2014 Mosquito Reports

Questions and reports related to Sierra Nevada current and forecast conditions, as well as general precautions and safety information. Trail conditions, fire/smoke reports, mosquito reports, weather and snow conditions, stream crossing information, and more.
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alpinemike
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Mineral King>Wallace>Vidette-East Lake 6/17-6/27

Post by alpinemike »

6/17-/6/27 Went through Mineral King through HST to JMT at Wallace Creek and Up to Vidette Meadow and then out to Bubbs Creek and stopped at East Lake and Lake Reflection.

Mosquitoes in Mineral King Area: 3

Around Big Arroyo: 3-4

Kern Canyon: 2-3

Wallace Creek: 4 and potentially 5 at some points..just awful!

Upper Kern Basin (Around LSA): 3-4

Vidette Meadow: 4

East Lake: 3-4

Lake Reflection: 5!! (Worse mosquitoes of the trip and potentially worst I've ever been through). Literally could not get away from them anywhere.
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thegib
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Re: 2014 Mosquito Reports

Post by thegib »

Alpinemike,
That's a gnarly report. I'm going in on Tuesday and I was dreading just such.
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Re: 2014 Mosquito Reports

Post by alpinemike »

My best advice is to keep moving through meadow areas as much as possible. And your best bet is to camp high and away from lush areas. They truly were unbearable in some spots. It's early season and that's just one of the pains we have to deal with. Best of luck!
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Courtright Res 6/20 /Dinkey Lakes 6/27-6/28

Post by giantbrookie »

6/20 Near Courtright Res, elev approx 8200-9000'. Dayhike. Away from car about 10 am to 4 pm. Consistent breeze with very few mosquitoes. The worst was actually at the trailhead at 10 am when my son Lee and I killed about a dozen apiece while getting our dayhiking gear on. There were brief let ups in the breeze at the lake we visited where a few mosquitoes would pop up but essentially a non factor. The zero bites (I think) recorded by me and Lee, which is very rare for a trip at this time of the year. The breeze is the key.

6/27-6-28 near Dinkey Lakes Wilderness at elevations of about 8600-9100'. Rating 3. If the wind died down it was intense with hundreds of mosquito kills recorded in an hour. 6/27 was better because there was a more consistent breeze during the day. The late evening of 6/27 and early morning of 6/28 were pleasant because it was sufficiently cold to put the bugs down. The later morning of 6/28 was pretty bad because a breeze hadn't popped up yet and it was warm enough for the blood suckers to spring into action. In spite of my vigorous self-defense, I received about 50 bites--I am an itchy fool right now. Lee, who really gets upset when under attack, probably sustained 30 bites or so. Dawn may have been bitten as much as I do, but she doesn't seem to care. Judy did fairly well and may have sustained about 20 bites. As is usual for the summer it's all about the consistency of the breeze and the nightime temps. No matter where one is the Sierra (below about 14000), if it warm at night and there is no breeze, it is trouble. I will never forget the early July 1996 trip I took with Judy when I sustained my highest altitude mosquito bite ever (13500' on Mt Barnard) and we were swarmed on the TOP of New Army Pass.
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thepreciselife
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Re: 2014 Mosquito Reports

Post by thepreciselife »

'tis the season of mosquitoes.

Going up this week (thurs)
i'll be sure to report here when I get back.
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Crescent Mead>Precipice>9 Lakes>Lonely Lake>Tablelands 6/24-

Post by Wandering Daisy »

Sequoia 6/24-29
6/24- Crescent Meadow to Nine mile Creek. 1-2. A few at dusk.
6/25- Nine Mile to Precipice Lake. 0-2. A few at Hamilton Lake. windy all day
6/26- Precipice Lake to Little Five Lakes. 0-1. windy all day
6/27- Big Five Lakes day hike, to Nine Lakes Basin, day hike to upper lakes. 0-1, except for Big Five Lakes where it is much wetter and 2-3. windy all day
6/28- Nine Lakes Basin to Lonely Lake area. 2-3 once into Lone Pine Creek drainage. relatively calm. pesky near Lonely Lake at dusk
6/29- Lonely Lake to Wolverton TH. 3 in Tablelands. relatively calm. 1-2 once down to Pear Lake. 0-1 below The Watchtower.

MUCH less problem than I had anticipated. The wind helped keep them down. The only place where they were really a problem was Big Five Lakes (very wet ground there). I suspect that without wind Big Five Lakes could be 4-5. Never a problem when walking at any location.
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Humphreys Basin 6/22-6/26

Post by RiseToADry »

Humphreys basin 6/22-6/26. Mosquitoes were 0-1. If it was breezy they were nil (most of the time). When it was calm and you were around runoff streams they began to poke their heads out.

Overall way less than I expected for this time of year.
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Vickster
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Hoover Wilderness

Post by Vickster »

6/19-6/23 Leavitt Meadows TH->Tower Lake->Cinko Lake->Fremont Lake
On Sunday the 22nd is when everything blew up to 4 level, before that things were a 2. I had to start wearing my bug net even while hiking and they were still swarming. I managed to find a high camp Sunday night where it was windy and had some solace.

6/26-6/29 Green Creek TH-> Gilman Lake-> Summit Lake-> Virginia Pass-> West Lake
We had some rain on the 26th which kept them at bay for a few days but they are back to 4 levels now and I talked to the other backcountry rangers (one was around Peeler Lake out of the Robinson Creek TH and the other was out of the Leavitt Meadows TH) and they both said the mosquitos were horrible. I think that Green Lake tends to stay breezy because it's in the middle of the drainage which can act like a wind tunnel so they didn't seem quite so bad there but our trail crew who was up at Gilman Lake told me that even up there which isn't far from Green at all it was pretty nasty.

So be warned, if you are coming to the Hoover for the 4th the bugs are real bad. Also, we are in fire restrictions so NO campfires in the backcountry.

Thanks!! :)
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Re: Hoover Wilderness

Post by ExploreABitMore »

Vickster wrote:6/26-6/29 Green Creek TH-> Gilman Lake-> Summit Lake-> Virginia Pass-> West Lake
We had some rain on the 26th which kept them at bay for a few days but they are back to 4 levels now and I talked to the other backcountry rangers (one was around Peeler Lake out of the Robinson Creek TH and the other was out of the Leavitt Meadows TH) and they both said the mosquitos were horrible. I think that Green Lake tends to stay breezy because it's in the middle of the drainage which can act like a wind tunnel so they didn't seem quite so bad there but our trail crew who was up at Gilman Lake told me that even up there which isn't far from Green at all it was pretty nasty.


Thanks!! :)
Experienced similar between Green Lake and Virginia Pass, 6/27. 3-4 on way down in afternoon. Not so bad on the way up, though.
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Convict Creek>Mildred>Edith >Cloverleaf Lake 6/23-6/30

Post by SSSdave »

June 27>30, Convict Creek from lake at 7.6k to downstream of Mildred Lake 9960 a 1. At Mildred Lake and long meadow above 1-2. Genevieve, Edith, Cloverleaf lakes, 1 early morning 1-2 mid day and 2-3 evening but some wet places mid day out of breeze 3. Above Mildred in huge meadow at mid day we hiked around in shorts t-shirt, laid out on slabs after taking refreshing dips, without any bites even though a few were around in the evening. We camped a couple nights near a lake with a wet swampy meadow nearby so they visited in evenings but by mid-night were gone.

Over 4 days I got bit once or twice each day usually on the top of my hands, a couple times in the back through t-shirt, and once through the netting of my tent into my scalp when my head was against the netting. Wore long pants, nylon shell, cap with neck drape anytime sqeets got to a 2. Put on DEET a few times though most of the time were not enough to bother with. Overall were little bother.
Last edited by maverick on Wed Jul 02, 2014 4:44 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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