View Full Version : 4-month thru starting in March: bugs in New England?
Hosaphone
10-27-2016, 07:44
Hi all,
I need to be off the trail by mid-July-ish due to school. I figure I could start early/mid March and do the trail in 4 months. I think I can handle it in terms of the weather and the miles, but I'm very worried about the bugs. I have a feeling this schedule has me hiking through the worst of black fly season all the way through MA, VT, NH and ME. I am I real wuss when it comes to flies and mosquitoes, but maybe you just get used to it after a while? :eek:
rocketsocks
10-27-2016, 07:50
Nope! You're @&$?!% :D
good luck in school :)
if the weather cooperates you could get the best of both worlds, post-holing in the shady spots and bug swarms.
I cant imagine a worse time to be hiking in new england. But on the bright side, there is only a 1 in 5 chance you will make it up here any way.
36722
My gf and I escaped to our shelter to get away from their ravenous hunger. This was Memorial weekend this year and it was a no bug year.
Hosaphone
10-27-2016, 09:51
Thanks for confirming my fears! I guess I'll look into the Colorado Trail, JMT, etc instead.
not to imply that the other responders to this thread are incorrect or anything, but exactly what you are proposing has been done. many times. by many people. every year.
Thanks for confirming my fears! I guess I'll look into the Colorado Trail, JMT, etc instead.
JMT? Tons of bugs there, too in June or July. CT? Can be buggy in places below treeline (above treeline it's not an issue).
Bottom line is that late spring and early summer are bug season pretty much everywhere.
Hosaphone
10-27-2016, 10:42
JMT? Tons of bugs there, too in June or July. CT? Can be buggy in places below treeline (above treeline it's not an issue).
Bottom line is that late spring and early summer are bug season pretty much everywhere.
Maybe the Arizona Trail? :sun:p
Maybe the Arizona Trail? :sun:p
No blackflies. Possibly a few mosquitoes in one or two places. The only bug you'll have to worry about is the killer bees. :eek:
rocketsocks
10-27-2016, 11:16
Embrace the Suck!
Bring a head net, no big thang.
Hikingjim
10-27-2016, 11:17
You could do a big AT NOBO section and just stop when you hit bug season and get tired of it. You would get some cold, but a couple months with no bugs
Then you could go somewhere else or call it quits
Slo-go'en
10-27-2016, 12:15
The last couple of springs have been relatively dry so the bugs haven't been too bad in June, but if we have a more normal wet spring this year, which seems likely (I sure the heck hope this dry spell is over), hiking in Maine will be pretty miserable.
You can build up an immunity to black fly bites, but they can still drive you insane by their shear numbers.
If you start early and if you make it in good time into southern New England, you're likely to encounter lots of skeeters. Peak skeeter season is early- to mid-summer, or even late spring. June seems to be peak skeeter.
One of many reasons I prefer hiking in late summer or early fall, when the skeeters start dying off.
There's a funny scene in "Long Start To the Journey" where Frost is frantically trying to outrun the skeeters, somewhere in MA, I think.
Black flies are more of an issue in northern New England, and from what I hear, they're the main reason that southbounders don't even try to start before June or July. (The other reason is, waiting for snow to melt and streams to return to manageable flows.)
garlic08
10-27-2016, 23:00
I finished in a 3.5 month AT hike in mid-July in a wet year ('08) and had very few problems with bugs. My head net was worth its weight in gold, literally. Vermud lived up to its name, I saw some lingering snow in the Mahoosuc Notch, and I got a total of two or three black fly bites, but it was all manageable. In balance, I was actually pleased I beat the summer heat and mosquitoes through the mid-Atlantic states. By the time it got hot in June, I was in New England, definitely a plus.
If you decide on the AZT, you'll have a different set of possibly tough issues to deal with. Water supply could be a real challenge. You may need a couple of days with a rental vehicle to set up your own water caches, especially if you're not able to hike 40+ miles between water sources. A typical April NOBO start could be fine, or could be stymied by late lingering snow in the high desert mountains, or late spring blizzards on the Mogollon Rim. It's quite a challenging hike, at any rate--but very rewarding as well. A thru hike that includes a Grand Canyon rim to rim!
gracebowen
10-28-2016, 06:18
Would a flip flop hike help or hurt in this case?
Or maybe the question Im asking is how would a Harpers Ferry flip flop change the dynamics of this proposed hike?
Slo-go'en
10-28-2016, 10:47
Would a flip flop hike help or hurt in this case?
Or maybe the question Im asking is how would a Harpers Ferry flip flop change the dynamics of this proposed hike?
It's still winter in the central Atlantic states in March and can be quite stormy. Going north is out of the question, so the only option is to head south. Few if any of the typical hiker services will be open in March through Virginia. All in all not a good idea.
Headnet, permethrin treated clothing, and picaridin for exposed skin (or better yet, cover up). The friction caused by the black flies might slow you down a bit, but it should be negligible. :)
Funkmeister
10-28-2016, 11:33
Blackflies in New England in June?36733
Headnet, permethrin treated clothing, and picaridin for exposed skin (or better yet, cover up). The friction caused by the black flies might slow you down a bit, but it should be negligible. :)
Permethrin does not help with blackflies. I spent 2 summers doing field work in western MA with some of the worst blackflies imaginable, and my permethrin-treated clothes did not stop them from attacking me constantly. (Permethrin is great for ticks though)
Permethrin does not help with blackflies. I spent 2 summers doing field work in western MA with some of the worst blackflies imaginable, and my permethrin-treated clothes did not stop them from attacking me constantly. (Permethrin is great for ticks though)
Interesting.
I have had the black flies swarm around and sometimes land on the permethrin treated clothing, but fly off immediately after landing. My hiking companions seemed to fare worse without it. Nothing seems to prevent them from swarming around when they are dense enough. Sorry that it did not work out for you.
Would a flip flop hike help or hurt in this case?
Or maybe the question Im asking is how would a Harpers Ferry flip flop change the dynamics of this proposed hike?
most people effectively cant hike VT, NH and ME any earlier than june really no matter how you do it.is there even a windown between snow melt and bugs that one could in theory try and squeeze through?
I finished in a 3.5 month AT hike in mid-July in a wet year ('08) and had very few problems with bugs.
my sense is stories like this are more common than woeful tails of being ravaged by to death by insects.
ive hiked NH in june many times, no problems at all. ive hiked in ME in early july, no problems at all.
ive gotten a huge collection of mosquito bites in CT in june and (despite conventional wisdom) in MA in september. but so what? i survived. i can see why it might not be ideal, but i dont know that i'd ever change a plan because of a concern about bugs.
The AT crosses a marsh just north of Moose Pond Mtn, near Hanover. I stopped to get a photo of wild iris and was nearly eaten alive by skeeters. The date was June 22, 2002.
I recall a miserable hike in June in the DAKs, because of the black flies. Crazy skeeters on the MA Mid-State trail (June 17, 2007).
Hard to say exactly when the skeeters come out, but generally not before the monorail has melted. That's one saving grace of winter hiking, for sure. (The monorail is the ice that marks most White Mountain trails in late winter and early spring.)