{"id":1042,"date":"2017-05-06T18:58:17","date_gmt":"2017-05-07T01:58:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/craigromano.com\/blog\/?p=1042"},"modified":"2020-12-21T11:50:38","modified_gmt":"2020-12-21T19:50:38","slug":"ticked-off","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/craigromano.com\/?p=1042","title":{"rendered":"Ticked off!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Romano\u2019s Hiking Tips<\/em><\/p>\n

No. 1<\/p>\n

Ticks<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ticks! They make my blood crawl just thinking about them crawling on me looking for blood! Just last week while hiking through a coastal forest in North Carolina<\/a>, one managed to sneak into my car and another followed me back to my hotel. I once had one hitch a ride on me to a hotel in Calgary, Alberta, too. I was returning from several days hiking in Montana\u2019s Cabinet Mountains<\/a>. While showering up, I felt a pinch in a very private area. Needless to say, that tick went quickly down the drain!<\/p>\n

My record for most ticks on me during one hike is an astonishing 16. That was in the wilderness of South Carolina\u2019s Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge<\/a>. Alligators and cottonmouths were the least of my concern on that hike. My record for tick tagalongs in Washington is six. It was in the Blue Mountains of Southeast Washington, a place I prefer to hike in the autumn when I only have to concern myself with cougars then (saw a big one there).<\/p>\n

Put all your cougar, bear, wolf, and Sasquatch fears aside. The biggest nuisances on the trail you\u2019re sure to encounter\u2014especially if you venture south and east are ticks. While they are not too much of a concern in much of Western Washington, their range is expanding and areas that were once tick free are now crawling with them.<\/p>\n

Other than the fact that most people (this author included) find these hard shelled arachnids disgusting (and fascinating too I admit) it\u2019s their role as a disease vector that raises alarm. Ticks are parasites that live off of the blood of their host. Hikers make great hosts and ticks will cling to them if given the opportunity. Generally active in the spring (though one got me in New Hampshire in early October), ticks inhabit shrubs and tall grasses. When these plants are brushed up against, the tick is given the opportunity to hitch a ride.<\/p>\n

How to avoid being ticked off!<\/p>\n