The Down Side of Hiking

Today, Gene and I are suffering from what I think is a major down side of hiking--bug bites.  We seemed to have been bitten more yesterday than on any of our hikes this winter.

Yesterday was warm and sticky--temperatures in the mid to upper 70s and very high humidity.  The slight breezes we’ve enjoyed on previous hikes were absent yesterday.  All in all, a great day for mosquitoes.  We got stabbed numerous times.

The trail we hiked yesterday is lightly traveled.  Grass was growing over the trail in many areas.  It had been mowed so wasn’t an overgrown trail, but grassy nonetheless.  Our lower legs are just covered with chigger bites.  We’re thinking all that grass is a good place for the chiggers to set up housekeeping.

Of course, the main line of defense for these pesky biters is Deet.  I just hate Deet and avoid using it, if at all possible.  Yesterday, the mosquitoes were so bad I sprayed my hands and arms.  Since I was wearing long pants, I didn’t bother with spraying my legs.  Big mistake.  Deet may have helped prevent some of those chigger bites.

Sunset out my window from a few days ago.

We have a whole new look in our campground.  The winds are blowing around here with gusts of about 30 mph.  Nearly everyone has stowed their awnings, lawn chairs are tucked under slides, and patio decorations are squirreled away in safe places.  About the only thing left out are flags of various types flapping in the breeze.

We’ve had a few brief showers, some heavier than others, but the sun is out now with blue skies overhead.  It feels like the humidity is a lot lower, as well.  Things are shaping up to be a great afternoon to sit outside.

Otherwise, we’ve had a quiet day around the old home place.  Cooler weather tomorrow should be nice for hiking.

That’s it for today.  Thanks for tagging along.

Back in Williwaw

Our day started with an absolutely gorgeous sunrise.  It was so much better than the pictures portray.  Since it had just stopped raining, there was also a rainbow.

We said our good-byes to Tony and Diana and we headed toward Anchorage.  We had a couple stops before we could actually get started.  Two tanks needed to be filled--the gas tank and the fresh water tank.

Seward Highway is designated a “scenic byway” and it was a particularly beautiful drive this morning.  The skies were blue, the visibility crisp, and we were driving in the direction which offered the best views of the lakes, rivers, and mountains along the way.

We had a short drive of only 80 miles, but we didn’t dilly-dally.  Our destination was Williwaw campground near Portage Glacier.  This is a popular campground and since this was Friday and the weekend forecast is for great weather, we wanted to get here early to get a site.  Many sites in this campground can be reserved and they were.  We felt lucky to get one of the very few which was open for two nights.  We’re back here for no reason other than because we liked it so well.  It was hard to leave friends, but Williwaw was one of our favorite places and we wanted to visit one more time.

Our short range plans are these.  We’ll stay here for two nights.  Perhaps we’ll drive to Hope or Girdwood or both tomorrow.  Sunday, we’re moving back to Big Bear RV park in Walsilla.  We plan to be there two nights.

Our stay in Wasilla will be for resupply and maintenance.  Monday morning, Gene has an appointment with a dealership to have routine maintenance (oil change, etc) on the motor home done.  Since it is primarily just an oil change, we’re hoping it won’t take too long.  Besides stocking up on groceries, I have mounds of laundry to do, as well.  It promises to be a busy couple of days.

From Wasilla, we’ll be heading for Glennallen then Tok.  We’ll take the Alaska Highway back to Whitehorse, Yukon.  This will be the section we skipped on our inbound trip by going to Dawson City and Chicken via Top of the World Highway.  We’ve heard this section of road is very rough.  We’re not looking forward to the drive especially.  However, it is very scenic as is passes Kluane National Park in British Columbia.

As for our long range plans, we are still committed to traveling across Canada via Highway 16 all the way to Winnipeg and entering the US at the Minnesota/North Dakota state line.  We’re a little uncertain which route we’ll take after that.

So, the trip home will be a little back tracking, but mostly new territory.  It should be fun.  This adventure is not over yet.

That’s all for today.  Thanks for tagging along.