Taking a zero day with Kim we got a room and relaxed while I did laundry and recovered from the heat. It was almost a hundred and definitely a day neither of us wanted to be out hiking. Enjoying the quiet day and coolness of the room we played on the Internet and ate a ton. Little did I know that the laundry detergent would be terrible for me. The next morning I was a bit itchy but nothing big, by the end of the day I put it off as something I may have walked through. He next morning at he hostel my eyd had swollen so bad I thought I had pink eye. 

I looked like Quasimodo with my huge eyelids and swollen face that morning.  The options were endless of what could be causing it, slack packing the next ten miles to the Mohican Outdoor Center were not joyous in the slightest. Everything itched so bad and the little bit of benadryl I had taken was just keeping it from getting worse. I was on fire, everything itched, fortunately I didn’t have any hives or other swelling. There wasn’t a need yet to go to the hospital for anaphylaxis, at least not till the next morning. The six of us Crawford, myself, and The Mommas Boys stayed in the MOC for the evening before heading back to the trail.

Here I left them and only trekked out five miles catching up to Hendo and Hendo at a random gap. They were hurting too, one was being eaten alive by the no see ums and the other was having some rubbing issues. All of us needed a day off, with little hesitation I secured us a ride to town so we could get cleaned up. The afternoon was spent waiting for her friend to arrive before rescuing us and whisking use back to her house on base.

Here all of us were pampered and resurrected back to the land of the living, I was given a few baths to cleanse my skin and my clothes were given a thorough washing to free them of the previous detergent. Hendo and her mom got cleaned up and we t shopping for supplies to help them with their journey. Her friend  Blondie was our trail angel for the day. The afternoon was spent telling stories and playing with her son and dog before her husband came home from work.

Dinner, drinks we told stories of the service and enjoyed each others company for the evening.  Resting and sleeping well, we all felt alive the next morning. With even more grace and luck Blondie offered to take me to the next town so I wouldn’t have to miss time on trail waiting for my package. Grabbing my gear from sea to summit we were back on 9ur way to the trail for the day. I hoped to catch the guys and the girls hoped to get some miles before dark. Blondie and her husband so kind and welcoming, definitely made our day and rescued us from mother nature’s grasp.