Fearfull Critters on the AT

One of the most frequent questions I get is in regards to the bears.  No, I am not really concerned about the bears.  The black bears on the eastern seaboard are mostly after food - and hikers and campers are not really food to a black bear.  What they want are the cookies and snickers and such that they smell in a backpack or food sack.  The regular advice is to hang your food bag (or your entire pack) from a tree limb away from your campsite.  There is now one section of the trail in Georgia that the forestry department has declared as an area where overnight campers must use a bear canister.  From what I have heard, the bears have learned where food is kept and are smart enough and persistent enough to get it.  Since this is only a 5 mile section where the regulation is in play, most hikers are simply hiking through it and camping well on the other side.  I plan on doing that myself.  For everywhere else, I am taking 50 feet of paracord to use to hang my food bag up in the air away from any scavenging bears.

Mice are another source of food theft.  Apparently mice frequent shelters on the trail because of the natural hiker food source as well as a place to hide and thrive under the shelter floor.  Stories abound about mice chewing through backpacks to get to crumbs.  The standard advice is to leave all backpack pockets open and empty so the mice will inspect and not chew.  Food bags are also hung inside the shelters from futile attempts to foil the little bastards.  A string hung from the ceiling to get your food bag off the ground.  To keep the mice from climbing down the string, an empty tuna can is tied in the middle.  Unless it's done particularly well,  the mice simply jump from the wall or the neighboring string directly onto your food bag and dine to their heart's content.  My choice is to avoid the shelters except in the worst weather.

Bears and mice are merely annoyances compared to the real scary critter:  This little, itty-bitty, thing called Ixodes Scapularus - otherwise known as the Deer Tick.   I have developed a healthy respect for this little critter and the potential for the results of their love bite - Lyme Disease.  If a Deer Tick carrying Lyme Disease bites and stays with you for 36 hours, chances are very good that you're going to get very sick.  If you can get it off quickly, or at least within the 36 hours, then the transmission can be avoided or the resulting illness less severe.  It can be a hike-stopper for sure.

I have learned of the preventative measure of spraying clothing and gear with a treatment called Permethrin.  It's a chemical reproduction of a natural tick repellant found in the Chrysanthemum plant.  I just sprayed my regular hiking shirt, pants and sock, as well as my spare set of clothes.  I also sprayed my back pack.  Now I am waiting for them to dry.  The treatment is supposed to be good for 42 days or 6 washings before a re-treatment is needed.  I have a second bottle that I will put in a supply box bound for Virginia.  Of course the ticks are more prevalent the farther north you go into New England, the heart of Deer Tick territory. I am going to need some more.

I think I am much more afraid of this little monster than all the bears in the smokies.  Bears want the food bag.  Mice are looking for food crumbs.  A tick wants your blood.  A bear can ruin a good set of pants.  A mouse can make you go 'Ewwwww'.  But a tick can put you down.  I would rather donate at a Red Cross blood drive if it's all the same to the ticks, thank you very much.

It's Monday afternoon as I write this.  My house is looking pretty empty - and quiet with the cats gone.  As of this morning, I have 6 days to go.  On Saturday we head for Georgia and Sunday morning at 10:00 I start hiking north.

And I hope you can tell that I fixed the issue with posting comments.  Everyone should be able to post a comment now, not just those registered via G-Mail.  So, comments are welcome.  Encouraging comments are MOST welcome!

Happy trails!