☠️🤮🤢 POISONED!! 🌜Microtel, Hamburg PA

This was a long day of hiking for me as I was determined to close the gap with Little Foot and Joey. Trickshot is still in Damascus for the Trail Days festival. The total mileage clocked was around 28, and this was solo trekking in the rain. I saw almost nobody the last two days and it makes sense, the weather was pretty gross and wet.

In the late afternoon I had about 12 miles to go and received word that LF &JG had secured a comfy hotel room. It was good motivation to crank more miles. Although generally flat this trail is wet and rocky and I had already been hiking since 6:30am.

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☠️ THE POISONING ☠️
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It was as if someone had flipped a switch at mile 17 but I started feeling incredibly tired- in a way both foreign and frightening. I was tripping over rocks because I was unable to lift my feet high enough! My stomach was upset in ways I’d rather leave to your imagination- unpleasant to say the least. At one point I sat in the forest folded into a small ball and wondered if the best plan would be to “cowboy” camp (sleeping bag on the ground, no tent) …which makes no sense, the ground was truly saturated! Could I muster the strength to pitch a tent? Is that even a good idea?

In that moment I decided I must have norovirus, unwelcome yet prevalent on trail it’s spread by improper hand sanitation. Soap and water is required, alcohol sanitizer is ineffective. You can pick it up from commonly touched surfaces (logbooks, privy surfaces, etc) Ugh! The symptoms track pretty well. It’s not deadly but certainly an uncomfortable stomach bug which requires quarantine and rest for 3 days or so. Okay, fine. I needed to call the crew and let them know I’m a contagious mess and I need my own hotel room. I did try to book my own room but it was difficult due to signal strength and the wet environment (wet phone screens are not super cooperative).

Graciously, and with appropriate concerns, Little Foot offered to help me with anything I needed, including coordinating a room and offered encouragement. They were tracking my hiking progress via location sharing on my phone and said to call if I needed anything.

There really aren’t other options here since there was only one way out of the forest. The two hour hike to get off trail was along a ridge line with no side trails nor road crossings. Slow and steady endurance would be required… and caution against falls on the relentless slippery rocks.

I eventually did make it to the hotel, and found it stocked with snacks and drinks with a kind note on the desk from Little Foot and Joey. A shower was priority one and I was so ready.

In the mirror I noticed I had rashes all over my feet, my legs, shoulders and waist. OMG! 😱 That’s when it all clicked. This isn’t norovirus! I’ve been poisoning myself for 48 hours- this is Premethrin Exposure!!!

Premethrin is a chemical used to treat gear to kill ticks - it’s pretty effective but it’s also a neurotoxin. I used it at the beginning of my trip without issues but I had recently treated my clothing — just 2 days prior. The conditions were not ideal: rainy, humid. The clothing had mostly dried but kind of not all the way so my best guess is that the chemicals didn’t adhere correctly to the fabric. Since I had been hiking in the rain for 2 days I was essentially exposing myself (topically) to the chemicals all over my body, continuously!!

As soon as I showered off I started feeling better and I shared the news with my pals. They had thoughtfully gathered some take-out from local restaurants and we were excited to share a meal together.

We also did some spa treatments (face masks) and wore our BK crowns with pride around the hotel . It was a fun night after the mystery illness was explained. My stomach will hopefully feel better in the morning.

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