looking for a mountain range with few mosquitoes in early/mid August

regehr

regehr

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I'm just not a mosquito-tolerant human being. I hate them. I've done trips in the Winds, the Uintas, and the Tetons in late July / early August that I just didn't think were very enjoyable due to the number of them. But I can't very well push my trips past mid-August since I'm a professor and I start teaching well before the end of the month. Does anyone have ideas about mountain ranges within like a 6-7 hour drive of SLC that will be better than the ones I listed above, starting around August 5? Like maybe the Toiyabe Range or something? Just about the only July trip I've really enjoyed was the Jarbidge Mountains, where there were just a few mosquitoes (but also some ticks, ugh!!!!).
 
Usually by that time of year the Sangre de Cristos are pretty dried out, and the mosquitos mostly gone with them. That's a couple extra hours out of your way, but their northwest/southeast run with the San Luis Valley south of them mean they get a whole lot of southern sun to dry out earlier than some other places.

I will say that I always lean on the National Weather and Climate Center's interactive snowpack map to see which areas have been wetter than normal. It's a fine line to dance between 'dry enough to dodge skeeters' and 'so dry it could be fire season early,' but it's a resource that's helped me plan ahead time and time again.

(Plus I just love the Sangres. I'd advocate visiting them whenever possible!)
 
LOL .................. Best up here is after about Aug 15. Dont know, maybe Arc Dome, Rubys in Nevada.... water questionable then. Owyhee, Hells Canyon, Lost Rivers (mostly rock) in Idaho. Everyplace without mosquitos is usually hot and dry.
 
Maybe take up scuba diving? There's a group that frequents Bear Lake and another at Lake McDonald in Glacier. Or caving might work.

FWIW, I've had good luck with no mosquitoes in the Big Blue wilderness in Colorado, but they generally don't like me anyway.
 
We often go to the Sierra Range late July/early Aug as there are few mozzies left by then. I also despise those little DEVILS!
 
Well, never mind on Colorado's Big Blue. Just talked to my brother who was out there late last summer and he said the moskies were the worst he's ever seen.
Rockskipper said:
Maybe take up scuba diving? There's a group that frequents Bear Lake and another at Lake McDonald in Glacier. Or caving might work.

FWIW, I've had good luck with no mosquitoes in the Big Blue wilderness in Colorado, but they generally don't like me anyway.
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balzaccom said:
completely depends on the weather and snow. This yer might be okay. Last year was a big snow year, and the mosquitoes lasted a long time.
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We went last August and the bugs were the worst I have ever experienced in my 30 years of exploring the Sierra Range......For sure all depends on how fast the snow melts in the next few months.
 
I have the same scheduling issues as a lecturer. It is about 8 hours from SLC to Bishop, CA which gives you the heart of the High Sierra. I've only had one bad bug trip in the last week of July/first week of Aug and it was a high snow year. The flowers were awesome, the bugs not so much :)
 
+1 for the Sierra even though it's a little longer of a drive. It's not a monster snow year like last year.
 
How about the Rubies, East Humboldts, or Toiyabe Mtns? They are fairly dry (lake basins in Rubies may be an exception). not sure what kind of snow year they've had.
In 2013 I was there at the end of July and had little problems. Snow was almost totally gone:
www.flickr.com

Rubies and Humboldts Wildernesses July 17-20, 2013

Explore this photo album by John Morrow on Flickr!
www.flickr.com www.flickr.com

I didn't get to Arc Dome until September, obviously no bugs then...
 
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Hey I know I'm changing the subject a bit here, but my older kid and I hope to get out backpacking next weekend (May 17-20, ish). I have a route in the Schell Creek range plotted out that looks good, and I've been on up Mt Moriah in the Snake range before, and I've long wanted to get into the Deep Creeks. Do we think any of these (staying, say, 9000' and below) will work this early in the year? I have no idea what the snow conditions out there are like right now.

If these W Utah / E Nevada ranges seem like a bad idea we'll just head out into the S Utah desert, but it's getting to be kinda warmish for that now.
 
Creeks will have snow, they catch it like the mtns around SLC.. You can hike out there but will have to move from canyon to canyon. Not much trailed and its rugged. I spent a lot of time in them hunting over the years.
 
Bob said:
Creeks will have snow, they catch it like the mtns around SLC.. You can hike out there but will have to move from canyon to canyon. Not much trailed and its rugged. I spent a lot of time in them hunting over the years.
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nice!
the route I had in mind was to drive a couple miles above the Cleve Creek campground and then walk this trail over to North Fork Cleve Creek, setup camp around the creek or near a spring there, and the explore as far as snow and time permits. Bad idea this early?

Screenshot 2024-05-10 at 10.06.53 PM.png
 
regehr said:
nice!
the route I had in mind was to drive a couple miles above the Cleve Creek campground and then walk this trail over to North Fork Cleve Creek, setup camp around the creek or near a spring there, and the explore as far as snow and time permits. Bad idea this early?
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Curious if you decided to do this one. My wife and I are kicking around going nearby (either Alta Toquima, Arc Dome, or Table Mountain) around Memorial Day weekend. Caltopo satellite still shows a good chunk of snow as of a few days ago but melt is picking up quickly. On the fence about it.

For the Schell's, looks like the snow starts at 9800-10200 depending on shade as of a day or two ago.
 
regehr said:
I'm just not a mosquito-tolerant human being. I hate them. I've done trips in the Winds, the Uintas, and the Tetons in late July / early August that I just didn't think were very enjoyable due to the number of them. But I can't very well push my trips past mid-August since I'm a professor and I start teaching well before the end of the month. Does anyone have ideas about mountain ranges within like a 6-7 hour drive of SLC that will be better than the ones I listed above, starting around August 5? Like maybe the Toiyabe Range or something? Just about the only July trip I've really enjoyed was the Jarbidge Mountains, where there were just a few mosquitoes (but also some ticks, ugh!!!!).
Click to expand...
My wife and I have been to the southeastern Absarokas a couple of time in late July and had no trouble at all with mosquitos. I suppose we could just have been lucky but that area does seem dryer than areas to the west. We took one trip up the Greybull River and another trip up around Kirwin.
 
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