SummitPost.org

markv wrote:Ledge rat, i'm trying to trace out your route and what i've got for maps doesn't show all the specific features like The Gap and each Minaret's name. Do i have to buy the Secor climbers' book or is there some way of seeing this detail online? Also, the last year that i was in that area in early July on the PCT the mosquitos were EPIC. Isn't that area going to be bug fiesta until late August?

My first summer in the High Sierra about 35 years ago was an epic summer for mosquitos... We had only sleeping bags and a tarp. I lost 20 pounds and 5 pints of blood. Seems that the Minarets always have a lot of mosquitos. At least down at the trailhead.

Here is your online reference:

http://www.summitpost.org/minarets/247994

Photo URL: http://www.summitpost.org/the-minarets/248005


Here's a photo of the eastern side on the Minarets, from the outlet of Iceberg Lake. The Gap is obvious on the right. That's the Clyde Minaret on the left. The South Notch is almost visible far left.

Mosquitos are a fact of life up here, and will be bad pretty much everywhere, so be one with the dark cloud...

...and kill as many as possible!!

(Can't be worse than the flies down south this past weekend, tho... ew...)

Oh, and +1 on the abbreviated North Lake to South Lake loop. You can always cut out over Lamarck Col or Alpine Col to get to Muriel Lake as well. I just love the Darwin Bench. Beware the boulders of Alpine Col, though...

Hmmm... another cool loop might be out of Onion Valley, north over Glen into Rae/60 Lakes, then out over Dragon Col (since it's open now!).

Or University Pass south into Center Basin and back down to Vidette Meadow and back out over Kearsarge.

If you can snag a Whitney Zone permit, up and over Cleaver Col and into the Wallace Lake basin/drainage...

hmmm...

If you want to avoid mosquitos, it is definitely possible. You can go out every weekend if desired and still manage to be clear of the bastards, just have to make your plans flexible.

The easiest way would be to avoid meadows, and any lower areas. If you stay above 11,000 feet you are generally ok, the higher the better. This usually means you cannot stick to trails, better to hike along ridges and high passes.

Last year I did a loop covering Mount Tinemaha, Split Mountain, Prater, Bolton Brown, and Birch Mountain over two days. Very moderate as a three day trip, or you could drop down into Upper Basin, which is largely mosquito free even with all the lakes and water (over 11,000 feet).

Obviously you don't have to do that loop, but if you are comforable on class 3 that is the type of scenario you are looking at to avoid both mosquitos and deet. There are dozens of similar options out there available (the areas on the west side of the crest from Tulainyo Lake to Shepherd Pass being just one other example).

"be one with the dark cloud"

That's freakin classic! I'm gonna use that.

mrchad9 wrote: you could drop down into Upper Basin, which is largely mosquito free even with all the lakes and water (over 11,000 feet).

Agree for the most part, but I've been killed before in upper basin (2005)! Don't think it's the norm, but if it's going to happen any year...

goldenhopper wrote:

mrchad9 wrote: you could drop down into Upper Basin, which is largely mosquito free even with all the lakes and water (over 11,000 feet).

Agree for the most part, but I've been killed before in upper basin (2005)! Don't think it's the norm, but if it's going to happen any year...

Happy to see you were resurrected.

mrchad9 wrote:

goldenhopper wrote:

mrchad9 wrote: you could drop down into Upper Basin, which is largely mosquito free even with all the lakes and water (over 11,000 feet).

Agree for the most part, but I've been killed before in upper basin (2005)! Don't think it's the norm, but if it's going to happen any year...

Happy to see you were resurrected.

Well, at least someone has an accurate opinion of me.

Thanks for all the ideas and food for thought. I ended up not quite doing any of these routes, but i now have this whole list to do in the future. What i did:

July 20-22

Lake George, Mammoth Crest, Deer Lakes, Duck Lake, Purple Lake, Lake Virginia, some exploring, and doubling back to Duck Pass down through the lake basin back to car:

Patchy snow on the way up the crest, crossing from Deer Lakes to Duck Pass, and the north side of Duck Pass, but nothing that'll stop you. A few slow mosquitos only at Purple and Lake Virginia. On the north side of the crest, no bugs at all above 9500'. Pretty amazing to hit so much of this perfectly in between the snow and the bug hatch. Especially the Deer Lakes area was incredible. We were surprised not to see another person until intersecting the JMT the next day.

Get out to this area soon...probably in another week the feeding frenzy will begin.