Strategies For Summer BPing

“History will show that I don't tend to hike or backpack in the summer. I don't care for ticks, chiggers, mosquitos, etc.

I know several of you do hike year round. What has your experience been regarding hiking during the summer seasons? If you gain enough altitude, do you tend to get away from the pests of summer? Or is it like anything else, in that you just plan for the pests with repellant, netting, etc?”

“BPing gear hibernates in the Summer.”

“I like summer bping. I've always been somewhat immune to the bugs, mosquitos don't really bother me, I mean, they don't bite me, at least not much, same with ticks but chiggers get me now and then.

I like the long days and warm nights, and the light pack.”

“My pack is usually heavier on warm trips cause I'm carrying more water.”

“Not much of a problem in NM if you get into the conifer forests. There are a few mosquitoes around water sources, flies and no-seeums enough that I sleep with a tent most of time.”

“Backpacking without cool weather is kind of like a totally hot chick with only one eye.”

“Strategies for Summer BPing: Get a kayak”

“its so cold taking that first dunk...
enlarging my soul while other parts are shrunk... todd steed.

there's plenty of places to cool off in the smoky's...”

“Come up north. I do most of my backpacking in the summer. We only have about 2 weeks of really hot weather the rest of the time is nice temperature wise. The bugs still suck though.”

“I tend to hit elevation in the summer. Or at least what we call elev in these parts. I've been to Roan and the Smokies in August where it never hit 70. I like those types of trips. It's nice to be out during the day at 70* when the day before it was 95*. Swimming in those Smokies streams is nice too.

If you're considering a summer trip then let me recommend Gregory Bald in about the 3rd or 4th weeks of June. That's peak azaleas time. It's spectacular.”

“Go to the Virginia High Country...last year I damn near froze my ass off on Mt. Rogers on the first day of summer.”

“Like others have said, in summer I try to go BPing along rivers or creeks so I can take frequent dips and refill water bottles often. No dry death marches for me. High elevation is good too. Carry as little extra clothes and stuff as possible.

When we hiked the Wonderland Trail in July of '02, we it never rained but we were constantly crossing streams and rivers.”

“Mt Rogers is a bizarre place, weather wise. It can freeze up there on any day of the year.”

“Sounds like Mount Washington AKA the deadliest little mountain in the world.”

“Backpack naked!”

“Just be careful bushwhacking.”

“While my favorite time to BP in the Upper Great Lakes is Sept/Oct, if you don't hike in summer, you may not get much hiking time. I've hiked in the Porkies in early July and only had bug problems (flies) near the Superior shore.

The bug season (from about a week after freezes end and the first full hatch starts until mid to end of June, approx) can be horrendous, but later summer tapers off in comparison. A lot depends on whether the spring starts wet or dry. This looks to be a very wet spring, so I expect that once the overnight freezes end, it will be nasty.

The farther north you go, the later the bug season starts. Canoeing inland from the north shore of Superior once we had a bug-free five days right around Memorial Day. The ice had gone out on our river just a few days before we arrived and the black flies and skeeters hit in full force on our final day on the river.

As for summer hiking once the bug season tapers, the skeeters seem to come out most in the evening once the temp drops a bit and the sun wanes. So evenings in camp on warm nights can be a bit swat happy.

Water isn't much of an issue up here in lake country. The hard part would be avoiding lakes, ponds, streams and rivers. As long as you have a filter or treatment, you don't have to carry a lot at one time.

Right now I'm trying to gauge when the snow will be out of the woods enough that trails will be open, but still beat the bugs. It's a small window in spring, but if you want to hike (or trout fish) from April on, you just have to deal with the bugs one way or another.”

“Most of my family lives in Arkasas or Oklahoma and I refuse to go camping or hiking or even go out in fields during the summer. I can handle mosquitos, snakes, bears, chiggers, snowstorms, floods, lightning and all sorts of other things you might encounter on a hiking traip, but ticks flip me out. I absolutely can't handle a tick being on me. Ever seen one that has been on a dog for a while? They get all big anf grey and stretched out with blood! Yuck! Getting the heebie-jeebies just thinking about them, gotta stop.

That's why I like living in New Mexico or Arizona! Taos, Sante Fe, or Flagstaff is my type of summer weather!”

“ssshhhhh!!!!!”

“I was up at Mt. Rogers in September I think...brrr....it was COOOOLD, at least in some parts!!!

Anyway, I love backpacking in summer. I am prolly the only one that does, I can't help it.

I don't like the bugs too much, but I am like Roam, they don't like me neither.

Ticks: I think I had one in my whole life. I'll deal with it when I have another one. Not sure how I will react.

Mosquitos: they bite me once in a while, but not too much. Just got to make sure I have the deet on me.

chiggers: they bit me once. Hate 'em ever since.

I hate those darn black flies more then anything though.

Besides the bugs and the snakes...it's so much fun hiking in the summer. The blue ski, the heat, the sweat, the almost no cloth.
The smell of summer....ahhhhhh I can't wait.”

“I guess I like backpacking year round, however, I don't like winter very much yet because I am not properly equipped. So I always look forward to Spring, Summer, and Fall. Hike on!”

“Gem, Try living in country that is so thick with ticks that you can't even think about going into the woods or a field without getting five. Then you'll hate them too!

Never lived in Black Fly countyr. Hear they can be pretty viscious (spelling?).”

“Strategies for Summer BPing: Get a kayak"
tarabull
06:36:23 AM
04/02/04



I just did. I'm ready for Summer BPing now!
Yahoo!!”

“Lunatic, I understand. I've been really lucky so far. I am always worried that I will catch a tick one day. And I will...believe me...it's just a matter of time.

For now I am enjoying that those little suckers don't like my blood too much.”

“So what you're saying Gemini is that you taste bad?”

“dub, dub, dub...I am saying that my blood isn't the best out there.

It's probably all his herb stuff I take and all those tea's I drink.”

“lol”

“Roam around. lol, by herb stuff I mean the GOOD herbs. Not the BAD BAD NO NO Herbs.”

“The anti-tick spray you can put on your clothes has worked well for me. Seem to be a lot more wood ticks here in northern Wisconsin than just a short ways north in the U.P., and with the prevelence in WI of Lyme Disease from the even harder to detect deer ticks, wearing long pants and sometimes even long sleeves that have been dosed has become my regular warm season outfit. Thank goodness for super light breatheable nylon pants and shirts.”

“I do hikes in the summer that run along streams, rivers, creeks etc. Places where I can dip in the water and stay cool.

My enphysema limits my activity in muggy weather. I also do a lot of Kayak/camp stuff in the summer also.

My peak hiking season is Fall, with winter and spring being a close second.”

“i always go to watre in the heat. canoeing/kayaking too.

hose down with DEET and fergit abotu it. reapply it every couple of hours. the sunscreen/bug lotion combo stuff works great for me and i'm in the tickiest area i've ever seen. i still get one sometimes but it's no biggie.”

“Thank you all.. some really good commentary.. :)

I keep hoping life will settle down around here soon.. and I will actually get to go BPing..

:)”

“In all seriousness, consider some trips out west during the summer months. The Sierras are just awesome in the summer. We have mosquitos and sometimes black flies in June and July (depending on what water sources you are near), but in August and September we have very few bugs. I must admit I have never encountered a tick out here, but supposedly they do exist.

No humidity problems and temperatures are mild, except in the desert areas. I have camped in the desert in August and had a great time. Hiking in 100+ temps is another thing.

For mosquitos, I use a head net and lotion. Fortunately, they work for me.”

“No wonder passes are so hard to get in the Sierra with an ad like that Phil.”

“uncliff - I guess you make a good point. Now that you mention it, I encounter people from all over the world. People come from overseas just to hike on the John Muir Trail. I ask them if it was worth it. So far they have all said, "YES".

So, everyone stay away!!”

“I was day hiking in the Sierras in January and a tick latched on to me and didn't discover it until bedtime. No damage, but you do have ticks!”

“It's actually kind of neat seeing so many enjoy the weather and beauty of that range, none other like them.”

“ticks suck......

in WY, the skeeters were incredibly varacious....

down here, the chiggers can be deadly if you walk through alot of grass and stuff in the summer without alot of bug spray on your ankles....i always spray my socks alot”

“I was just checking out the Permanone (sp?) when at Wallyworld yesterday. Not sure where my partially used can is, but will wait on buying a new can. Great thing is that treating your clothes gives you two weeks of protection, and it doesn't go on your skin. Worked really well in the Badlands. Despite tick warnings, the only ones I had to deal with were a couple I spotted on my boots that hadn't even made it to my socks/pants during rest breaks.

And it has been effective here in Northern WI -- no ticks even when going through long grass/weeds on little used trails.”