Day 34 – Mosquito Hell

As I lay in bed last night watching the last light disappear above the trees, the mosquitoes suddenly intensified. Normally the bug spray I rub on my face will keep them at bay. A few will land, but they quickly fly away. Last night was different. It was as if they were being hurled against my face by a hellish wind.

For the first time I reached for my mosquito net and covered my head with it. The mosquitoes went for my shoulders – even though I was wearing a wool shirt. I pulled the quilt higher. But now I began to sweat, as I did a couple nights ago. I lifted my legs and air would enter the quilt from the bottom, but mosquitoes would too. I would kill the ones that bit me under the quilt, but soon I was sweating again. Meanwhile, at least 50 mosquitoes circled my head. I battled with them like this, dozing for a few minutes here and there, until 10pm, when somehow many of them went away. I was able to take the headset off and air out the quilt a bit until I could finally go to sleep.

But morning arrived too soon as I had asked the Wanders to help me get out of camp early to reach Shelter Cove this afternoon. With all of us stirring in the camp, the mosquitoes returned. I put my wind pants (the ugliest pants on the PCT) over my legs, and the bug net over my head and we trudged out of camp at 4:40 am. Annette was so rattled by the onslaught that she left her trekking poles in camp and had to go back for them in the dark while we all waited miserably on the trail. Annette and Lynn are sensitive to bites, and they suffered greatly as we headed down the trail.

Hell, I think, is overused, sometimes comically, to describe bad situations. But this phrase has often been applied as a description of the trail we travel today. The trail winds through several marshy lakes, a few big lakes and a lot of standing water from snow melt. The surrounding land creates a kind of breeding bowl for mosquitoes.

Normally, you can sort of outrun swarms of mosquitoes, because they float as much as fly. But these bugs seem to radio ahead to their buddies up the trail. “Incoming,” they hiss. Mosquitoes meet us at every turn. Don’t even think about slowing down or stopping.

This is the background for all activities on the trail today. Even though it is bad, everyone knows they have to go through it at this time of year in Oregon. It does diminish the hiking experience, but it is not so bad that people do not hike. It is one of many inconveniences that hikers endure to have the experience of a lifetime.

Morning diversions

The Wanders go on ahead of me as I try to get photos of the lakes we pass. This is Summit Lake. There is a dirt road along this lake that allows the local folks to come up and enjoy it.

Here is another shot from further up.

The trail dips back into the forest and winds through dozens of small marshy lakes. The trees on the end of this pond are lit up by the morning sun.

Oddly, few flowers bloom in this shaded part of the forest. I did manage to coax this beauty to pose.

You would think we were at a low altitude for these marshy lakes to exist. But we are not. Through one clearing you can see the mountains we have passed over the last few days.

This Boulder seems suspicious. I keep a close eye on it as I walk by.

The top of the day

Snow is common at elevations above 7000 feet. Here some snow covers the trail. It is easily traversed without spikes. It’s actually kind of fun to shuffle across.

Snow melt is everywhere. This nifty little area offers ice cold snow water that is right on the trail and easy to collect. This is the place where the mosquito onslaught finally begins to abate.

Ponds are everywhere although most are rather barren, like this one.

The hiking life

On my way down to Shelter Cove, I find these two chaps. They are hiking a group of connected trails that circle a large lake in the valley. The circuit will take them a few days. They are headed the opposite way from me.

They have brought folding chairs with them! Here they are chillin’ in a mountain meadow surveying the route they will traverse. “Watch out,” they say, “the mosquitoes are pretty bad where we just came from.” They have no idea what lies ahead of them, and where I just came from!

I love the interplay of light and shadow on this trail as I go down to Shelter Cove.

Shelter Cove

I am ambivalent about Shelter Cove. If there is good cell service, it could be just what I need. If not, it might just be another overpriced resupply depot.

It turns out that the cell service sucks, but the store is pretty good and there are a bunch of hikers I know there! I see J Ditty again. She is waiting for a box and recovering from a turned ankle. I see Dapper and U-turn. FP, Tinker Bell and Spacemaker are there but heading out soon. Levon (Florida Man) is going to hang out another day to rest. And I meet some new folks.

Kangaroo and Dirt Devil have been hiking the trail from Mexico. When Dirt Devil gets tired, Kangaroo picks him up and pops him in a pouch on her chest. Hence her trail name.

Opera and Tapeworm are SOBO and started at the northern border of Oregon. They have some horror stories of going through the Timberline section of trail (over 700 blowdowns). We warn them about mosquito hell, but they take it in stride. The are battle-hardened.

Finally, this is Roadkill. He is heading toward Washington where he will take a week off before getting back on the trail with his dad. I ask how old his dad is: 47. Boy do I feel old!

I still don’t know if I will stay tomorrow or leave. I guess it depends on whether I can get a blog post up in the morning. I do need the rest, and the extra calories I consumed today (about 5500) will help me, too. We shall see.

• July 5
• Starting mile: 1885
• Ending mile: 1906
• Daily PCT miles: 21
• Total PCT miles: 534
• Animal: dirt devil