2019 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.
Post Reply
User avatar
Etchilds
Topix Novice
Posts: 10
Joined: Fri Aug 23, 2013 11:53 am
Experience: N/A

Re: 2019 Mosquito Reports

Post by Etchilds »

Does anyone have any information on the little Lakes valley area? I have plans for the end of august and want to know what to expect.
User avatar
wildhiker
Topix Fanatic
Posts: 1109
Joined: Tue Jul 26, 2011 4:44 pm
Experience: Level 4 Explorer
Location: Palo Alto, CA
Contact:

Nelson Lake - Tuolumne Pass area, 8/9-8/11

Post by wildhiker »

Did the loop hike from Tuolumne Meadows campground past Elizabeth Lake, on the use trail to camp at Nelson Lake August 9, then cross-country past Reymann Lake to camp near Tuolumne Pass August 10, then down the Rafferty Creek and JMT trails back to Tuolumne Meadows August 11. Conditions were cool in the day (mid to upper 50s) with constant breeze from 5 to 15 mph, then calm at night and freezing (about 1/4 inch ice on water left out in a basin). Probably due to the breeze and maybe helped by the freezing nights, we saw virtually no mosquitoes on the entire trip, with the exception of a few damp forest areas that were sheltered from the wind, where I got a couple of bites.
User avatar
DiamondEyedJack
Topix Acquainted
Posts: 22
Joined: Thu Jul 27, 2017 2:54 pm
Experience: Level 3 Backpacker
Location: Reno

Re: 2019 Mosquito Reports

Post by DiamondEyedJack »

8/7-11: Did an out-and-back trip along the JMT from Mammoth to Thousand, with a day hike up to Davis Lakes.

8/7 - Red Cones area - 1/5
- Trinity Lakes - 3/5
8/8 - Shadow Lake - 2/5
- Garnet Lake - 0/5 due to wind
- Thousand Island Lake - 0/5 due to wind
8/9 - Davis Lakes - 2/5 - no wind in afternoon
- Island Pass: 0/5 but a breeze existed
- Thousand Island Lake - 0/5 due to wind
8/10 - Hike Thousand Island to Minaret Falls - 2/5
8/11 - Minaret falls to Reds Meadow Resort - 1/5

on 8/7 I heard reports that on 8/5, Thousand Island Lake was 4/ or 5/5. When I got there on the 8th, it was windy and no mosquitoes biting, but you could see hordes of them hunkering down in the whitebarks, waiting to for the wind to die before mounting an organized assault. Mosquitoes generally prefer shady areas, so cook and eat your freeze dried mac and cheese in the full sun, if you can stand it.
Krazy Kat peeking through a lace bandana, like a one-eyed Cheshire, like a diamond-eyed jack
User avatar
2eleven
Topix Newbie
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Jul 08, 2019 11:48 am
Experience: Level 4 Explorer

Re: 2019 Mosquito Reports

Post by 2eleven »

Etchilds wrote: Sun Aug 11, 2019 10:55 pm Does anyone have any information on the little Lakes valley area? I have plans for the end of august and want to know what to expect.
End of Aug will be quite different from now. It seems that the mosquitos are finally on the wane so I'd expect things to be fine by end of Aug, but keep an eye on reports closer to when you are going.
User avatar
ExploreABitMore
Topix Regular
Posts: 168
Joined: Thu Jan 11, 2007 2:38 pm
Experience: Level 4 Explorer
Location: Ridgecrest, CA
Contact:

Re: 2019 Mosquito Reports

Post by ExploreABitMore »

Etchilds wrote: Sun Aug 11, 2019 10:55 pm Does anyone have any information on the little Lakes valley area? I have plans for the end of august and want to know what to expect.
I was camped out at Treasure Lakes this weekend and the mosquitoes were not non-existent to mild up there. It was cool and breezy, which probably helped.

They were a little worse down below Treasure Lakes, but still not horrible.
Sierra Nevada, Mojave Desert, Night Sky Photography: http://www.evanthomasphoto.com/
User avatar
Etchilds
Topix Novice
Posts: 10
Joined: Fri Aug 23, 2013 11:53 am
Experience: N/A

Re: 2019 Mosquito Reports

Post by Etchilds »

Thank you!
User avatar
acorad
Topix Regular
Posts: 149
Joined: Wed Aug 14, 2013 9:40 am
Experience: N/A

Re: 2019 Mosquito Reports

Post by acorad »

Only 2 or 3 bites in Tuolumne area over the weekend. It was below freezing Friday and Saturday night.

Andy
User avatar
Ljohnson
Topix Newbie
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Aug 13, 2019 4:50 pm
Experience: Level 2 Backpacker

Re: 2019 Mosquito Reports

Post by Ljohnson »

Does anyone have any updates about mosquitoes at big pine creek south fork trail. We have permits for next weekend, but I’m concerned about getting eaten alive. We were up at tamarack lake new twin lakes in mid-July and the mosquitoes were horrendous even with long sleeves and deet! We had to take cover in the tent.
User avatar
mcgenes
Topix Acquainted
Posts: 34
Joined: Sat Aug 23, 2014 6:32 am
Experience: Level 3 Backpacker
Location: Santa Cruz, CA

Re: 2019 Mosquito Reports

Post by mcgenes »

Kearsarge to Center Basin round trip 8/8-8/11
Kearsarge area=0
Vidette Meadow=2 going to 1
Center Basin=1 going to 0
Bugs definitely waned during the trip.
User avatar
Bedbug
Topix Newbie
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue Jun 09, 2015 3:22 pm
Experience: Level 4 Explorer
Location: San Francisco

Florence Lake to Evolution Lake

Post by Bedbug »

Aug 7 - Florence Lake to ~1 mi west of Piute Creek bridge - level 2
Aug 8 - To Western edge of Evolution Valley - level 2
Aug 9/10 - To Evolution Lake & layover at Evolution Lake - Level 3 in the Evolution Valley meadow, Level 2 everywhere else. We had planned to camp around McClure Meadow but heard horror stories of bad mosquitoes (we met people an hour away from the valley on the trail still wearing mosquito nets fleeing the blood suckers). As we transited the valley we found the mosquitoes to gather only when we stopped for several minutes. Nothing compared with the 2015 mosquitogeddon /level 5 of the Sabrina Basin.
Aug 11 - 0.5 mile East of Piute Cr bridge - level 2
Aug 12 - Florence Lake (southside) - level 1
Aug 13 - To Florence Lake trailhead - level 1
Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 41 guests