Show Me the Horse

Wednesday was a beautiful day to be outdoors.  We started early when the trails were still frozen and less muddy.  We hiked along the open space trail called Show Me the Horse Trail.  It may be called Show Me the Horse, but we saw elk sign everywhere.

Good company: one of the best things about hiking

Baby Bitterroots in a meadow higher on the trail

Lower view of the trail

Dogs should not interfere with women applying lipstick

Higher view from trail (peak is Casey Peak)

Tick Prevention

And while I am on the subject of ticks, here are a few things I do to locate them or prevent them:

• Wear light colored clothes, so I can spot them.
• Stay on the trail and out of the brush this time of year as much as possible.
• If I notice numerous ticks crawling all over my shoes, pant legs, or the trail, I turn back and come back another day.  I learned this the hard way.  There are just some spring days on some trails that are crummy days to hike.  Hiking along a trail while gathering hoards of ticks can make for an incredibly memorable hike.  The hike will not be one whit enjoyable, but it will be memorable!
• Wear gators.  Gail found gators for me a few years ago that fit on the top of my shoes and over my socks and lower pant legs.
• Run all my clothes, especially the dark ones, through the wash. 
• Run clothes that shouldn't be washed often, e.g. my coat or empty backpack, through a cycle in the dryer if the the area was thick with the pests.
• Wear a bandanna over my hair when practical.
• After a hike, I take a bath, wash my hair, and run a fine tooth comb through my hair. Often I have found a tick or two in my bath water.  I have also found ticks in my hair, even after washing it.  Once after having someone check my hair for ticks, my fine tooth comb combed out two ticks my inspector did not find.
• Put a flea and tick collar on the dog, especially if he is riding in the car with us.  I will never forget the time the dog decided to cuddle with Kristy and rubbed ticks onto her.  Neither ended up being a happy camper.  

After all the fuss I have made about ticks, I need to add that you shouldn't let them stop from enjoying the great outdoors.  The tick season runs from close to the spring equinox into June. Warm days in March and April seem to be the worst for areas lower in elevation. During this time, some of the most exquisite flowers present themselves for display. I have experienced places over run with ticks only twice in all the years I have been hiking. The Shootingstars, Prairie Crocuses, Yellow Bells will soon being calling, and I'm not going to miss them. 

The Ticks Are Out

Watch out for ticks particularly when:

• it is the first warm, sunny day in the spring, and it's a tad moist.
• it is early in the spring near the Missouri River, or any other place that is low and grassy.
• it is early to mid June, above 5300 ft.
• in the grass, even though they are called "wood ticks."  
• in sage brush.