2014 Bug Level Thread

General discussions on hiking in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest
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woodswalker
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Re: 2014 Bug Level Thread

Post by woodswalker » August 9th, 2014, 6:28 am

McNeil point Aug 5th, Biting flies present everywhere except near 5900'. They were not biting if you are moving except between 5000-5500 feet where they were swarming, moving or not.
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kmcdade
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Re: 2014 Bug Level Thread

Post by kmcdade » August 9th, 2014, 4:48 pm

Timberline Lodge to ZigZag Overlook 8/9/14 midday: lots of flies from about Little ZigZag to just before the main ZigZag overlook.The worst is around the Hidden Lake junction. Didn't get bitten, but they were annoying.
--Kathleen. Or K-Mac. As in KMC, because that's what people have taken to calling me here. :-)

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kepPNW
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Re: 2014 Bug Level Thread

Post by kepPNW » August 10th, 2014, 11:41 am

On Mount Adams...

Friday (8/8): Not a single irritating insect on SE side, from South Climb TH over to Bird Meadows and up well past Hellroaring Viewpoint! Not one. Unreal.

Saturday (8/9): The NW side, OTOH, is sheer hell! From Divide Camp all the way up past Glacier Basin there are hoards of mosquitoes and biting flies!!! 98% DEET helped, but if you're at all sensitive to being f'ing swarmed a headnet and long sleeves/pants are meager defense. (I had short sleeves/pants, and am welted up over most exposed areas, despite the DEET.)
Karl
Back on the trail, again...

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xrp
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Re: 2014 Bug Level Thread

Post by xrp » August 10th, 2014, 12:34 pm

Barlow Pass PCT south to Twin Lakes: hardly an insect to be felt. Many heard, but none bothered me or anyone else we talked to.

8/9-8/10.

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drm
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Re: 2014 Bug Level Thread

Post by drm » August 10th, 2014, 7:10 pm

I did the classic Indian Heaven loop today - #33/PCT/#108 - out of Cultus Creek Campground. Amazed that there were few bugs. Some flies, but nothing bad. Used no deet, had short sleeves on, and took a number of breaks at lakes. The most I did was put a long sleeve shirt on once for a while.

But don't assume you will have the same luck. Talked to one woman who said they were very bad the day before. Maybe mosquitoes have holidays that we don't know about.

Weather was absolutely perfect - warm and breezy (not not so breezy to keep the bugs away if they were so inclined). This was one of my Forest Service patrol hikes with a ranger and mostly we cleaned up people's TP (with full-sized shovels that we took along).

AaronPDX
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Re: 2014 Bug Level Thread

Post by AaronPDX » August 11th, 2014, 10:31 pm

Did Eagle Creek 501 trail (S-H Wilderness) today. Tons of spider webs to cross through; that's expected. But at the horse camp, down on the creek, a few small biting flies were a little annoying -- but the real threat was one huge horse fly alpha male who definitely got my ire up as he flew around me looking for a bite! Cut short my picnic.

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sprengers4jc
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Re: 2014 Bug Level Thread

Post by sprengers4jc » August 16th, 2014, 6:53 pm

Elk Meadows trail 8/16/14. Surprisingly very few bugs. A small swarm right at the junction with Gnarl Ridge and Elk Mountain Trail and a few in the meadows. No mosquitos but just a few biting flies. I do have a nasty deer fly bite that happened in the meadows (and turned into a Staph infection! :evil: )but overall, really nice on this hike right now.
Last edited by sprengers4jc on August 25th, 2014, 6:49 am, edited 1 time in total.
'We travel not to escape life but for life to not escape us.'
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AaronPDX
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Re: 2014 Bug Level Thread

Post by AaronPDX » August 17th, 2014, 12:05 pm

Hunchback Mtn (from Zigzag Ranger Stn.) on Aug 16 -- stung by a yellowjacket! Youch. Unprovoked from what I could tell; I was walking lightly. I wasn't the only one, either...

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turtle
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Re: 2014 Bug Level Thread

Post by turtle » August 17th, 2014, 1:01 pm

Hiked north side of Hood on Timberline and off-trail on 15th and 16th August. Dollar Lake on Friday night; no bugs. At Cairn Basin on Saturday afternoon for a lunch stop I encountered nuisance flies not biting but being a bit of a pain. Other hikers I talked to had hiked up from Elk Cove TH and reported no bugs at all.
Summer breezes caressed me, my legs stepped forward as though possessed of their own appetite, and the mountains kept promising. Rebecca Solnit

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Zia
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Re: 2014 Bug Level Thread

Post by Zia » August 17th, 2014, 5:20 pm

PCT from Santiam Pass up to the west face of Three Fingered Jack. A few annoying flies near Three Fingered Jack but mostly a bug free hike.

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