High Sierra Topix

Moose Lake - 0 but there was just a hatch of babies too young to bite. wouldn't want to be there when they mature!
Box Canyon - 1
Crowley Canyon - 2 in woods, 1 in drier areas

Cahoon Meadows - 3
Twin Lakes - 3/4 during the day
Horse Creek - 2/3, really not that bad even at dusk
Upper Tablelands - 1 but showers probably kept them at bay
Table Meadows - 2, surprisingly not bad at all

Copper Creek Trail - 1/2
Grouse Lake - 1 but we were only there during the day
Upper Granite Basin meadows - 2/3
Glacier Lakes - 2/3, worsening steadily through descent
State Lakes trail - 4 at mid-day, dusk likely would've been a 5
Lower State Lake - 2/3 with a breeze
Horseshoe Lakes - 2
Windy Point - 2 though not living up to its namesake in the breeze department
S Fork Cartridge Creek Basin below Gray Pass - 3 with breeze but so worth it this place is magical
White / Red Pass - 1 and whoever flipped a rock at the top of Red Pass and left giant TP streamers, please see yourself out of the wilderness at your soonest convenience
Marion Lake - 5 holy crap we are hiking as fast as we can on the ruins of the JMT, worst bugs of entire trip, why did I pick today to forget my headnet in my puffy pocket, now in the bottom of my pack
Lake Basin - 3, lightening towards the upper side
S Fork Kings River - 4
Bench Lake - 2 with occasional breeze, up to 4 in wetlands past the west end of the lake
upper unnamed basin below White Fork pass at ~11,500' - 1
White Fork - 1 lounging for hours on pillowy meadow grass and nothing is trying to eat me this must be heaven
Woods Creek - 2
Upper Paradise Valley - 3/4

Bug pressure was overall annoying but manageable. Full-coverage hard-to-bite-through clothing, some headnet use, a bit of Picaridin for hands and face in camp here and there. I have maybe a dozen bites, mostly along my forehead where it turns out they can bite me through my hat...

Hey generalelectrix,

We are going to do the SHR from July 18th onwards. Thanks for the report.

Did you use a tent or tarp? If Tarp - how did you protect yourself from bugs? bivy, headnet etc?

thanks!

HST exit via Upper Kern->Forester/Kearsarge->Onion Valley

Crescent Meadow/Bearpaw: 0-1
Nine Lakes Basin: 0-1
Moraine Lake: 0
Kern trench: 0
Upper Kern basin lakes: 1-2
Meadow north of Forester pass: 0
Kearsarge Lakes; 1

Freshly treated permethrin outfits. Never used headnet, applied a dab of prophylactic DEET in Upper Kern meadows in evening and again in morning. AFAIK no bites whole trip.

Had some tag-along face huggers in the shade in wetter areas but mostly quiet.

Lone Pine Lake dayhike 1-2

Horseshoe Meadows and Cottonwood Lakes dayhike 0-1

Chocolate Lakes and South Lake 2
Bishop Pass and Dusy Basin 2
Middle Fork Kings River 2-3
Muir Pass and Evolution Lake 2
Evolution Creek to Piute Creek 2-3
Piute Creek between 9k and 10.5k 3-4
Piute Lake to North Lake 2-3

The granite up at desolation and around is all 0-1 right now. I thought it was the breeze but it was fine even when the breeze stopped, even morning / evening.

Routes up and down did get annoying.

Lilly was 0-1 in dusk. Route up via Tamarack trail (straight up from Lilly) hit 2 or maybe 3 in the late dusk in the more bushwacky sections. Mostly fine. Next day during the day hit 1 continuing that route up.

Route down via Heather and Susie hit 2 then increased up 3 after leaving granite and into the green around 6:30/7pm. I don't do deet and needed to move fast and keep a rain jacket layer on for comfort even into the eve (~9p).

Was expecting it to be bad but was totally over prepared. Headnets, long sleeve, and deet never came out of the pack.

Camp Lake > Lilly Lake > Gem Lake > Leopold Lake > Chewing Gum Lake

Went swimming and hung out at Gem right at sunset and hardly saw any at all. The lakes were all fine. Hiking past swampy meadow was the worst but even there we only ever saw skeeters in ones or twos and lemon/eucalyptus kept them away just fine.

1) TH to Big McGee Lake-1 billowy clouds, spit of rain, very windy, HOT
2) Hopkins Pass (0)- Lower Hopkins Lk (2), Mono Cr-Laurel Cr to Laurel Lake (1-2), hot, very windy
3) Grinnell Lake-Rosy Finch-Isaac Walton Lk (1-2) hot, clear, windy
4) day-hike Hortense Lk, Tully Lk, Tully Hole, Virginia Lk, Lower Franklin Lake (0-1), windy, clear, HOT (little clouds of new hatch around trees)
5) Bunny Lake Pass (0), Cloverleaf Lk (1-2), Genivive Lk (3), Dorothy Lk, Lk WiSoNahPa (1-2), windy, clear, not as hot
6) Constance Lake (1), Corridor Pass (0), Little McGee Lake (1-2), Big McGee Lake (1-2)
7) walk out (1-2), overcast, windy

Saved by the wind! Forgot to take mosquito repellant. Did wear head net, more for annoying flies. Only somewhat bad mosquitoes was Genivive Lk.

The hot week dried up a lot of little ponds. Wildflowers really amazing over Corridor Pass. Lush meadow at Lk WiSoNahPa, Laurel Lake and Big McGee Lake. These all are on the cusp of drying up. Actually walked on snow at the top of Corridor Pass, north side.

Other than first smoky day, skies were clear. Not crystal clear because the very distant views were hazy.