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Quark
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Quark
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PostTue Feb 25, 2003 9:04 am 
Without a doubt, the Wildhorse Trail from Ladies' Pass was my worst bug experience. 90 degree heat, sundrenched hot hot hot meadows. I had a full pack, long sleeves, long pants, run run run run 5 miles away from the bugs o god they were bad bad bad bad can't stop for water, can't stop to eat i cursed the bugs and the sun and then again and again and still do now, aye, i still do. THEN I get to the TH all crabby n hot n bothered and bug guts in various stages of coagulation have encased my body like a black-snot armor, standing there like a shell-shocked veteran….and MtnMike pipes up and asks that all-too familiar question of his (and I knew it was coming, too. It always does), "Ummm....did you bring clean clothes? Here’s a towel to sit on, in case you didn’t. How about going back to the crick and washing up." He's real picky about his car, you see. so i crabbily grabbed my handkerchief n harumphed back up the miserable horrible buggy hot dusty trail a ways to the crick and cursed mike and the bugs and the hot sun again and again and then lightening flashed and thunder rolled and the big fire near leavenworth was born that very minute and raged for days and days thereafter. I don't know if the two incidents are related, but now I always bring fresh clothes when hiking with the kind and sincere MtnMike.

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#19
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PostTue Feb 25, 2003 9:30 am 
seems to me that there are two kinds of bug problems - 'skeeters and flies. Worst black flies chased us right out of the car, over Hannegan, down the Chiliwack and up Easy Ridge one mid Aug. Over 14 miles and 5500' gain nearly non-stop with big packs because the little buggers wouldn't let us rest a minute. As Mal Con posted, 3-4 head strikes per second. mad.gif Another Aug trip over Hannegan yielded the same buggy results. rant.gif Worst mosquitoes would be lower Lyman Lake. I remember counting 18 on my friends hat. redface.gif

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Dave Weyrick
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PostTue Feb 25, 2003 10:00 am 
Do we have a 'Hall of Fame' for posts? I nominate Quark's post to be the first set aside for such an honor. Her misery and its vivid description leaves me convulsing in laughter. Especially the phrase about 'black-snot armor' and the perfect use of repeating words. I'll be chuckling forever, aye I will.....and she somehow caused that fire! Bugs haven't been a problem for me since I got a headnet.

If I'd known ya was gonna use bait I wouldn't a brought ya!
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Karen
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PostTue Feb 25, 2003 10:19 am 
The worst ever ....
for biting flies was on the Hannegan Pass trail a few summers ago. On a Mountaineer backpack in mid-summer we were heading up the trail --- there were about 7-8 of us in the party and the flies were very thick, even as we moved. Usually I can avoid bugs by moving but these flies were so persistent that they would land on you as you were hiking. There was one woman on this trip that turned around in tears at about a mile and said she just couldn't take it any more. The rest of us hiked in grim silence. I don't know what the other members of the group were thinking but I was a little worried about what camp would be like. Well, we got to Hannegan Pass and the flies were still thick. The leader decided our chances were better by camping on the summit of the peak itself so that's what we ended up doing. It's not that much further from the pass and by the time got there a nice breeze kept the bugs at bay and we had a great overnight camp. No bugs at all until we started back down the next day. Back on the trail we were all slathered in bug juice and using branches as fans to keep them from landing. As for mosquitoes I have never had much of a problem with them. They don't seem to bother me much and I haven't bought bug juice for years. However, once with my ex-husband on an extended outing in the Olympics I do have an experience to share with you. We were bathing in one of the rivers (without soap, just rinsing off) and when I looked over at him I saw that his back was just covered with mosquitoes and he was cursing and muttering. I didn't have a single one on me!! Gnats or no-seeums are sometimes a problem. Once on a climb of Sloan Peak in a meadowy camp, the gnats came out at dusk and caused traffic jams in the corners of our mouths and eyes. It was terrible. And they bit hard!! When I got the next morning I had lumps all over my face from their bites. Karen

stay together, learn the flowers, go light - from Turtle Island, Gary Snyder
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Lead Dog
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PostTue Feb 25, 2003 12:31 pm 
Buggiest trails
I wanted to relate my storys yesterday, but I didn't have enough time to do so. So here I go. 3 hikes come to mind. #3 Theasus-Monitor Lakes. It was a beautiful day to climb straight up the mountainside which you must do if you go to these lakes as many of you know. When we got to the lakes we said "what beautiful lakes" then the clouds and I mean clouds of mosquitos hit us. Just by chance we found a great campsite on the ridge between the 2 lakes and dove in our quickly erected tent. The mosquitos stuck their drills through the netting trying to get at us.I made the mistake of leaning on the netting once! This went on for 2 tent bound days.#2 Chain-Doelle Lakes. All the way to the Chain Lake trail-about 8mi. the mosquitos and flys SWARMED all over me. I was by myself so I could't share them with others. Along the Icicle Creek trail you can keep them behind you by moving fast, but on the climb up to Chain Lakes you are at their mercy,and they have none! mad.gif #1 Lake Beauty NEVER have I seen mosquitos like this!! Just for fun I counted the bugs on my friends hat while we were taking pictures I lost count at about 187-NO LIE, WE were COVERED with bugs. The worst ever. I'm like Backpacker Joe, I also don"t use bug repellent. I just can"t stand the smell of the stuff. Any type. Buy the way. What is the official name of those big flys with the striped eyes that take big bites out of your body?

My hair's turning white, my neck's always been red, my collor's still blue. Lynard Skynard
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Mike E.
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PostTue Feb 25, 2003 12:31 pm 
Mosquitoes and blackflies are very nasty, but the grossest bugs I have ever run into were these little green caterpillars that were clinging to the brush in the ravine about halfway up Fourth of July trail out of the Icicle. This happened about three years ago and only in that one spot. We'd walk across a traverse and these squishy little suckers would drop off the bushes and land on us ten to twenty at a time. We'd stop at the next switchback to knock/scrape them off and do it all over again until we were past the ravine. They were so soft and mushy that by the time we were past them we were coated with gross green goo. The fire that Quark referred to has since removed all of the brush in that ravine and it'll be awhile before the brush is tall enough support that many bugs again.

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salish
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PostTue Feb 25, 2003 1:47 pm 
Dave Weyrick wrote:
Do we have a 'Hall of Fame' for posts? I nominate Quark's post to be the first set aside for such an honor. Her misery and its vivid description leaves me convulsing in laughter. Especially the phrase about 'black-snot armor' and the perfect use of repeating words. I'll be chuckling forever, aye I will.....and she somehow caused that fire! Bugs haven't been a problem for me since I got a headnet.
Dave, Last August I sat on the banks of Greenridge Lake with two TB'ers and ate lunch in the midst of a swarm of skeeters and slapped my head probably a hundred times trying to swat bugs, while the two TB'ers ate their lunches and calmly peered at me through their headnets, probably wondering why they took such a moron with them on that hike. I now have not just one headnet, but a second one I use as a backup. I will rent it to anyone who needs it during a swarm $50.00 /hr. Cliff

My short-term memory is not as sharp as it used to be. Also, my short-term memory's not as sharp as it used to be.
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Dslayer
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PostTue Feb 25, 2003 1:53 pm 
Any hike onto the Tumac Plateau from the time the hordes hatch depending on snow melt-usually late June/early July to about Mid August. You can generally keep them from biting with enough layers of DEET but they're in a constant cloud around you--it takes some real mental toughness to not go nuts and keep fishing. Horse flies can be brutal on that Tatoosh by late July and into August.

"The Second Amendment of the Bill of Rights is my concealed weapon permit."-Ted Nugent
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Hiker Boy
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PostTue Feb 25, 2003 6:43 pm 
Lake Ann or the Skyline Divide.

Honey Badger Don't Care!
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polarbear
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PostTue Feb 25, 2003 9:03 pm 
Quote:
Worst mosquitoes would be lower Lyman Lake
Sand bar city. I was swarmed by them their too and I was doing a good job hiding from the lake. Your can almost hear them breeding right now.
lyman
lyman

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Dave Weyrick
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PostTue Feb 25, 2003 9:10 pm 
The big ones with striped eyes are horse or deer flies I think. I had a great time with some in August '01 at Lake Chaval in the Glacier Peak Wilderness after catching numerous small fish with a spin rod and realizing I'd left my fly rod back at Crater with my sleeping gear. I'd swat the big critters (gotta hit 'em HARD) and pitch them out on the water. Didn't take long for a pod of hungry fish to attack the spinning morsel in a viscious splashy rise. What a blast! Kept me entertained 'till I was rested up enough to return to Crater.

If I'd known ya was gonna use bait I wouldn't a brought ya!
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#19
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PostWed Feb 26, 2003 7:44 am 
pbear, interesting shot of Lyman. I've been by it a number of times but never when the water level was so low (and blue?). Pretty cool.

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polarbear
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PostWed Feb 26, 2003 7:47 pm 
Pappy, the print I scanned in was made from a slide, and the color was even more striking in the slide. It was taken the 2nd or 3rd week in August, 2002. Someone had warned me about the mosquitoes there, but I didn't see them until I looked down at my arm. About 20 on my arm, but they didn't appear to be full grown and I didn't suffer much. But I didn't linger long either.

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Steve
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PostThu Feb 27, 2003 8:23 am 
Peggy's pond before the ascent of Mt. Daniel. We started the hike at 10pm and got to PP at about midnight. The infestation was incredible! We could not get the bivy sacks and bags out quick enough. Other mentionables would be Pete Lake, Hardscrabble lake and Waptus lake.

Despair is only for those who see the end beyond all doubt.
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