Sorry I’m a little late in getting this out. I spent a glorious weekend over near Winthrop at Sun Mountain Lodge leading a club hike to promote summer hiking in the Methow Valley. I had a wonderful time leading a group of hikers around the trails of Sun Mountain. The weather was awesome and the company was even better.
Every year I need to include the obligatory article about insect encounters. As we’re in tick season right now, please remember to be sure and check yourself for ticks after each hike. Check yourself all over. You can't feel them on you until they have already burrowed in. They will wander around (unfelt) on your body until they find a place to dig in and feed. While we don’t have the types of ticks in the Northwest that can carry Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever or Lyme’s Disease, it’s still best to be vigilant of these small critters. Click on this link for information on how to remove a tick if you find one: http://dermatology.about.com/cs/miscellaneous/a/tick.htm
You will also start encountering mosquitoes and the occasional dreaded-black flies on some trails. Be sure to carry insect repellent with you or someway of covering up to discourage these pesky critters. I like to carry a lightweight nylon long-sleeve shirt that I can pull on to both protect myself from biting insects and from getting sunburned. I find Deet insect repellent to be noxious, so I have some eucalyptus-based repellent that I use which is fairly effective for short periods of time; but I prefer to just cover up when the bugs become bad.
Have a great week and I look forward to hiking with you soon.
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