The Hike That Sent Me Down a Lyme Disease Rabbithole
A Torreya State Park hike, a pocketful of ticks, and my natural insect repellent formula
Last weekend Lorraine and I headed out for what we thought would be a straightforward hike at Torreya State Park. The weather was beautiful, the dogs were excited, and we planned an 8.6-mile loop through the woods.
It turned out to be one of those hikes that reminds you very quickly that nature is incredible… and also full of tiny creatures that would very much like to eat you alive.
In this case, I mean ticks.
The experience was a good reminder of how common tick exposure is when you spend time outdoors, and it got me thinking about how much confusion still exists around Lyme disease — how it’s recognized, how it’s tested, and what people often misunderstand about it.
Over the next few blog posts, I’ll be putting together a series on Lyme disease for members here. We’ll walk through what it is, what the research actually says, and how people who spend time outside can think about prevention and awareness.
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I don’t claim to be a Lyme disease or tick-borne illness expert. The goal of this series is simply to explain things in plain English—what’s worth paying attention to, what treatment approaches have been used, and how to reduce your risk of getting sick in the first place.
In this post I will also share a natural insect and tick repellent that you can make at home.
To everyone who supports this space as a paid member — thank you. Your support makes it possible for me to spend time digging into topics like this and sharing thoughtful, research-based information with the community.
