One thing most backcountry users obviously are not aware of is how dramatically differnt the concentration of mosquitoes can be over short distances due to landscapes squeetoes avoid and landscapes they seek. Oh sure everyone is aware that as soon as a trail meets a creek with all its vegetation, there are going to be more squeeters there but what few seem to grasp is how little distance from said creek, wet meadow, damp forest full of labrador tea and ferns, or swamp one might go and hardly see any. We know the kind of places they seek of course because that is where 95% of backpackers also make their camps. Oh yeah 100.001 feet from lake edges and streams down below nice shady trees out of the wind. Great camping places for mid August most years. But poor choices during squeeter season.
As WD said one strategy is to find a windy ridge. Well if it is mid day in the sunny Sierra an even more available solution especially down in a canyon where most of us tend to find ourselse at, is to find a sizeable bedrock area that has few trees. Midday mosquitoes avoid such areas with all the warm dry sun absorbed rocks like we would walking into the Sahara Desert. At the scale of a tiny mosquito unlike we giant creatures, 100 feet of bright granite bedrodk midday is a vast hot hell. So one can be just 100 feet away from a densely infected lodgepole pine fern swamp out on bright granite bedrock midday, laying back under a lone Sierra juniper butt nekid with sunglasses on, sipping some fresh snowmelt water, just a few minutes after jumping in the lake after reaching your destination, without a worry. But keep in mind that after mid afternoon passes, especially if breezes are weak or waning, very hungry mosquitoes will increasingly visit all those areas especially during the last hour of light.
So IF one camps at such a location, make your main dinner early even mid day and have plans to be INSIDE your tent most of the time late afternoon. So how dow one know where these bedrock areas be? Topo map plus satellite image. badfishgood just mentioned Clark Lakes in his post that I have visited a few times during squeeter season. We never camp by the lakes where all the well worn campsite are right next to the fishing. Instead we camp in that zone nearby on a bench with a view. But here is an alternative example:
http://mapper.acme.com/?ll=36.60523,-118.73714&z=15&t=T" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
The map crosshairs are on the barren ridge southwest of the Clark Lakes Not an ideal place because the barren zone is limited but maybe the best in that zone. Certainly a spot likely to catch more of a breeze coming UP the canyon as is the usual direction. So what does that area really look like? Well see the acme map site has other map tabs. Select the Hybrid tab that brings one to:
http://mapper.acme.com/?ll=37.73358,-119.15140&z=18&t=S" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
The Satellite view. Now magnify + three times. See all those snow banks? That is where the terrain drops off beyond the brief flat bench thus where winters snows drift and last longer. See those scattered trees? That is about where the terrain drops off steeply to the south. Between those trees and the snow fields is a wise place to camp in squeeter season and likely the better spot is next to one of those trees where the tree debris over decades has filled in making more level spots. So before one's trip, do some of this map and satellite homework.
And ah how did the butt nekid guy manage to jump in said nearby lake without getting sucked dry by the vampires? OK here goes one of my secrets...RAIN CLOTHES. Like that coated nylon jacket and pants buried down in your pack. So go out into the Sahara Desert to the lone juniper, and out there in the middle of the sunny day take off all your grubby sweaty trail clothes, put on your rain gear.
Then wait for a thunderstorm to come? Nope. Hey you, don't forget to put the rain hood on. Now go down to the lake and jump into the cold lake with the rain suit on. The quicker one jumps back out of the cold water, the better. Maybe even pull down those rain trousers briefly to moon a trout if that helps get your funky stuff clean. Then go back to the lone juniper.
And then wait for a thunderstorm to come by? Nope. The rain stuff of course is going to dry out very fast in the mid day sun. So take off your suit and lay it out on the rocks. And you are going to feel way better sitting under that juniper.