No Quarter for Mosquitos
I wouldn't describe myself as bloodthirsty. I'm the kind of person who catches spiders and releases them outside.
But there are exceptions. Mosquitos. I hate mosquitos.
The woods behind my childhood home in Appalachian Ohio were filled with the whiny little scoundrels, and they drank my blood with gusto. I often came home from walks in the woods covered with itchy bites, back in those innocent, pre-West Nile virus days.
Imagine my displeasure when I read that Agnew Meadow, the campsite where we'll be staying the night before our John Muir Trail adventure begins, often has lots and lots of mosquitos.
This isn't exactly the end of the world. I've got mosquito netting on my tent. I apply toxic amounts of bug spray each day. I'm sure the fumes kill plants as I walk by.
But every once in a while, a bug slips through my defenses. During a recent training hike, I felt one of the critters land lightly on my left arm.
I delivered a crushing death blow, causing a small blood splatter. It was disgusting, but at the time I found it immensely satisfying.
In my defense, I'll just say this: I was probably dehydrated.
Comments
Err, meant to say "in July" in my last post. Glen Pass was a bit too snowy in June!
Posted by: Katherine Nichols | August 9, 2006 11:08 AM
An odd thing I noticed hiking the Rae Lakes loop trail in June was that after the first day, the mosquito bites stopped itching (that is not the case, unfortunately, for my mosquito bites acquired at sea level). This was very fortuitous, as we ended up having to ration our one bottle of Cutter.
We still made every effort, however, to keep all bugs outside the tent - nothing worse than having a mosquito buzzing in your ear when you're trying to sleep!
Posted by: Katherine Nichols | August 9, 2006 11:00 AM
I use the Cutter's kids spray. It just smells better and works about as well as the regular stuff. Spray or no spray, the "mossies" love me. I could bathe in the stuff and they would still find a way to
bite me. So, I've learned to not only take along the bug spray, but some anti-itch stuff too.
Here's a tip... don't camp right in the meadow. That's where the "mossies" like to hang out.
Posted by: Patti Ogden | August 8, 2006 01:26 PM
I'm sticking with a one-ounce bottle of Cutter (scentless) for this trip. Figure I can do experiments on some shorter hikes when weight isn't such a concern.
I used a DEET-heavy one-ounce bottle of stuff in the past (the toxic stuff), and it worked well.
Posted by: Christina Vance | August 7, 2006 10:17 AM
Disgusting but satisfying describes a lot of life...
Good luck with the toxic sprays. Are you trying one consistent kind, or are you going to experiment with various repellants? I'd be curious to hear which ones work best...
Posted by: ScottM | August 6, 2006 02:39 PM