Pleasant Rain - July 7

This area has mosquitoes so I applied DEET at the road before entering the woods. It wasn't enough; I put more on 100 feet into woods. It doesn't last. I reapply more in 50 minutes. I don't like using that much DEET. I can tolerate moderate mosquitoes, say a few bites every ten minutes.  But this is more like another bite every second. I douse myself in DEET.

Last night there was a gentle rain, enough to bring up the humidity but not enough to knock down the temperature. In the morning the air is a steamy fog.

Hawkeye says this is the worst bugs he's ever seen. I'm not sure of that (Ten Thousand Islands? Jefferson Lakes?) but it is clearly pretty extreme. 

We've been hearing rumbles all morning. It sounds like overhead airplanes or maybe trucks on freeways. That's too much rumbling to be thunder, right? It goes on for an hour out more until the skies turn very dark.

I have a cell signal so I check the Doppler radar, which shows a nasty thunder storm approaching. The rain is faint so far so I put on the pack cover but defer my rain gear and I keep watching the radar. It is actually the best hiking weather in weeks as the temperature drops a bit. The storm splits with heavy rains both north and south, but only moderate on me. I don my poncho and rain skirt until the rain passes and I'm wetter inside than out. I'll take hiking in the rain over the heat and humidity any day. 

Mosquitoes? They get driven back into their hiding places. A good day. 

17.7 miles to Tyringham MA.