Sunday, July 8, 2012

Z is for Zapped

Sunday, July 1, 2012:

First bee sting in 165 days of hiking, and it was a serious Zap.  It happened within the first half hour today, when I just brushed against some foliage - must have pinned a bee down.  It pumped me full of venom and I had a minor allergic reaction - itchy red blotches in strange places around my body that lasted all day.  I didn't have any anti-histamine with me.  Thankfully it wasn't worse.

Don't know if it slowed me down.  I hiked at my usual pace and made my usual miles.  Today's stretch of trail in the vicinity of Woodstock, VT had some very pretty meadow walks, the usual variety of woods walks, and one atrocious swamp traverse where the hiker is on his/her own - there were several strands of attempted trail crossing this patch, none of which succeeded in finding a dry course.

On the other end of the spectrum, there was a stretch of wide smooth trail on an old road beside a well constructed and well preserved stone wall.  This spot is my choice for most photogenic:
This was on the approach to Dupuis Hill, the south side, and was just north of a pretty meadow with a nice view.  But my favorite of many high meadow views today was this one, from Arms Hill:


By the end of the day I heard some thunder, mostly off to the north, and got a few sprinkles that made no dent in the heat.  Hiking today was hot and sweaty and there were plenty of gnats and mosquitoes.  I would have been itchy regardless, but with my allergic reaction to the bee-Zap, well ... just another fabulous day in paradise.

------------------------------------------------------

Below is the map of today's route with the elevation profile:




No comments:

Post a Comment