The mosquito army launched their form of nuclear warfare this morning with a kamikaze attack. Their forces have no sympathy and I was bitten today in a location no mosquito should ever venture. After admitting loss and calling retreat, I ran into the backwoods known as the hundred mile wilderness. I have ten days worth of food and I hope to come out the other side of this wilderness well away from the line of combat.

The mesh alone my shelter is lined with their corpses and my blood but their sheer numbers outlasted my courage. I have no intentions of returning to the graveyard up North to end the war. They won the battle and claim dominance over Abol Pines.

It is dusk here on my second night and I rest on the lakeside where loons call across to each other. Their voices echo throughout the woods from mountain to mountain.

I have discovered hiking is an extended day dream interrupted by acknowledgments to north bounders, meals, and spectacular views.

Today I hiked through mosquito infested wetlands, my back ached, my feet swelled, and my hips bruised from the load of a heavy pack. But tonight I sit here with burnt pasta (it’s possible- I did it) watching the sunset over a hilltop to the west. This lake is seven miles long, completely clear, and an awesome swimming hole to rinse off in. I suffered and enjoyed the day not say I hiked ten miles, but to hike ten miles, and suffer, and experience. And I have lived.