Wonderland Trail Adventure- Part 5

Wonderland Trail- Day 4

Well, it is official, I am really sick.

The indignity of it all!!! Not only
did I have to get out of my tent over and over, but each time I got out and in, 432 mosquitos come running (well, flying) in yelling, “Whoo-hoo! We have access!”.  And then to top things off, now, this might sound weird, but, when you get up in the night out here, you have to be very, very careful to not get lost. It
is a lot easier than you would think!  So everytime, I had to go to great legnths to make sure I could find my way back to my tent.
In any case, by the time I woke up, I wished I were dead. After a pow-wow with the Babe, we agreed that she would hike the 2.8 miles to meet SL and LB, while I would do the 1.3 to the nearest road crossing. There is a visitors center here and later, SL will come get me.  This is the first road crossing since we started the trail, and if you remember, that one was actually 5 miles away from the WT! So I guess, if I had to get sick, at least I was lucky that I wasn’t a three day walk from the nearest phone and road.
I have to say, that was the hardest mile I have ever hiked. I know that part of the issue is that I in major ‘bonk’ mode because I haven’t eaten or drunk anything since yesterday afternoon.  I just have no energy at all.   After what felt like hours of plodding along….pick up one foot, put it down….repeat…. I finally make it to the visitors center. I proceed to lay down on a bench and sleep on and off for the next four hours.  I know I look like a smelly homeless person, but I don’t care.
Actually, I also look like an axe murderer cause I have on my mosquito head net.
At one point, I got up to call my mom and beg for sympathy, which she provided in spades.  What is it about hearing your parents voice that just makes you want to cry?  An elderly lady walked by and said kindly, “Are you ok, honey? You were out like a light.” I explained that I was not feeling very well and she just smiled and walked on.
Silver Lining arrived sometime after noon and took me home.  Turns out that she had the same
thing a couple of days ago, only not as bad, so we figure I caught it from her.   She is already starting to feel better, so maybe this will pass quickly.  But the biggest issue now is getting back on the trail.  Between the permit system and the access points, this is going to really screw things up.  Oh well, I am going to crash for now and will let you know when I am back to normal.

Anna aka Mud Butt