Mountain Misery

This is a shot of my foot, while I was collapsed exhausted during a survey in the Sierra foothills.

• There is lead and arsenic in the soil in some areas (the residue of hard-rock gold-mining) so we are wearing coveralls. We strip them off at the end of the day and don't take the dust back to civilization with us. Ditto for the poison oak oil.
• Note the duct tape "puttees." I'd always wondered if puttees served a practical purpose. They do. They keep ants out of your trouser legs and off the doodads. We figured this out the first day.
• The green stuff all over my boot is pine pollen. We are covered in the stuff.
• The plant is apparently called "Mountain Misery." I don't know what it's real name is. I was told it got this name from continually getting tangled in wagon wheels--that has a real 1930s "pioneerin' lore" feel to me, but ok. The stuff is pretty tiresome. It smells like artichoke, and has tripped me badly twice.

No meth labs yet. That's good.