abstract
05-31-2012, 16:57
Hey everyone;
Just finished a 4 1/2 day hike of the Georgia Loop. I started in Vogel State Park- this was nice because of the safe parking and the Powerade machine at the end (awesome). What I didn't realize is that it would add about 2 hours each way, so do with that information what you will.
I did want to post and give anyone thinking about this loop a couple pointers:
-Don't hike at the end of May like I did. Duncan Ridge is everything you have heard: straight up and down, unforgiving, and dry. This would have been a challenging but rewarding hike in, say, October- summertime heat made it pretty rough. There is good challenging and bad challenging, and hike fell into the latter for me. YMMV, of course. BMT and AT were a treat. The time of year had another factor:
-Duncan Ridge Trail is stupid with ticks right now. I spent the better part of my time on DRT flicking them off my socks and shins. What I didn't realize is that my sleeping pad was attached to the bottom of my bag (I don't like the inflatables). Laying down to sleep with my shirt off, I feel some crawling on my arm. I wipe and look- a tick flies off my arm. Turns out there were more than a few on my pad. I put that sucker in a plastic bag and shook out all of my gear frantically for a few minutes. I check the rest of me, but have no way to look at my back.
My one clever moment of the trip was to use my digital camera, taking pictures of my back. Sure enough, another tick on my shoulder blade. Off she goes, in the bag with the other- flattened both with my Leatherman. Luckily, neither was on long enough to attach or get any blood. Needless to say, the rest of the trip was an OCD-like examination every few minutes for ticks.
Blood tests today, antibiotics as a precaution, and a thorough checkup at the doctor. It looks like I was lucky to catch everything when I did, but others may not be able to catch them in time.
So, the long post is all meant to say: watch out for ticks on the DRT!
Ed
Just finished a 4 1/2 day hike of the Georgia Loop. I started in Vogel State Park- this was nice because of the safe parking and the Powerade machine at the end (awesome). What I didn't realize is that it would add about 2 hours each way, so do with that information what you will.
I did want to post and give anyone thinking about this loop a couple pointers:
-Don't hike at the end of May like I did. Duncan Ridge is everything you have heard: straight up and down, unforgiving, and dry. This would have been a challenging but rewarding hike in, say, October- summertime heat made it pretty rough. There is good challenging and bad challenging, and hike fell into the latter for me. YMMV, of course. BMT and AT were a treat. The time of year had another factor:
-Duncan Ridge Trail is stupid with ticks right now. I spent the better part of my time on DRT flicking them off my socks and shins. What I didn't realize is that my sleeping pad was attached to the bottom of my bag (I don't like the inflatables). Laying down to sleep with my shirt off, I feel some crawling on my arm. I wipe and look- a tick flies off my arm. Turns out there were more than a few on my pad. I put that sucker in a plastic bag and shook out all of my gear frantically for a few minutes. I check the rest of me, but have no way to look at my back.
My one clever moment of the trip was to use my digital camera, taking pictures of my back. Sure enough, another tick on my shoulder blade. Off she goes, in the bag with the other- flattened both with my Leatherman. Luckily, neither was on long enough to attach or get any blood. Needless to say, the rest of the trip was an OCD-like examination every few minutes for ticks.
Blood tests today, antibiotics as a precaution, and a thorough checkup at the doctor. It looks like I was lucky to catch everything when I did, but others may not be able to catch them in time.
So, the long post is all meant to say: watch out for ticks on the DRT!
Ed