Lake Maumelle Series anyone? (Geobuddy wanted :-) )

[Savoy]

... Did you do a one-way hike from Lunsford Corner to Hwy 113? Or did you turn around after finding OT 73 and hike back to Lunsford Corner? Since you didn't log any caches found (or not found) west of OT 73, it appears that this is what you did.
....
The 8.1 miles I did on the 13th was bad enough due to the heat! I can't imagine doing 13.4 miles ... I think I would be dead now!

Oh no, if we had turned around and gone back to Lunsford Corner I think we would have died - at least I would have.

What happened was, after we got the last OT cache I was literally spent due to the heat and humidity. I had only a liter and a quarter which I was splitting with my lab so I was running low - down to my last 250 mL. Did we mention how hot is was?!

So we decided just to hike the last bit out, passing up the remaining caches and get back to my Jeep which we had staged at the "Head of the Trail" cache (actually on the side road just above the trail head) on 113 crossing. Truth be known, I was getting a little light headed - thank goodness for the Jeeps AC unit and the extra water stashed in the back!

Even so, it was a great day of caching! I'll have to go back this week and catch the ones I missed on the west side.

[OldRiverRunner]

I had only a liter and a quarter which I was splitting with my lab so I was running low - down to my last 250 mL. Did we mention how hot is was?!

WOW! Only 1.25 liters? You have my sympathy. I started out with about 3.5 liters and I was the only one drinking it! I went through a little over half of it before I got to Lunsford Corner and then drank down about another liter while I waited on my daughter to arrive to give me a ride back to my van at Hwy 113. She brought me a liter bottle full of ice and water, and I drank almost all of it before we got back to my van!

[Savoy]

I'm going to carry a lot more next time, but you have to remember that the last long walk I took caching was in the jungles of Brazil. I got a bit accustom to humidity and higher temps there

BUT the Brazilian jungle has nothing on Arkansas summers! I'll be better prepared next time.

[DaTexanBoy]

ORR- I took 4 liters myself and I can almost guarantee that had we turned around to go back, I would not have made it out on my own. I barel made it out going straight through without finding the other caches. I'm at the VA right now probably about to get an IV. Still feeling lightheaded and sick to stomach. Oh well, I'll have instant ice packs with me next time. I'll try to prepare myself for the 30th though a little better than I did this time.

[topkitty98]

Oh my, let us know how you're doing! Bless your heart!

[DaTexanBoy]

I feel a lot better now. Still a little wore down but better. They pushed a couple liters of fluids. Headache is gone. Doctor told me I just need to stay home and rest tomorrow and intake lots of fluids. Said I did good eating lots of raisins to up my potassium. So life is good and should be ready for the 30th.

[Savoy]

Awesome - glad to hear it!!

[OldRiverRunner]

Did you guys pick up any ticks that day? If not, you were LUCKY!

On my hike, I was wearing shorts and I would check myself for ticks every once in a while while stopping for a geocache. I managed to pick off several. Later, after getting home, I checked again and picked off several more. Then after showering, I asked my wife to take a look at my ankles because they still looked dirty. She took a look and said, "It's not dirt! It's ticks!" Sure enough, I had picked up lots of seed ticks, who had managed to work their way under my socks!

Well, my wife must surely love me, because she spent the next 90 + minutes picking them off me with tweezers. I later learned that using masking tape also works well. But we didn't know it at the time, as neither one of us have had the pleasure of dealing with seed ticks before! When she was done, my wife estimated that she had picked over 500 of them off of me, and I believe her! There were a lot of them, for sure! And I am still itching from them!

So, for those of you hiking on the 30th, or planning to do the other section between Lunsford Corner (Hwy 300) and Hwy 113, wear long pants and spray yourself with some kind of insect repellant to ward off the ticks! I may have cleared them all off the trail for you, but you never know!

[DaTexanBoy]

Oh yeah, you left some for us. I picked off maybe about 10 big ticks and a bunch of seed ticks. I too am still itching from all the seed ticks. I have dotted ankles and feet. Once I found the first seed tick, I was getting ready to jump in the shower already, so I just scrubbed extra hard to make sure I knocked them all off.

[Savoy]

I'm glad I had DTB with me... I think he got most of them.

I found 3 large ticks crawling around which I picked off. For a long walk through the woods in Arkansas, I felt lucky. I was wearing long pants and a T shirt, but had sprayed my pant legs and shoes really well. The rest of me got a good dose of Off as well. I didn't have any seed ticks... but when I got home I scrub down really well. I've been intimate with seed ticks before

My only aftereffect was a spot of Poison Ivy on my wrist which hasn't spread... it looks more a mosquito bite, but is the ol' PI. Thats another reason I suggest long pants, etc. There is a lot of it out there for sure.