Thursday, July 05, 2018 – 11.50 miles

I felt ambivalent about eating breakfast at the restaurant because I wanted an early-ish start, but an employee told us yesterday that the restaurant opens at 8:00 AM, which isn’t too bad. Well, the employee was wrong, and the restaurant didn’t open until 9:00 AM, but the meal was nice again with Bear, Half-And-Half and Cache 22. I ordered an omelette with chili on it out of amazement that such a thing exists, and concluded that I approve of its existence.

Forest walking today with lake views and a new type of foliage, plants with small wide leaves. Yogi’s book says that the mosquitoes are bad from Fish Lake to Elk Lake, so I was prepared for that with my full-body mesh mosquito suit. At first they were unpleasant but not terrible, then later in the day they turned into clouds of pure evil. These mosquitoes have proven to me the existence of Satan. He sent them to annoy humanity and teach us the joy of killing. The mosquito suit works fairly well, though it doesn’t cover my hands so I need to wear gloves, and the mosquitoes can access my poor flesh in spots where the mesh is pressed against my clothing by my pack straps or my knees when I’m sitting down. I found some relief and courage to open the suit to eat in an area of sparse foliage.

I camped with Cache 22 and Half-And-Half near Christi’s Spring, which of course was infested with mosquitoes. I cooked dinner crankily and ate it in my tent with the hordes battering their flimsy bodies against the mesh.