Uintas Conditions 2018

WasatchWill said:
Mosquito Report: Anytime I stopped to take a pic at the edge of a lake or along any other marshy area, I was instantly plagued and plastered with mosquitos. Only by hiking vigorously and by camping deeper in a heavily wooded area up shore from the lake I was near were they much less of a threat, however, I did wake up to one poking around the mesh of my tent.
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Will - thanks for taking one for the team.

I'm curious, is there any knowledge on how long the mosquito window lasts in the Uintas?

We've all been up in August & September and no mosquitos. With an early melt this year
will the mosquitos be gone earlier?

Or is it temperature dependent and as long as temps stay above some threshold the bugs
will continue?

Thanks
 
I plan on doing a trip from this Thursday - Sunday. Going into Deadhorse Lake for a night, then going over Red Knob Pass into Lake Fork, and then back into Deadhorse and back out. I will report conditions, I am a little worried about Red Knob Pass, but from what I have seen there is practically no snow up there.
 
andyjaggy said:
I plan on doing a trip from this Thursday - Sunday. Going into Deadhorse Lake for a night, then going over Red Knob Pass into Lake Fork, and then back into Deadhorse and back out. I will report conditions, I am a little worried about Red Knob Pass, but from what I have seen there is practically no snow up there.
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I think you will be fine at Red Knob - it melts out quickly. The real crux for the whole Highline is Deadhorse pass. Perhaps you could bring a couple of pics home of that? There is a really cool crater-like lake in Lake Fork cirque on the west side you should visit too if you have time.
 
Yep I will bring picks of deadhorse pass, I have no intention of going over it on this trip. I was planning on doing a day hike over to Crater Lake as I have wanted to visit it for some time. Also hope to bag Wasatch Peak if snow isn't as issue.
 
Hi all, Plans have altered to backpacking running this weekend in the Uintas. Plan is hiking into Lightning Lake area over rocky sea pass. My run tomorrow was to retrace back to rock sea and run ridgeline to spread eagle, hit Ostler, over to Yard peak and dead horse pass and back to camp on Rock creek trail for a big loop. Has anyone hit the ridge line between spread eagle and dead horse pass?
 
For those who are curious about conditions on Dead Horse Pass, here is a picture taken from Dead Horse Lake last Saturday (6/16/18). I would wait a week or two before trying it without an ice ax, but the snow is melting rapidly. There was also some significant rockfall going on in the afternoon, just something to be aware of.
 

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kdub27 said:
For those who are curious about conditions on Dead Horse Pass, here is a picture taken from Dead Horse Lake last Saturday (6/16/18). I would wait a week or two before trying it without an ice ax, but the snow is melting rapidly. There was also some significant rockfall going on in the afternoon, just something to be aware of.
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@Artemus
 
Ran into a few mosquitos up at John Lake last night. Not too many though.

Abnormal how dry it is in places up there already.
 
So... I hate mosquitos. Thoughts on where I could do an overnight backpacking trip with the least amount of mosquitos?

I'm fine with going off trail, round trip up to the 15 mile range.
 
Eric O said:
So... I hate mosquitos. Thoughts on where I could do an overnight backpacking trip with the least amount of mosquitos?

I'm fine with going off trail, round trip up to the 15 mile range.
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Generally just stay away from water this time of year I think is the ticket.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
DrNed said:
Will - thanks for taking one for the team.

I'm curious, is there any knowledge on how long the mosquito window lasts in the Uintas?

We've all been up in August & September and no mosquitos. With an early melt this year
will the mosquitos be gone earlier?

Or is it temperature dependent and as long as temps stay above some threshold the bugs
will continue?

Thanks
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Since I didn't get any traction here I asked Google and this is what she said:

Mosquito season is purely temperature dependent.
Female mosquitos will continue to lay legs as long as temperatures are warm enough.
So early warm temps in the high country mean a longer mosquito season.

The proper development of her eggs is dependent upon a blood meal, thus the reason
she bites us.

The US Forest Service recommends using DEET, treating your clothes with permethrin,
and wearing clothes that blend with your surroundings - mosquitoes hone in on color contrast
and movement.
 
Did a quick loop around Scout, Lofty, and Kamas Lake today and the mozzies were everywhere around us on the trail, the trailhead, and of course thickest around the lakes. Permethrin was working pretty good if we went a little thick.

Can't believe how hot it was up there today. Not a big temperature difference between Kamas, which seems pretty crazy at this time of year.
 
ParochialNimrod said:
Did a quick loop around Scout, Lofty, and Kamas Lake today and the mozzies were everywhere around us on the trail, the trailhead, and of course thickest around the lakes. Permethrin was working pretty good if we went a little thick.

Can't believe how hot it was up there today. Not a big temperature difference between Kamas, which seems pretty crazy at this time of year.
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I went on Friday and did the loop with the extra extension to Cuberant and Ruth Lake but barely saw any mosquitoes. There were a few near Kamas Lake and the trail leading to it from the turnoff with Cuberant Lake, but I saw almost none everywhere else. I have to admit it was windy and cold that day, might have helped to keep them away. Usually I'm a mosquito magnet, so I was surprised I didn't see many
 
I hiked Bald Mountain and saw no mosquitoes but it was windy and cold so that wasn't a surprise. I fully expect the warm weather on the horizon to make the Uintas miserable with bugs.
 
Mosquitoes were pretty thick at Ryder Lake over the weekend. Luckily the wind was blowing the whole time so that kept them at bay.
 
Nick said:
Anyone heard anything about Dead Horse Pass yet this year? I'm heading out to do the Highline starting on Thursday.
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Glad to hear it!

Based on this, is it safe to conclude that your artificial knee is doing well?
 
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