Pol Pot and the Wizard of Oz

Aug. 11
Boy, I sure picked the wrong year to try and thru-hike. It's been so hot, humid and mosquito filled that I feel like the big guy is out to get me. Onward I must go though. Pat lent me her bug net for my head, what a lifesaver. It isn't bad when I put bug spray on my legs and arms but I don't like putting it on my face which leaves way too much area for the skeeters to kamikaze me. Now with the head net I feel like Pig-Pen from Peanuts with a trail of mosquitoes always following me instead of dirt. I'm not sure how it happens, but the net invariably fills up with dead mosquitoes, what killed them or how they got there I do not know. The live ones on the inside tend to be stuffed with blood like a jelly-filled donut. I don't know where they are filling up but it isn't bothering me so who cares! When I squish the ones with blood, they stain my green head net red. It's starting to resemble the killing fields of Cambodia and I play the part of Pol Pot. I'm not sure who has more blood on their hands.

I made it to shelter 2 in the southern unit of the Kettle Morraine State Forest as the sun was going down. It was taken by three guys and they were kind enough to let me stay. Brett, Al and Alex shared a few beers (they had Busch heavies...I didn't know people drank that. I'm not sure I even had one before that night) and some chips. They showed me the famous "Double Rainbow" YouTube clip...wow (yes we were in the "deep woods" but that doesn't mean the internet doesn't work on those fancy phones kids have these days). That guy is goofy. We watched the sun dip below the trees from our vanatge point on the hill and saw the first glimpses of the Perseid meteor shower. The guys were on a camping trip before they went back to college in a few week. Being from Illinois, I give them credit for driving up here and staying in the backpack shelter in the middle of the woods. I think they'll be fine once they learn how to handle their booze. I wish them luck!

Aug 12.
Another absolute bruiser of a day with heat and mosquitoes. I did everything I could do to keep my spirit from being totally crushed by the oppressive heat and constant drone of the mosquitoes. It didn't help that there is a 15 miles gap or so between water sources from the horseriders camp to the Whitewater Lake Rec. Area. I was dragging pretty bad when I got to the Hwy 12 trailhead. I found a bench and just laid there in the shade for an hour. A friend kept me going by encouraging me and staying upbeat through texts. That was much needed. A short while later, a family showed up with all the backpacking gear they would need for an overnight trip. They did their best to ignore me but I warned them about the mosquitoes. They shrugged it off and entered the woods. 30 minutes later they returned and said "you were right, the mosquitoes are horrible." I sat there and thought to myself how this must look, a disheveled, wild man warning the "city folk" about the dangers that await them only for the wise wild man to be telling the truth. At that point I felt like a man of nature. After struggling over the last 4 miles or so, I finally made it to the Whitewater Lake Rec. Area! I headed to the office on the spur trail only to find two trees that had been knocked directly in my path with no easy way to get around. By the time I made it to the office I was dead tired and only thinking about a shower. I couldn't carry anything in my shorts pockets because I had sweated through them. Even my camera case couldn't handle my outpouring of sweat. I felt disgusting. Of course, the office was closed and after consulting the map, realized there were no showers. Ugh. I slammed two all sports from the vending machine (they still make all sport?) and weighed my options. Being a little short on food, I called local volunteer Russ who brought me enough to hold me over until I could restock Friday. It was another hot, miserable night.

Aug. 13
I awoke to an amazing dream. I was at the broadway premier of the greatest new play in 50 years. It was a reimagining of WWI. The Germans were winning the war but the Americans and English had a secret weapon that was our only hope of turning the tides, The Wizard of Oz. It wasn't the lame wizard from the movie, but an actual wizard like Gandalf in Lord of the Rings. The Germans were hatching a plan to capture the Wizard of Oz, thus ending all hope of the Americans. I don't remember much else, other than the three main actors, who were being lauded as unbelievably awesome, were Stephen Holden, Manohla Dargis and A.O. Scot, a.k.a the New York Times film critics. Man I have awesome dreams!

I packed up and got an early start, I was going to get to Milton today and get picked up by my buddy's parents who live in Edgerton. I was pretty excited to be going to a house where I wasn't sweating constantly and my feet could finally dry out. It had been so humid lately that I could not get anything to dry out so my feet were starting to bother me. The blisters on the balls of my feet were starting to really become a nuisance. I slowly limped along the many miles of roadwalk, never able to get in a good gait.

My spirit was flagging until I met a lady riding her horse along the road. We got talking and she had me stop over to fill up my water and get some snacks. That must have been some sight, a lady riding a horse and a guy with a big backpack and limp walking side by side. Water refilled, she coaxed me inside with the promise of AC and a BLT. I couldn't pass that up! It turned out to be a BT as Brenda doesn't buy lettuce, but I didn't complain. She brought out a big thing of watermelon and I had a root beer. Ahh, life was good! Brenda and I talked for 2 hours about life, castrating pigs, and how pigs could cover up a murder pretty well by eating the evidence. It was a good talk! Brenda really picked up my motivation with her kindness and candor. That's what I love so much about this hike. The people I've met have been so much more than kind. On my way out, she gave me a bag of oreo's to keep me going. I had been trying to eat pretty healthy this year, but that has all gone out the door on my hike. I'll eat anything that has calories. Things that I never liked before are tasting pretty good now! I weighed myself at the end of the day and if the scale is right, I've lost ten pounds already. I'm not sure that is very healthy, but this hike has been a great way to lose those problemsome muscles that kept getting in the way.

With trench foot and scurvy setting in, I made the last charge into Milton right as the rain hit. A lady pulled over to offer me a ride, but she was only 140 miles from finishing segment hiking the IAT herself so she knew my answer. I made it to the nearest bar I could find. I needed to dry my feet off and have a beer. My feet would have to stay wet until I got to my friend's parents house, but the beer was at my hand. A guy bought me a beer! The parents came and we headed back to the house. They gasped in horror as I disrobed my feet, revealing a wet, shriveled, blister filled mass I call my feet. The balls of my feet are hurting pretty good so I think I'm going to hole up in a motel and take tomorrow off. Hopefully they get better! I don't want my dream to end less than 100 miles from Madison and the IATA office in Cross Plains! Thanks again for all the support!