High Sierra Topix

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June 18-19, 2016:
Camped near Bear Lake: Just a touch of wind: 2.

June 19, 2016 - Much warmer day without much wind. Mosquitoes on the trail between Camp Lake and the Crabtree trailhead were a bit of a bother in the middle of the day. Maybe 2+ or 3-

Hiked down from Shot Rock Vista, about 7800 feet, light winds on generally open granite.
In most places, a 2. Shaded or still areas a 3. We encountered one sandy spot near a creek that was a 4 and got us several bites each in the 30 seconds it took to pick our gear back up and move it to a windier area.

Was in John Muir Wilderness Area off of Blackcap and Hell For Sure Pass Trail, June 17-June 20. The worse place we encountered mosquitos was at the Post Corral Creek Crossing. I would likely rate this a high 3 or even 4. We had Permethrin treated clothes on our way out, back to trailhead, after the creek crossing, and in order to get water, do a little fishing, and put on shoes, we had to put Deet on the exposed parts of our body to keep them at bay. The rest of the trail I would rate a 2 at worse, even the seasonal ponds, and marshy areas weren't as bad as Post Corral Creek Crossing. The strange thing was, we slept no more than 200 yards away from it on the first night and had no issues whatsoever. The second night we stayed at Fleming Lake and I don't think I saw on mosquito around our camp or in our area.

Mostly 1 and low 2. A few spots (e.g. Barker Pass trailhead and some creek crossings) were maybe a very low 3. No Deet used but used mosquito proof wind jacket a few times. A few isolated sketchy snow patches remain (e.g under Granite Chief ski lift) but manageable with trail runners and hiking poles.

Probably a 2. The morning hike in was fine, as was most of the day at the lakes where we had a light breeze. No repellent was used. On the hike out around 5:30 however, if you stopped in a spot with no breeze they'd swarm rather quickly. I was surprised by the lack of mosquitos at the lake....... not sure if it's early, late, or the breeze. Nice day though.

Just got back from watching a group of ladies run out of repellent in Ansel Adams Wilderness. About a 2 at Lady Lake, heavier at the lower, greener lakes. I got by with a light application of DEET in the morning and another in the late afternoon. They were noticeably worse today, the last of our three days out there.

June 23-June 26 Southern Emigrant Wilderness

The mosquitoes get worse the higher in elevation you go--above 8000 especially. They can be especially bad from 7-9 am and 8-10 pm--as soon as the sun goes behind a ridge. They are also situationally bad near stagnant water at any elevation.

At Crabtree Trailhead and the lower part of Pine Valley all the way to Rosaco they were never more than a 2, in the evening at Rosaco they were a 3. Big Lake they were 2-3 at worse--I chose a dry camp with a great breeze, or they might have been worse. The worst mosquitoes of the trip were at Yellowhammer Camp--which is adjacent to swamp--at 8 in the morning. Definitely a 5. I can't imagine how Fred Leighton made a business taking people there. Five Acre Lake, Red Can Lake, Leighton, Karls, and the upper end of the Woods Lake trail were 4s during prime time and 2s in broad daylight. By today, however, the mosquitoes seemed to worsen on the way out. At 8 am coming through Groundhog meadow I had to put a bug bucket over my hat--easily a five.

I used Picaridin which seemed to work much as DEET does, except I am not convinced it lasts as long. I needed to reapply it more often.

June 24-26 Yosemite North Rim
Hiked the semi-loop from Porcupine Flat to North Dome, then west to Yosemite Falls, then up Yosemite Creek back to the highway. Elevations 7000 to 8000 feet. All generally south-facing.
Mosquitos were a level 1 at our two camps, both on exposed open granite areas with light breezes, one on the saddle north of North Dome, the other on a bluff above Yosemite Creek just off the trail. But mosquitos were a definite level 3 in the forested areas, especially damp areas, requiring liberal DEET application. Got numerous bites getting water in midday at Royal Arch Creek - probably the worst spot on our hike.

Blue Lake 2
Trail to upper basin until around 10,900’ ranged from 2-4
We stayed at Sailor Lake which had a nice breeze so ranged from 1-2