Ticks are probably the most unwelcome resident of the Great Smoky Mountains national park and I just found one this week after hiking on a deer path near the swamp just north of the Abrams Falls trailhead in Cades Cove.
Driving along the Cades Cove Loop Road I spotted a lone deer gallivanting around in Abrams Creek. Seeing that the sun was setting soon and everything around me was getting the warm glow that the "golden hour" gives off I decided to circle around the deer path to photograph this beauty with this pretty background.
Stealthily I walked along on the path but the white tailed deer left far before I was close enough to photograph him. I still took a shot of the leaves and light reflecting on the water of Abrams Creek - sans deer and returned to my car.
Out of habit I checked my legs and low and behold, I found the first tick of the season in the Great Smoky Mountains national park.
What does this mean? Well since North Carolina is the Rocky Mountains spotted fever capital on the United States, it means that during tick season it is important that hikers and campers use insecticide with DEET and check themselves for ticks after being outdoors.
If ticks are removed in less than an hour after they have attached themselves to you, you are usually ok.
The picture below is recycled from last year when I wrote an article with information about ticks in the Great Smoky Mountains national park and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. It's well worth checking out.
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