2019 Mosquito Reports

[hikerdude87]

Hiked up to Long Lake on 8/24. Initially mosquitoes weren't bad until late afternoon. When we stopped to take breaks we were covered in mosquitoes. Deet and bug net helped a lot.

Level 2 before Long Lake
Level 3-4 around Long Lake

[milkfish]

8/19 lodgepole: 1
8/20 buck creek: 1
8/21 tamarack lake: 2
8/22 lonely lake: 2-3
8/23 xc through tablelands, and tons of snowmelt tarns: 4
lake 11,200: 3 (when the wind died down)
table meadows lake: 3
8/24 lower table meadows: 2
pear lake to wolverton: 0

two rangers said that tablelands/moose lake was more like a 5 last week, so perhaps they’re subsiding a bit.

I'm surprised they're still so active so high up. I'll be there in two weeks, hoping for 0-1 across the board!

[astrogerly]

Spent the weekend at Soldier Lake/in Miter Basin.

8/23: Cottonwood Pass trail to Soldier - 1 most of the trail; 3+ at Soldier Lake (tolerable during day, heinous in evening)
8/24: Soldier to Miter Basin - 3+ at Soldier and up the chute 'use trail'; maybe a 1 in Miter Basin; 3 at times coming down the Rock Creek "trail". Seemed to be worst between 10.5k to 11.0k feet.
8/25: Soldier Lake to Cottonwood Lakes trailhead - 3 at Soldier Lake, no issues the rest of the time

[wmds]

Evolution Valley and surrounding Lakes

8/19 - 8/24

8/19: Florence Lake to McClure Meadow 1 in the wooded areas rest of the trail a 0. At camp along creek in McClure Meadow a 1 or 2 in the morning and evening, 0 during the middle of the day.

8/20: Spent the day at lake 11,106. Slight breeze and bugs were a 0 to 1.

8/21 & 8/22: Hiked to 2 lakes due south of McClure just above and below 10,800 bugs were a 1, Then hiked to lakes near Emerald Peak, Lake 10,554 and surrounding tarns/ponds were a 2 maybe 2+, so we camped at Lake 10,918. Bugs back to a 1/2 in the morning and evening only, 0 for the rest of the day and night.

Hope this is useful, everyones posts have been a big help to me when planning my trip. Thanks.

[Love the Sierra]

Hi,
I don’t see any reports from Emigrant Wilderness. Does anyone have info? We were planning a trip this weekend out of Gianelli to either Y Meadow or Granite, exploring XC on Sunday and packing out Monday.
Thanks in advance!!

[drm510]

Trail: 1
Marshy areas between Donkey and Baboon: 3
Campsite north side of Baboon Lakes: 2

[SSSdave]

Well a bit of wisdom given it is more complicated at this late August period than our useful 1-5 scale would indicate. Most summers, by now there would only be a few remaining mosquitoes in wet marshy areas that come out late afternoon however this summer late August is more like usual late July and there is more variation with wet and dry landscapes than normal.

Dragonflies and damselflies have been devouring mosquitoes during day periods that seems to cause most still alive to remain hidden. This is different than earlier in summer before dragonflies and damselflies have hatched. Of course they don't hatch till there are lots of squeets to feed on.

August 20>28 from Shepherd Pass Trailhead 6.3k thru Shepherd Pass 12.0k to Tyndall Creek and Wrights Creek areas. Quite variable depending on sun exposure and type of landscape, time of day, breeze.

Drier east side areas below 10k have no mosquitoes while stream sides may still harbor a few that only come out when dragonflies and damselflies are inactive that is early morning and after later afternoon. Thus one may think there are none to few but they are simply hidden in moist vegetation and tree bark fissures. So beside a stream even at lower elevations, it would be unwise to sleep out cowboy style without a head net while in dry areas probably safe.

Where melting snows are still draining down at higher elevations above 10k, along streams, in turfy meadows, in marshes, etc there may seem to be none to few while hiking around but actually there are still many. Sit down mid day along a small stream and at first none. But after a few minutes, some will sense one's carbon dioxide breathing and come out of hiding to find you. Once one does and whines, others nearby may hear it and also appear. But late in the afternoon dragonflies and damselflies retire and those same areas may have numerous mosquitoes. I spent an hour about 2pm at 11.1k during light breezes taking a dunking in an open meadow stream, laying out on warm rocks to dry, washing socks with only a couple venturing out to bother me that I quickly hand squashed. Dragonflies and damselflies were zooming around actively feeding. To do the same there at 6pm would have been ended up looking like raw hamburger.

[cgundersen]

Aug.21-28:
Agnew Meadows to Donohue Pass were 0-1 except Rush Creek crossing where they reached 2-3

From Donohue we did a broad, high loop with Mt. Lyell at the axis and bugs were sparse in all intervening canyons including upper Lewis and Hutchings Creek basins and the Lyell Fork of the Merced. Few bugs at the Marie Lakes.

River trail: Fluctuated from 0-2

[northwesterner]

Aug 25-26: Agnew Meadows to Garnet Lake via River Trail; overnight at Garnet Lake (north side); return to Agnew Meadows via JMT and Shadow Lake trail.

Mosquitos were a 1.

Some reports from other hikers coming from Ediza that it was still a 3 there but I had a blissful bug bite free weekend at Garnet.

[Cycleboy]

Sabrina to Blue Lake in the afternoon of 8/27: 1 on the trail, 2-3 at Blue in the trees.

Definitely more out than I've seen in past 6 years in the same canyon, same time of year.