[pct-l] JMT: advice needed on best time to hike

[dude@coruscant.net (dude@coruscant.net)]

I have hiked in aug/sept and had TONS of mosquitoes and I have hiked 
in june/july and seen hardly any mosquitoes.

In my experience, the mosquitoe population depends much more on the 
previous winter's snow levels, rather than which month.  If the snow 
fall is 300% of normal like in 1998, then count on tons of mosquitoes 
in any month because all the meadows will be saturated with standing 
water, which is the perfect breeding environment for mosquitoes.

If the snowfall is light and it is a drought year, then there will 
likely be fewer mosquitoes in any month and fewer as the summer 
continues until they will be imperceptable in september.

This year looks like it will likely be close to a "normal" snow year, 
which means that there will be a few mosquitoes in the low areas near 
water and probably fewer mosquitoes in the higher areas and areas 
with no or little water.

Also, the JMT is overall a little higher in altitude than other 
sections of the PCT. It has also been my experience that there are 
generally fewer mosquitoes on the JMT than nearby areas that are 
lower in altitude.

If you are really concerned, take 99% DEET repellent and use it 
liberally.  It will produce light chemical burns on your skin, melt 
any plastic (like watches, glasses, etc), and may cause cancer, but 
you will NOT get any mosquitoes on you.  For those who are very 
mosquitoe-phobic, also bring a headnet and cap along with long sleves 
and pants.

good luck!


peace,
dude 

> I have hiked south from Donner Summit to Kennedy Meadows in August-
Sept. No
> mosquitos, no high water in the streams, almost no snow, warm, etc. 
More
> people on top of Whitney than early summer. Definitely a different
> experience from going South to North in the main season.
> 
> Marshall Karon
> Portland, OR
> m.karon@attbi.com
> (503) 232-5271
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Eric Miraglia" <emiraglia@mac.com>
> To: <pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net>
> Sent: Wednesday, April 03, 2002 10:34 AM
> Subject: [pct-l] JMT: advice needed on best time to hike
> 
> 
> > I am hoping to hike the JMT portion of the PCT southbound from 
Tuolomne
> > Meadows in Yosemite to Buckeye Flat in Kings Canyon this summer.  
After
> > reading through as many PCTer journals as I could find, it sounds 
to me
> > that the mosquitoes are horrendous enough to make the trip 
unpleasant at
> > certain times.  I'm wondering if there are times when the weather 
is
> > still nice (ie, long days, warmer/dryer weather) but the 
mosquitoes are
> > less obnoxious along this stretch of trail?  Or are mosquitoes 
just a
> > constant nemesis for the JMT throughout the July-September hiking 
window?
> >
> > Any advice would be appreciated!
> >
> > Thanks,
> > -Eric
> >
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> >
> 
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