local Laundromat and rushed back to see her favorite TV Show, then she came to pick us up after we ate at the pizza place (Which had a great Calzone By the way¢¦) and she rushed back because it was during a break in her show. She said, ¢Isn¢t this crazy? I¢m going crazy about some stupid TV show! I know she¢s going to pick the one with the snow thing but she really should pick the one with the boy.¢ I haven¢t seen ¢The Bachelorette.¢ I guess tonight was the finale and Maria wasn¢t very happy with the Bachelorette¢s choice. We sat up and hung out for a while and I sat down to blog. Hopefully I¢ll get to the library or something tomorrow so I can post these. I also have to write a few articles about some things I have wanted to rant about: Pretzels and Mosquitoes. It is definitely more expensive in The North to stay in hostels and people¢s houses. Maria¢s wasn't bad but Down South you could stay in a hostel or someone¢s house for 10 or 20 bucks while here I¢ve seen signs for 75 bucks per person and it stipulates: ¢one load of laundry.¢ I¢m staying in the woods as often as I can but tonight I was just plain tuckered out and I¢ve been trying to get internet access so I can put up all these blogs. Tomorrow is the climb up to Mt Everett which we have been calling ¢Everest¢ since it¢s one of the highest mountains around here. I haven¢t had a 2000 foot climb in a while so tomorrow will be testing my mettle. On one hand I hope the sun dries up all the Mosquitoes and on the other hand I hope it¢s overcast so I don¢t lose a gallon of water sweating all over Connecticut. What do you do with one hot hand and one wet hand? Rub them together!David AKA ¢Mister Gentle Spirit¢ Website http://www.wbafinc.org Photos: http://www.photobucket.com/brotherproofVideos: http://www.youtube.com/WBAF1