Part III. End of the Line
NationalGeographic.com
Excerpt from Part 3 of the Megatransect series, with link to full story
LIKE AN UNNERVING OMEN of things to follow, Day 453 had begun with leeches. We had spent the night at Leech Pond Camp, thus dubbed by me (I named all the camps, for mnemonic purposes) when Fay returned from his bath and reported that ten leeches had gotten to him while he was rinsing. Leeches in moderation are no big deal, since they don’t hurt and don’t generally cause infection or carry disease. But the leeches that greeted us in the pond on the 453rd morning were beyond moderation.