Recovered from the Wayback Machine.
The bites on my legs have improved and worsened, depending on which ones you look at. The one on my left inside ankle and right knee are just small purple dots. The one on my inside calf area of the left leg is developing what looks like a blister, but is pretty small; while the one on my right ankle has no blister, but it is about a quarter sized irregular shaped purple splotch. It is the two behind my left knee that worry me a bit. They’re inflamed and blistered, and don’t seem to be improving.
The bites aren’t ticks. I know this from experience. They also aren’t chigger. Ditto on the experience. Not bees, not wasps, not mutant mosquitoes, poison ivy, or about a half a dozen other things that can and do bite, sting, or rub off on you if you’re stupid enough to leave the trail when hiking in Missouri’s summer.
I’m beginning to suspect that the bites are from brown recluse spiders, particularly since I did go through an ill-formed, irregular web at one point when I was walking along the rocks overlooking the shut-ins and had a hard time finding a safe path back to the trail. I don’t remember getting bit, but I was feeling the effects of the heat and distracted by the bear, so I may not have noticed it. If it is brown recluse, it’s not that big a deal–most recluse spider bites heal fine on their own without any medical treatment. I do find it humorous, though, to have been worried about a bear all the while I’m being bit by a tiny creature the size of my fingertip.
At least I wasn’t pounded by Bambi’s Mom.