Nearly all of the time I have spent on the AT has been south of central Virginia, mainly because I'm concerned about ticks and lyme disease. Looking for some feedback on whether that's a rational concern or not.
My father nearly died as a child due to an unidentified tick borne illness, which based on his description was probably rocky mountain spotted fever. My mom was hit hard by lyme disease about 10 years ago. She struggled with it for about 2 years, and was eventually with permanent arthritis in her knee and ankle. And there are two more people who sit near me at work who have been decimated by lyme.
But when I watch videos about people hiking throughout the northeast, I rarely hear any mention of concern over lyme disease, so I don't really know what to think. Are most of the people on the AT north of Harpers Ferry taking the standard precautions, i.e., permethrin and checking for ticks? Or am I being unnecessarily cautious?
I don't especially like hiking in hot weather anyway, but this just gives me one more reason to prefer hiking in cool whether when I can wear long pants.