Monday, July 27, 2009

On the Wickiup Plain

The portions and number of sides with the meals I'd been ordering had been shrinking. It must have been a signal it was time to head out. I got a chance to use the computer one last time and updated my blog. Moosa and Boone reappeared in the morning so I said good-bye to them knowing there was no way I'd ever see them again with their 40 and 50 mile hiking days. Good old Lloyd agreed to mail my tent to Gossamer Gear for me. He's so sweet.

I set out on the trail again in the afternoon. I basically had a 71 hour layover at Elk Lake. The paparrazzi greeted me as soon as I set foot on the PCT but they stayed polite until about 5:30 when they got all swarmy and annoying again. I tried to maintain a Zen calm about it and see if that would help.

At Mirror Lake I stopped to get water and they bit me on my crotch through my pants, the one place I had missed with the DEET. Sigh. 700 miles of this to go. 28 more days, with any luck. I hoped there would be some improvement toward the end.

I had enough food to skip a resupply in Sisters. Too bad because I had wanted to visit the town. But I also wanted this horror show to end so it was good I could blow on through.

I did not hike far today. Only 8 miles. I made camp on the Wickiup Plain with a view of South Sister out my tent door. I camped there because it was windy. The wind blew the blood suckers away. When it stopped, they returned.

I was glad I had opened up the tent at Elk Lake Resort. It was not the same tent as mine. I would have gone crazy trying to figure out how to set it up without instructions in a haze of mosquitoes. At least I had had a chance to set it up at Elk Lake so I could do it quickly.

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