Bill Reed wrote:

WyomingSummits wrote:If you don't mind me asking, what is your intended route, cheezman?

Current thoughts are to do a point-to-point starting at Big Sandy and ending at Elkhart Park, trying to follow some variation of a "high route" as much as possible. I've also been considering just a big loop hike from Elkhart Park that stays more in the northern end of the range...

BTW: I've had great luck with permethrin here in da UP of Michigan. It doesn't make them disappear but at least they stop biting for a few minutes... I plan on liberally dousing our gear with a big bottle I have.

Anyone know how snow conditions are looking in the Winds this year compared to "normal"? I know it can vary widely, I'm just looking for a ballpark. Was it a heavy snow year? Should most trails be open by last week of July?

stinkycheezman33 wrote:Anyone know how snow conditions are looking in the Winds this year compared to "normal"? I know it can vary widely, I'm just looking for a ballpark. Was it a heavy snow year? Should most trails be open by last week of July?

Based on following http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/snow/index.html it looks like close to statistical average. Slightly above in southern and SE areas, dropping below average as you go north. Guessing most trails will be open by late July.

You can check with these guys for detail: http://www.greatoutdoorshop.com

Back to mosquitos. They will be what they will be. When their numbers reach a certain level, which I hope you don't see, it doesn't matter which repellent you use. It's like piranha feeding on a dead cow in the river.
Not sure about your idea to douse your gear with bug juice. Reminds me of a story about a backpacker that thought it would be a good idea to spray his tent with bear spray to keep the bears away-It wasn't.

Bill Reed wrote:Not sure about your idea to douse your gear with bug juice. Reminds me of a story about a backpacker that thought it would be a good idea to spray his tent with bear spray to keep the bears away-It wasn't.

Bill, permethrin is typically used by applying to clothing and/or gear. It is specifically NOT meant for human skin contact, like DEET can be. (Obviously want to keep the DEET off the synthetics.) I'll be treating some of our outerwear with a spray-on permethrin. It works fairly well for outdoor work here in da UP summer. (I use it often for field work at my job and it works better than many other things and avoids spraying stuff right on your skin.) I'll bring some DEET for hitting exposed skin areas when they get really bad. Of course I'm not going to be spraying Deep Woods Off on my tent.

I appreciate the snow update. Good to hear that it wasn't a way above-average year. Thanks for the snow resources too!

The mosquitoes were so big that a man on a horse rode into the Wind Rivers, and as he was watering his horse the mosquitoes ate the rider and horse, then pitched horseshoes to determine who got to eat the saddle.

The SNOTEL sites from south to north show 67, 64 and 52 percent of median precipitation for the season. And, the Hobbs Park site tanked out two weeks earlier than it did in 2010 when we were there. It wasn't a high snow year for the range.

Hobbs Park
http://wcc.sc.egov.usda.gov/nwcc/site?sitenum=525

Our 2010 trip
http://www.splattski.com/2010/gannett/index.html

Bob

All I can say is that they're pretty bad right now.

As for snow it was still pretty deep a couple of weeks ago above 9500 ft but it has been melting rapidly so the rivers are still up. Looking out my window at Whiskey and Middle Mountain there are just a few snowy patches on the leeward faces and shadowed areas.

ExcitableBoy wrote:The mosquitoes were so big that a man on a horse rode into the Wind Rivers, and as he was watering his horse the mosquitoes ate the rider and horse, then pitched horseshoes to determine who got to eat the saddle.

OK, so you've been there too!!

Take a headnet and as much patience as you can carry. And keep your food covered while it's cooking. We spent a month up there one summer and had a mid. We used the citronella coils at the opening of the mid and that kept the mid pretty clear for cooking. They will divebomb the steam.

Don't bring any stinky cheese on your trip. Draws more bugs.

Thought I'd post an update: I think it was a Christmas miracle. We were in the Titcomb area (hiked a 50 mile loop including Indian Basin, Fremont Peak, Knapsack Col and Peak Lake) from July 19-25 and never even took our bugspray or headnets out. Maybe killed 3 mosquitos in a week. Apparently our blood is undesirable or we have extremely high bug tolerance. We saw more bugs in the Mt. Zirkel area the week before. Seriously though, it was amazing!

Anyone else notice this lack of any bugs whatsoever?

stinkycheezman33 wrote:Thought I'd post an update: I think it was a Christmas miracle. We were in the Titcomb area (hiked a 50 mile loop including Indian Basin, Fremont Peak, Knapsack Col and Peak Lake) from July 19-25 and never even took our bugspray or headnets out. Maybe killed 3 mosquitos in a week. Apparently our blood is undesirable or we have extremely high bug tolerance. We saw more bugs in the Mt. Zirkel area the week before. Seriously though, it was amazing!

Anyone else notice this lack of any bugs whatsoever?

Yeah, I've had trips there with no bugs. Definitely not the norm. Glad it worked out for you.

stinkycheezman33 wrote:Thought I'd post an update: I think it was a Christmas miracle. We were in the Titcomb area (hiked a 50 mile loop including Indian Basin, Fremont Peak, Knapsack Col and Peak Lake) from July 19-25 and never even took our bugspray or headnets out. Maybe killed 3 mosquitos in a week. Apparently our blood is undesirable or we have extremely high bug tolerance. We saw more bugs in the Mt. Zirkel area the week before. Seriously though, it was amazing!

Anyone else notice this lack of any bugs whatsoever?

Definitely unusual-Glad it worked out that way for you! My 1st trip there was also like that. How were the stream crossings?

Only explanation I can think of is that it's been a fairly dry summer up there. Just back from a 3 week camping road trip thru Wy, Id, Or, Wa, Ca, Nv, and Ut and saw very few of the little devils. Also saw virtually no rain the entire time.

Thanks for posting the followup!!

Bill Reed wrote: How were the stream crossings?

All were very low and easy. Never had to take boots off or anything. In all, it was an amazing trip. Already can't wait to go back again someday!