I've deceided that in my next life I want to be...
... cold-blooded!
That would have made today go SO much better.
Not that today sucked, but any time you do a 4+ mile photohike with 30 lbs of gear on your back in 100 degree weather, there are... complications. Being able to pull energy straight from the STUPIDLY hot sun would have let me keep up with the little blue that never did land, the tiger swallowtail that was insanely good at hiding when it DID land and the frogs and turtles that could hear me coming WAY before I could see them.
Anyway, I drove up to Volo today. A two hour drive so I could kill myself with heat exhaustion and a sore back (by the time it was over).
To the good:
+ finished the whole thing and didn't pass out.
+ saw the sandhill cranes. Got pics... don't know if any of them are any good yet.
+ I gave myself permission to take frequent breaks and dump water on my head periodically. Both of these are highly recommended in 100 degree weather.
+ many, many, many frogs!
+ my long, cotton, yoga-style pants are at least as cool as jeans shorts and infinitely more tick-proof.
+ my hiking boots are actually okay even in the stupid levels of heat we had today. No worse heat-wise than gym shoes and better on my feet and ankles support-wise.
+ The very nice folks at the welcome center had a can of free-use bug spray. Which is good, because I remembered sunscreen, but forgot bug spray. Maybe it's time to back to an all-in-one that lives in my car.
To the bad:
- Other than the sandhill cranes, I'm not sure I saw anything I haven't seen here in Chicago.
- My new can of spray-on sunblock is only iffy. I mean, I would have *toasted* without any sunblock at all, but there are still spots on the top of my cheeks and that one space on my left shoulder where my t-shirt kept sliding off my shoulder and left a weird space of shoulder between my backpack strap and where the neckline ended up.
- I need to remember to bug spray the bandana I wear on my head when I shoot. I spent most of the hike with a buzzing in my ear as either a bee or a fly tried to decide if I was worth bothering.
In other news I had spirit guide on the vast majority of the Tamarack Trail part of the hike. There was this smallish Black Saddlebags Dragonfly that kept pace with me all down the trail. He'd stay about head-height and a foot in front of me. If I stopped to chase a butterfly, he'd wait. Sometimes I'd lose track of him as I started walking again, but within a few feet he'd be back on my right side, head-high, a foot or two in front of me. I went into the bird blind to eat my lunch (and, apparently watch the bog, but no birds) and when I came back out, Claude was back with me. I lost him at about the half-way marker, but when I was about a thousand feet from the end he was back again. It was very interesting.
But damn it was *hot*. I was so hot I was getting those 'cold chills' that tell you that your brain can no longer process the stupid levels of hot it's dealing with right now. I couldn't figure out why my bandana and my face and the bottom of my t-shirt would dry in about five minutes after I dumped water on my head but the front of my shirt stayed wet. Then I realized how much I was sweating. Blerg. I don't normally look that gross. Ever.
I did think to carry a wet washcloth in a baggie today. This was good for wiping my hands after lunch, but even better when I was done. I went into the bathroom, pulled off my shirt and scrubbed down with the washcloth so I felt half-way human by the time I got in the car. Next time? Clean t-shirt in the car too. Also? I need to not scrub my face with plain water because all that did was make the "waterproof" *cough cough* sunblock run into my eyes. NOT FUN!
That would have made today go SO much better.
Not that today sucked, but any time you do a 4+ mile photohike with 30 lbs of gear on your back in 100 degree weather, there are... complications. Being able to pull energy straight from the STUPIDLY hot sun would have let me keep up with the little blue that never did land, the tiger swallowtail that was insanely good at hiding when it DID land and the frogs and turtles that could hear me coming WAY before I could see them.
Anyway, I drove up to Volo today. A two hour drive so I could kill myself with heat exhaustion and a sore back (by the time it was over).
To the good:
+ finished the whole thing and didn't pass out.
+ saw the sandhill cranes. Got pics... don't know if any of them are any good yet.
+ I gave myself permission to take frequent breaks and dump water on my head periodically. Both of these are highly recommended in 100 degree weather.
+ many, many, many frogs!
+ my long, cotton, yoga-style pants are at least as cool as jeans shorts and infinitely more tick-proof.
+ my hiking boots are actually okay even in the stupid levels of heat we had today. No worse heat-wise than gym shoes and better on my feet and ankles support-wise.
+ The very nice folks at the welcome center had a can of free-use bug spray. Which is good, because I remembered sunscreen, but forgot bug spray. Maybe it's time to back to an all-in-one that lives in my car.
To the bad:
- Other than the sandhill cranes, I'm not sure I saw anything I haven't seen here in Chicago.
- My new can of spray-on sunblock is only iffy. I mean, I would have *toasted* without any sunblock at all, but there are still spots on the top of my cheeks and that one space on my left shoulder where my t-shirt kept sliding off my shoulder and left a weird space of shoulder between my backpack strap and where the neckline ended up.
- I need to remember to bug spray the bandana I wear on my head when I shoot. I spent most of the hike with a buzzing in my ear as either a bee or a fly tried to decide if I was worth bothering.
In other news I had spirit guide on the vast majority of the Tamarack Trail part of the hike. There was this smallish Black Saddlebags Dragonfly that kept pace with me all down the trail. He'd stay about head-height and a foot in front of me. If I stopped to chase a butterfly, he'd wait. Sometimes I'd lose track of him as I started walking again, but within a few feet he'd be back on my right side, head-high, a foot or two in front of me. I went into the bird blind to eat my lunch (and, apparently watch the bog, but no birds) and when I came back out, Claude was back with me. I lost him at about the half-way marker, but when I was about a thousand feet from the end he was back again. It was very interesting.
But damn it was *hot*. I was so hot I was getting those 'cold chills' that tell you that your brain can no longer process the stupid levels of hot it's dealing with right now. I couldn't figure out why my bandana and my face and the bottom of my t-shirt would dry in about five minutes after I dumped water on my head but the front of my shirt stayed wet. Then I realized how much I was sweating. Blerg. I don't normally look that gross. Ever.
I did think to carry a wet washcloth in a baggie today. This was good for wiping my hands after lunch, but even better when I was done. I went into the bathroom, pulled off my shirt and scrubbed down with the washcloth so I felt half-way human by the time I got in the car. Next time? Clean t-shirt in the car too. Also? I need to not scrub my face with plain water because all that did was make the "waterproof" *cough cough* sunblock run into my eyes. NOT FUN!