"I am never going to drive this road again," Karen said, as her Toyota 4x4 truck was badly scraped on both sides by overgrown branches. For miles. Plus fallen trees and rockfall on the road. Goodbye, Rock Mountain.
This has been a problem for years. Each year we cross off hikes because the roads are impassable. The Forest Service doesn't have the money to maintain gravel roads to trailheads.
It was 95 degrees in Wenatchee. Above the treeline, Karen and I began getting heat exhaustion. Rocks on the trail were too hot to touch. Due to the heat, we turned back 1/2 mile from the summit with 1,400' of elevation gain to go. Biting flies were attacking, especially when we stopped. A bug net that covers my hat, face and shoulders saved the day. Spectacular views!
Permethrin does not work with biting flies. My bare skin was heavily sprayed with OFF Deep Woods Sportsmen with 30% Deet. Still, I got painful fly bites on my palms, knuckles and between my fingers. Should have worn gloves. Also got fly bites on my legs, before desperately zipping on pant legs when we stopped for lunch.
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