5/9 & 10/'12, ONF: 30.5 Miles, Heatstroke, Headache, and Bugs from Hades

[Mr.Tattoo]

Glad you made it back ok..

[FLRider]

Dang, a true epic! Glad you are OK the day after!

And lot's of ticks even with Permethrin and bug dope on exposed skin? What the heck? I have still never seen a tick hiking in tick heaven, often hiking off trail through high weeds. But, I'm not sure I have hiked with shorts. Still, my arms and face are uncovered, with Picaridin on the skin ( usually ) and I never have anything on that skin. So I feel it would be the same with my legs in shorts, but maybe not.

Me too. This'll be a "no s***" bar story at some point down the road, I think.

Well, to be honest, the permethrin was only on my shoes and compression shorts; I didn't put any on my kilt. And, it was at the edge of its rated effectiveness; I'd treated about six weeks back. Still, I didn't find any underneath my underwear, so I guess that was effective.

I hike in shorts pretty regularly; this was my first multi-day hike with the kilt, though. Ticks will get on your legs and bite you even with permethrin on your clothing and DEET on your legs if you sweat badly enough (and I do) wearing shorts or a kilt. You just deal with it and pull them off.

Usually, though, permethrin and DEET will keep it down to a dull roar. As an example, without permethrin on my clothes (and shoes), just before the G³ mk 2 hang, I found three ticks on me in five hours. Over the course of nearly seventy-two hours out there over that hang, with permethrin on my clothes, I found two ticks total. That's a drop from 3/5 per hour to 1/36 per hour. So, it does help. Which makes me fear what it might have been like in Ocala without any protection . The ticks are bad this year.

Dehydration will do that to you. Glad you're safe. I look forward to the two of us keeping each other in check.

Yep; not my best choices ever. It's almost always safer to go out with someone else, and I really look forward to our trip. Glad I'm safe, too.

You had a major close call . It's also amazing at how many more bad decisions come when you start to get tired, and in more of a hurry. It's like the mind just gets stuck in a F-up whirlwind. Very glad you are home, safe, and feeling much better.

Yep, I did. Makes for a pretty good story, now, though.

Never make decisions in haste that don't call for haste. Especially when tired and dehydrated. I'm glad I made it, too. Thank you.

Glad you made it back to tell the tale. I don't believe that I would like to hike anywhere I have to beat the spiders off with a stick.

Heh. Don't come down to Florida any time between late April and late October, then. Which the majority of folks are smart enough to avoid doing; the heat keeps most people indoors during the summer. Banana spider webs are strong enough to pull a well-fitted hat off of your head--trust me, I've had it happen before. And they get to be the size of your palm, and are ugly as all heck. Not particularly venomous to humans, though, so there is some compensation.

Rough trip! It's good for all of us to have a reminder every now and then that things can go very wrong out there. It's easy to get complacent (especially in a luxurious hammock!)

Glad you made it out. Heat stroke is a dangerous animal.

Yeah, this one was a wake-up call. It was definitely an...interesting...experience. It's worth keeping in mind all of the things that can go wrong outside of our day-to-day bubble.

Glad I made it, too. I've been in the throes of heat stroke before, but there was usually a job involved; I work in a kitchen that gets as hot as 109 F by the door, with 100% humidity. I know better than to skimp on water...that's what made this trip such a disappointment to me.

Sorry that I missed you, I got out to Hidden Pond around 2-3 pm on Friday, but those Cicada were everywhere. Unfortunately I got pinched by 3 or 4 of them and quickly decided to head back to the car. Looks like the 13-year cycle is at its peak, and although they don't bite humans for blood, they think that you're a tree when they land on you and break your skin with their mandibles. Thankfully they'll be gone in a few weeks, and won't return for another 13 years.

Ahhhh...so that's what they were. I'd wondered. Those things are ferocious. Sorry to've missed you, too, lilricky. So, 2025, then...I'll need to remember to bring the flamethrower and asbestos long johns...

Well, now I'm not so sad I missed your trip. I would have been the boat anchor on your adventure or maybe kept you out of trouble in the first place. No way I can make those kind of miles (more like a death march).

I made a similar set of bad decisions in Ocala about 20 years ago. Back before GPS and google earth I thought a blue line on a map means water. Turns out it's hard to drink from a dry reed bed. Who knew?? I got to backtrack about 3 miles to the only previous source of water to fetch enough for myself and my 2 hiking partners.

Hopefully next trip will be a little more fun and less of an exercise in survival.

I'm kinda sad you missed it; having a second brain on hand (since mine had obviously taken off for the day) might have saved me quite a bit of heart- (and foot-)ache. On the other hand, I wouldn't want to inflict that day on anyone else. So, there's that, too.

Ocala (and Florida in general, if you're not hiking along a river of some sort) is particularly bad about water sources. The water table is so close to the surface everywhere that virtually nowhere has easy-to-access, consistently-present water. It isn't like the northeast, that much is for sure.

I'm hoping the next one is less...eventful, for certain.

Glad you made it back ok..

Me, too. Thanks!

[Brute1100]

Well writing that up is always better than being a blip on "1000 ways to die"... Glad your safe... Water is heavy but its the only thing that gets lighter as you walk so carry extra...

[FLRider]

Well writing that up is always better than being a blip on "1000 ways to die"... Glad your safe... Water is heavy but its the only thing that gets lighter as you walk so carry extra...

Yep. I'd definitely prefer to be able to complain about how stupid I was afterward than not ever be able to complain about anything ever again...

Definitely going to keep a closer eye on the water from here on out.

[Cookie]

Whew...what a rough one. Thanks for the trip report and passing on the lessons learned. Florida definitely has a different set of rules for hiking.

[FLRider]

Whew...what a rough one. Thanks for the trip report and passing on the lessons learned. Florida definitely has a different set of rules for hiking.

Not a problem. Heatstroke and dehydration really are "the hypothermia of the South." Always keep an eye on your water...

[old4hats]

I too, have experienced dehydration and exhaustion while on a hike and they both are bad company. Adding blisters or any kind of foot problem and it just compounds the problem. Glad you get to tell your story.

[crackrbilly]

I can relate to the heat, I was at Shands in Gville over the wkend for my brand new and first grandbaby, GOOD LORD I forgot how hot it gets in central Fla.

[FLRider]

I too, have experienced dehydration and exhaustion while on a hike and they both are bad company. Adding blisters or any kind of foot problem and it just compounds the problem. Glad you get to tell your story.

Yep. No fun, either of those. And all of it was just because I was making bad decisions. Definitely not my finest day.

I can relate to the heat, I was at Shands in Gville over the wkend for my brand new and first grandbaby, GOOD LORD I forgot how hot it gets in central Fla.

Heh. Yeah. We finally got A/C in the kitchen at work with the reopen; my record there was 109.4 F, in the middle of a Friday night rush. 100% humidity from the dishwashing machine, flour everywhere, turning to dough on my arms, and one of the busiest nights I've worked. It's...impressive, how much water I can go through in an hour or two under those kinds of conditions.

Carrying a 30 lb pack is slightly less intensive, but it goes on for a lot longer. So, take care of yourself out there. Water, water, and water. Beat the heat!

[Pipsissewa]

Gees, 'rider!! Sounds horrible and scary!! But not a failure!!! I admire how you have honestly and critically analyzed your experience and formulated new strategies for future hikes. You're a smarter, better hiker for it. Really glad you're okay!!!