2013 Mosquito Reports

[calipidder]

Yosemite, Ten Lakes. June 8-9.

I would have put them at a 2, but for some reason they weren't bothering me as much as other people in our group (maybe I should get a blood test...). Others in the group might have called it closer to a 3-4.

[mauhler31]

TM to Waterwheel - 2 or 3. Moderate in shaded areas, light in exposed areas. I got 10-15 bites with 4 itchy ones. Other members of my group were not so lucky and got 40+ even with DEET and bug nets.

[Troutdog 59]

Duck and Chain Lakes, John Muir Wilderness out of Wishon, 6/8 - 6/10.

1 to 2, at the lakes (9,000 - 9,200), but more on the 1 side. Some swarms at the boggy spots along the trail, but Bens 30% did just fine. No need for head nets. I actually thought it would be a whole lot worse

[manny]

Summary: Mostly 4+ from Heather Lake up into the Tablelands (only because I could take some pictures through the swarms and they did let up between midnight and 5am).

6/7 - Swarms hit at Heather Lake on the way up. Didn't let up until about 9pm at Pear Lake.

6/8 - 5am - swarms started and followed us up into the Tablelands. Only let up a bit when the wind kicked up. Evening - let up around sundown, but the occasional buzzing kept up most of the night. Swarms started up again about 5am Sunday.

6/9 - Not quite as bad on Sunday - maybe the faster downhill pace and a bit of wind.

Picaridin (Natrapel) worked great on arms and legs, but didn't help on my back (under my shirt) and face. Still scratching today.

[Wandering Daisy]

Loop from Wrights Lake- Rockbound Pass - Schmidell Lk- Leland Lks-4-Q Lakes-Rubicon River-Rockbound Pass-Gertrude-Tyler Lk. June 12-14.

First, the wind was howling! Night temperatures near freezing above 8,000 feet.
All areas were 1-2 .
8,000-ft elevation and lower were worst.
Even with no wind, Tyler Lake at 8,200 had no mosquitoes even at dusk and dawn.
China Flat on Rubicon was the worst.
All mosquitoes I saw were tiny baby ones. There is plenty of standing water out there right now.

[jaydub]

Young Lakes Yosemite 6/7 - 6/8. Wind and weather kept them down most of the time. When wind was not blowing, they were a minor annoyance.
Wet meadow areas between Dog Lake and lower Young Lake: 2 to 3
Lower and Middle Young Lake: 2
Upper Young Lake: 1 (lots of newly hatched ones, but not biting)

[BrianF]

Just back from a dayhike in the Cottonwood lakes area 6/16. There was a bit of a breeze and the only mosquitos I encountered were along the creek near the Golden Trout camp - about a 2. Up in the lake basin even when there was no breeze it was a 0. The meadows are looking dry and the lakes are a few feet low - you can see the bathtub ring of high water from years past and many of the little streams are already dry

[cvr]

Sabrina Basin 6/13-6/16. Hungry Packer Lake, Moonlight Lake, Echo Lake, Midnight Lake, Blue Heaven Lake. It was a bit breezy most of the time, but when there was no breeze the mosquitos were only about a 2. In the lower, more forested areas they were a little worse, but overall, not notable by any means. It's pretty dry up there for mid-June.

[sparky]

Rafferty Creek, Vogelsang Pass, Lewis Creek, Florance Lake Basin, Lake Merced, LLY. Most areas were a 1 or a 2, Vogelsang was the worst at a 3+. I forgot bug juice and only had a short sleeve shirt and was pretty much fine. I put on my head net once or twice just for a few minutes. When I would encounter a 2 or 3, I would just move 1/4 mile and it would be a 0.

[J ney]

JMT through Lyell Canyon (15/16Jun)
Above 10,500': About a 2... not very noticeable.
Below 10k and on the way down to Lyell Cyn: 3/4... certainly enough to keep you moving!