When I awoke, the netting on the tent appeared black due to a thick swarm of perched mosquitoes, waiting for us to come out of our safe bubble. We waited in terror for awhile, and then realized that the mosquitoes would not go away and we would likely starve if we did not get out of the tent and face the beasts.
I'm sure all of you think that you have seen bad mosquitoes in your lifetime, but I have never seen anything like this. These mosquitoes were probably 5 to 10 times worse than the worst mosquitoes I have ever seen. This is saying a lot, considering the fact that I grew up in the woods of Central Maine, where we have mosquitoes, black flies, deer flies, moose flies, midges, green heads...lots of biting insects.
We counted down from three, then unzipped the door and ran. We grabbed the tent poles and literally ran around the grassy area while we deconstructed the tent. Though we may have looked entirely ridiculous trying to pack up our gear in a full sprint, trust me, it was necessary. We made it out of there and rode through the heat of the day. We were told later that it got up into the 100s that day and I believe it. It felt like riding through a toaster, and I am the Rye.
But depite our difficulties, we pushed onward and put in a lot of miles. We found a grand park with an open field spotted with black-eyed susans (and not too many mosquitoes) to sleep in for the night.
