Got a late start this morning. Packed up and walking around 7:30. I saw Gnocci and Lucas head out ahead of me where full mosquito body armor. Gnocci has a long string of curses he uses to describe how miserable the bugs are out here.

I ran into them again at Charlton Lake (1925) as they were finishing up water filtering. They took off and I spent a half hour making breakfast (Biscuits and Gravy, yum) while slapping mosquitoes.

Today is green tunnel / burned forest kind of day. There are a ton of blowdowns on this section. I was stepping, hopping, climbing over trees most of the day. I’ve heard this is only a taste of what is to come. Folks are telling me that this is the status-quo for the next 50 miles after which there is a little break in the lava fields which is probably going to suck even worse.

The grade was mostly small climbs and descents today. With my newly re-energized Spotify, I’m now listening to some righteous tunes and picking up my pace. I aimed for a place called Island lake which will give me a 25 mile day.

Reached the lake at 7 and setup with my mosquito friends. This lake is more of a bog with some high ground in the middle. I believe the Mosquito queen lives there. Had to spend an extra 5 minutes of bug slapping after I zipped up. The skeeters are now stuck outside….waiting.