early season snow/mosquito timing

[kpeter]

thanks WD and kpeter. good ideas in both.

i found the (amazing) CDEC map (http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cdecstation2/), which will be a proper way to waste some time as well.

Thank you! I had been going to those stations individually when doing research. This interface is far easier to access!

[Wandering Daisy]

To be more specific, these are the trips I have done early season and avoided mosquitoes.

2002- June 21 - Charolette Dome
2002- July 4- Shepherd Crest -- had to stay high - mosquitoes horrible at Saddlebag Lake
2003- June 24- Mt Whitney, East Ridge
2003- May 23-26 Paradise Valley, Castle Domes, SEKI
2003- June 6-8, Grand Canyon Tuolumne
2003- July 4 - Tuttle Creek, climb Langley from ne side
2004 - July 4, Minarets
2006-July 4, Mineral King, Farewell Gap-Franklin Pass Loop
2006- July 6-9 Tablelands, upper Deadman (mosquitoes bad), Glacier Ridge west side Lakes.
2006- June 7-10, Hetch Hetchy-Rancheria-Piute Creek
2006- June 22-24 Sky Blue Lake
2007- May 11-13, Pohono-Panorama- Mist-Valley trail Loop
2008-June 9-13, Granite TH up San Joaquin to back side of Ritter Lakes
2008- June 3-10- Toigao Pass temprarily closed, opend, Tenaya Lake to Clouds Rest, Half Dome (sans cables), Mt Watkins.
2008-June 24-29- Hoover Wilderness- Twin Lakes- Slide Creek (thick mosquitoes)- Matterhorn Creek, Burro Pass, Crown Lk
2008- July 4 - Mono Recesses
2010-June 29- Silver Lake-Rush Creek-Alger Lks-Lost Lakes
2010- June 5 - Happy Isles to Merced Lake, Panormama, Four Mile Tr
2011- Snowed out of Kibby Lake on July 4th
2011- June 17-20 Yosemite North Rim
2011- July 1 - Green Lake
2011- July 12-14, Desolation, Aloah, Half Moon, Jacks Peak, Dicks Peak
2012- June 5-9, Loop from Lukens Lake TH- Grand Canyon Tuolumne, Ten Lakes (went the first day Tioga Pass was open)
2012- May 11-13- Emigrant, Kennedy Lake
2013- June 6-8 Suzie Lake, Desolation; June 12-15 Wrights Lk-Schmidel-Leland-4Q- Rubicon-Rockbound Pass-Wrights
2014- May 30 -June 4 (Memorial Day weekend), Emigrant -high route to Relief Valley- Ice Lakes, Lewis Lakes, Emigrant Lake-Buck Lk- Wire Lakes- x-c out
2014- June 24-29- Hamilton Lake, Nine Lakes-Little 5 and Big 5 Lakes - out via Tablelands
2014- May 13-16, Yosemite, Happy Isles-Mist Tr-Merced Lake-LYV-Panorama tr-Glacier Pt-4Mile trail
2015-June 6-10, Desolation, Loop from Bayview- Velma Lks-Rubicon-Leland-Schmidel, Clyde Lk, Aloha, Half Moon, Dicks Pass and Lake
2016-May 30 - June 4, Cherry Lk-Boundary Lakes-Nance Peak, Lord Meadow, Little Bear, Barrett Lakes, Inferno Lakes
2016- May 12-16, Yosemite, Pamorama and 4 Mile trails, plus, Yosemite Falls
2017- June 1- Glacier Point Loop- Panorama-Merced L-LYV-Mist tr-Four Mile
2017- May 21- Yosemite- Snowcreek Trail, camp on top of Mt Watkins

I have only been driven off a trip by mosquitoes once - I cannot remember exact dates, but I turned around at States Lake (Copper Creek Trail) after spending an entire day inside the tent swarmed by mosquites. I think it was early July. I really cannot remember ever being bothered by mosquitoes in early or mid June.

[frozenintime]

wow WD, thanks for this list. so, in brief, what leads you to choose an early season destination? obviously there's the macro issues of whether it was a high/low snow year, whether it's been a hot/cold spring, etc. otherwise are you monitoring snowpack via the CDEC sensors? reading reports or listening to word of mouth on local conditions? using other, secret scientific methods?

[Wandering Daisy]

I sort of have done a simlar schedule for years. Starting in January, I watch short-term forecasts and do a trip or two to Point Reyes. This is a gentle way to get back into backpacking, plus I go over that area a lot to babysit grandkids. Once the rains have replenished the water at Henry Coe State Park, I do a rigorous get-in-shape 3-4 day trip there. This is usually March-early April. It gets too hot after that. Also do some other coastal hiking; have done the Lost Coast twice. May is my Yosemite month. It is a close for me, and I never tire of it. I even did North Rim one year in April and snowshoed the upper part. When I was mountaineering more, I would do some June trips on the east side, like Whitney. Also, depending on the year, I have done three trips in June to the White Mountains, which are really wild.

Where I go mostly depends on what trailheads are open. I do not mind walking through snow; prefer that to mosquitoes. Desolation Wilderness is even closer for me, so I try to do an early trip or two there. As you can see, most of my early trips are relatively short- 3-5 days. I really am done with Emigrant and Yosemite by late June because after that, mosquitoes get bad. Since it is so close, if skeets are bad, I just turn around and come home. So I guess my strategy is stay closer to home so bailing out on a trip is not that big of a deal. Like others have stated, I sort of out-run the skeets by going higher if needed.

The southeast part of the high Sierra is really a good place to go around 4th July or late June, if you are willing to walk on snow. In the past, you could not go in George Creek after mid-May, so I have done two early May trips there to climb Williamson. No skeeters, but some serious water crossings and snow up high. Now, I think they lifted the date restrictions on George Creek.

I do not do the southwestern Sierra (like Kern Canyon down by Bakersfield) just because it is too much of a drive for me.

The trip list is not to say that there were no mosquitoes, just that they were bearable. I am a mosquito magnet, so my tolerance is pretty low. However, you can also find windy routes. Once in mid-July mosquitoes were horrible up by Tuolumne, but I went up on the Kuna Crest and camped up high and had no skeets at all. The loop I did from Twin Lakes, did have pockets of horrible mosquitoes - when I dropped down to Slide Creek I basically ran back up the other hillside to get out of them. My observation is that in early June, you will hit pockets of skeets, but can easily get out of them. You just have to be flexible and pick good windy campsites. Often, there will be some skeets that do not bother you while walking, but get miserable if you were to camp.

I honestly think you will have to tolerate some snow and high water (some slogging down trails turned creeks) to avoid mosquitoes. I usually simply quit backpacking in the Sierra from July 4th to the third week in July. For example, last year we did a 2-week trip up the Oregon Coast and Olympic NP while the skeets were bad in the Sierra. Every other year I do more May and June trips because I go to Wyoming mid July to Labor Day, which shortens my Sierra season.

[frozenintime]

thanks again for going so in depth. you do have quite a system in place!

are you carrying spikes in may/june? the three sierra trips i've taken have been in august/september, and i've avoided snow completely (beyond patches at taboose pass last year).

[Wandering Daisy]

Generally no traction devices (I only have crampons). Post-holing and soggy trails are more typical. I just avoid steep snow slopes. That said, I have done tons of mountaineering on snow and am very comfortable on steeper snow without traction devices. I sometimes take an ice axe. Most of the snow on the trips above were when I purposely climbed a peak.

[valeofoakland]

I have permits to do the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne, starting at White Wolf, on June 30... Keeping my fingers crossed that bridges are in tact, snow is melted, and wind keeps the bugs at bay ... Here's the video that the Yosemite permit officer sent to me as a warning when I booked the permit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmM5zHS_QfE