Another Flat-Footed Adventure: July 3, 2012 - Complain, Complain, Complain

Day 19
Ridge above Kennedy Canyon
Surrounded by luminous red mountains
Elev: 10,000 ft
Miles: 25!!
Trip 339

My first 25-mile day. And I had to work for it, definitely even suffered for it. In fact, there were a lot of firsts today. We finally broke down and used DEET for the first time - I think we might have gone mad otherwise. Keeping up with the swatting while hiking at top speed was exhausting and maddening. After two hours I finally caved. The relief I felt upon experiencing the protective shield of DEET repelling every tiny evil bug...it was a glorious euphoria I normally only experience on mountain tops. After that we could actually keep up a conversation while hiking, although going past Wilmer/Wilma Lake was still like wading through a sea of buzzing little bloodsuckers. They're even bad up here, a waterless ridge at 10,000 feet. This is the worst I've seen them, even worse than the Beartooths. I'll need some group therapy after this for mosquito PTSD...

My feet felt pretty strong, although a little tender, until about mile 15 (always 15!) when we started downhill. After a few miles, every step was painful and I was hobbling at a frustrating one-mile-an-hour pace. We stopped for dinner at a bridge crossing, where I propped up my feet and sat on my butt while DEET and the wind kept the skeeters at bay. We talked to another hiker couple, Cheetah and Iso, and by the time dinner was eaten my feet felt less swollen and more willing to tackle more miles.

I'd only gone a mile when I experienced another first...chafing. I never really believed people when they say how bad it is...it's bad. I felt like my backside was on fire; every step felt like two burning sticks rubbing together. I did the only things I could do: gnashed my teeth, did some major whining and played ABC games with Andrew to distract my brain from the agony. Thankfully the scenery was magnificent, or I may have cried had my first cry today too.

We climbed to the jeep road, snapping pictures the whole way and marveling at the uniqueness of the landscape. Now a full moon is shining on our tent, the Gold Bond powder has worked its magic on my chafing skin, and we'll be at the trailhead by 10am. Life is good.

Shaggy says:

The wrath of mosquitoes continued today. We both slept really well last night after fighting for our lives yesterday. I had hoped that our wishes had come true and that they had all died in the night. Well, it didn't happen. They were blood thirsty and hundreds gathered on our tent in the night awaiting our departure.
We hiked through them again today. I wore my rain jacket and pants and Lauren continuously swatted her arms with her bandana. Very exhausting. After 3 miles we lost it. I was sweating profusely under my jacket and Lauren could not keep up with the flying devils. So we gave in. Pulled out the stuff with 30% DEET. It worked amazingly. First Lauren did it. She was so happy and content, no longer getting bit. That's when I gave in. Its not good for ya, but neither is getting bit by thousands of mosquitoes.
The rest of the day was more enjoyable. Wilma Lake had the most mosquitoes I have ever seen in one place. I tried taking a breath of air and swallowed a few. Extra protein? We still found a bugless spot for lunch along a creek, felt so good.
We are camped on a saddle on the way up the crest to Sonora Pass. It is so amazing here. The sunset was spectacular and I can barely wait for the sunrise. Should be chilly tonight. Die mosquitoes!