Bug Antennae and Buffs

Beginning of the section for Helen and Mark - buffs
and light packs. This is the first view up from
Hog Camp Gap.

From Helen:
The survival reality shows have definitely convinced me of one thing: a buff is a lot more versatile for me than a bandana. In Damascus Jay decided his hat was getting way too hot, and he wanted to trade it out for a bandana. I happened to have a light blue buff with me that weekend, and I offered to let him try it. He hesitated, thinking the color might be a bit too feminine. A guy's gotta preserve his ego somewhat after all! When we later met Jay in Buena Vista he was thrilled over the effectiveness of the buff at keeping bugs out of his ears and the sun off his head. I happily exchanged a more manly maroon-colored buff with him for the light blue one.

Helen demonstrates hiking with ears,
eyes, hairline, and hair covered. Yes,
I could see the trail just fine!

For our weekend hike with Jay, Mark and I were glad to don our buffs to ward off the bugs that plagued us. Lots of black flies and mosquitoes sniped our hairlines, eyes, ears, elbows, calves - any sweaty and exposed surface of skin. I had put some repellent on, but it was still hard to avoid all the bugs. Having both my hands busy with hiking sticks made swatting at the bugs a little risky for my footing as I would let one stick dangle by its loop from my wrist while I aimed at a fly on my head. Since the buffs are so stretchy it's easy to pull them over ears, scalp, neck, and even partly over eyes as a barrier. Ok, it may look a little weird, but maybe this will become a new trail fashion.

One technique that Sarah and I learned when we were kids (Thank you Bud Austin!) is to raise your hand in the air when the gnats are swarming your head. Gnats, and other peskies, tend to migrate toward the highest point of radiant heat, and so having your hand, or another person, higher than your head will keep your face and ears relatively free of bugs (the word relatively being the key term). Well, at one break Jay and I watched as Mark stuck his hand in the air to test the theory. We can't say the bugs completely deserted Mark's head, but there was a definite shift in their orbit. Now you know there's a good reason your friends all sit down near you during a break while you stand, unknowingly serving as a great bug antenna.

Breaktime. Jay takes his turn as the bug antenna.