Last weekend my friend Christine, her son Dillon and I backpacked the Old Loggers Path in north central Pennsylvania. After our second 12 mile day, we set up camp, cut firewood, filtered water out of the nearby stream, changed hiking boots for comfortable sandals, started a fire and prepared dinner. We went through swarms of gnats while hiking, which is no more than just annoying. At the campsite, caterpillars were all over the fire pit and surroundings. Again, an annoyance but no more.

After brushing them away, they seemed to stay away.

But at night, after the sun set, the moths came out. It seemed about a thousand benign little white-winged moths fluttered around. As you may know, moths are drawn to lights. On bedding down for the night, I had to trick them by leaving my headlamp out of the tent until I got in, zipped up the screen and snatch the headlamp as I closed the zipper. One got in, so I cupped my hand around it and released it into the wild.

But, it is a given that every night at the campsite, usually around 2:30 or 3:00 AM, I will be awakened with a serious need to pee. This not just me. All my backpacking friends have the same experience. I worked my legs out of my sleeping bag, put on my sandals, donned my headlamp, opened the tent zipper and stood up outside. If it was a clear night with a full moon, there would be enough light to walk safely to a spot to pee. Of necessity, though, when it is dark like it was that night, I needed my headlamp on. As I walked an appropriate distance from the tent, closer than ideal for propriety during light hours, but far enough to not pee in camp, the moths started to come at me. As I performed my necessary function, they swarmed around my face, drawn to the light of the headlamp. They flitted and fluttered very close, landing on my forehead, my eyelids and my ears. They stalked my nose and cheeks. Using one hand to direct flow and the other to madly swipe at them, I knew I had to continue until finished, or undoubtedly need to get up again in another hour. Resolved, I stuck it out, and then, relieved, headed back to my tent.

In the morning, the moths were gone, back to wherever they hide out during the day.

Old Loggers Path is a great place to backpack. The trails are well-marked, there are some steep climbs and descents as well as stretches of flat terrain. There are scenic overlooks, some timber rattle snakes, waterfalls, and beautiful mountain streams. We had a very nice hike.