Wind River Skeeter Herd

[Thomas G]

My wife and I were in the winds for 4 or 5 days last August hiking out of the Elkhart Trailhead up towards  Angel Pass, Island Lake, etc.  It was our fist taste and I really wanna go back for abigger trip in early aug.  However the mosquitos were horrible, at least compared to what we have in the idaho high country in Aug (as opposed to July when they are everywhere).  It was a few days after a torrential rain event so I am thinking maybe it was an anomaly.  On the other hand maybe not.  I know instect numbers are very localized and that they can also vary a lot year to year.  Can anyone enlighten me about what’s normal in the Winds in Aug.  Normally by that time in the Sawtooths and most other places we typically go close to home, insects are not a problem by aug.

Thx

[John B]

my experience (over 6 trips to the Winds) is that skeeters become a bit less onerous by mid to late august depending on the year.

[Christian White]

I was in the Winds the last 2 weeks in August and didn’t see much bug activity.  The first week was spent around Green River Lakes, and the second we went out of Scab Creek trailhead.  We were seeing frost just about every night at that point, and I think that slows them down.

 

We did the same 2 weeks the year prior (2 weeks leading into Labor Day) out of Elkhart Park and had a similar experience,  I think there can be quite a variation between early and late in August, so I tend to prefer later just to improve my odds.

[Terrence C]

I did Gannett peak last year early August, 9th-13th, and the skeeters were quite bad, even at 11k ft. Glad to hear that they get better by the end of August. It was rather miserable to not be able to sit still after a day of hard hiking (we weren’t light at all since we took lots of safety gear). But really enjoyed the experience of being on top of the world.

[Arthur]

I have been in the Winds for decades, often in August.  I have seen my whole tent surface totally covered with skeeters literally sitting cheek to cheek.  Be prepared with nets and real chemicals and hope you don’t need them.

[Joe P]

I’ve been going to the winds in Sept every year. We’ve  never experienced bug activity. The downside to going in mid September is you never know what you’ll get for weather. Last year we had 80+ degree weather on the Fremont trail and then got stuck in a blizzard the next day on Washakie pass and had to hunker down on Washakie lake for a day, due to the snowstorm.

[Lucas K]

Just got into Pinedale a couple hours ago after spending the last 2 nights at Island Lake. We had no problem with the mosquitoes except for a few groups at dusk. To be fair my comparison is northern Minnesota (BWCA area). It was our first time in the Winds and it did not disappoint!

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