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NorthCountryWoods
06-18-2010, 15:17
Picked up a young kid hitching on his NOBO e2e out of Johnson today. Didn't get too many details as it was a quick ride. He said the rain has been tough, but for some reason the bugs haven't been bad at all.

He is a local from Lowell, so his tolerance may be higher than others, but this is good news for those planning a hike.

Good luck out there.

Mountain Wildman
06-18-2010, 15:55
I did the majority of my camping and day hikes in vermont over the past 25 years, I only recall a few times where the black flies were bad and as soon as we got a good fire going they were history, mosquitos on the other hand were awful while hiking through the woods on trails.
Thanks for the update!!:)

Cookerhiker
06-18-2010, 16:43
It's funny how the pattern goes. I first hiked the LT '77-'81 in a series of section hikes which included 5 consecutive Memorial Day weekends. One year it rained constantly - no BFs, no mosquitos, no fun! All the other years featured nice weather but the BF presence varied substantially from none to tolerable to miserable.

NorthCountryWoods
06-18-2010, 16:58
The bugs up on my land (LT crosses it) have been horrible so far. Black flies are done, mosquitoes are just getting started, but the deer flies have been super aggressive. My wife runs on the dirt roads and I put duct tape on the back of her hat. When she gets back from a 6 miler and it's covered in deer flies.

Nasty things. Usually they are worse when it's dry and typically come out later in the season, but guess they aren't playing by the rules this year.

dsquid
06-20-2010, 19:43
Goddard Shelter @ 6/18/10 - Moderate to low black flies, and (rarely) mosquitoes. The black flies were gone after dark. Deet took care of the skeeters.

Kid Gore @ 6/19/10 - No bugs to speak of during our brief stop.

Story Spring @ 6/19/10 - Moderate black flies and deer flies. Both disappeared at dusk, making for a fine, relaxing campfire.

The actual hike from Rte 9 to Kelly Stand road had the usual mix of bugs, but they were no issue as long as we were moving. The parking lot at Kelly Stand was a deer fly launch pad.

For a June hike, the hype was more than the bite.

The Phoenix
06-20-2010, 19:47
that's good news... appreciate that report big time

Jeff
06-21-2010, 05:37
Most of our guests are hiking NOBO and report low to moderate bug problems so far this June south of Manchester. But, most are happy to be in their tent rather than shelters at night.

Yukon
06-21-2010, 07:51
Goddard Shelter @ 6/18/10 - Moderate to low black flies, and (rarely) mosquitoes. The black flies were gone after dark. Deet took care of the skeeters.

Kid Gore @ 6/19/10 - No bugs to speak of during our brief stop.

Story Spring @ 6/19/10 - Moderate black flies and deer flies. Both disappeared at dusk, making for a fine, relaxing campfire.

The actual hike from Rte 9 to Kelly Stand road had the usual mix of bugs, but they were no issue as long as we were moving. The parking lot at Kelly Stand was a deer fly launch pad.

For a June hike, the hype was more than the bite.

My fiancee and I did this same section about a month ago, (weekend of May 21-23), and the bugs were pretty bad. Friday night there was none as we camped next to Black Brook. But Saturday, that was a whole other story. It was like they all hatched at once or something. When we got to the top of Glastenbury I just went and hung out in the firetower for awhile to just get some reprieve from them. The hike our Sunday wasn't much better, the only place we could really stop to take a break without getting eaten alive was porcupine lookout because of the breeze coming out of the valley.

BTW, you like that nice new spring pipe up by the Goddard shelter dqsuid? :)

dsquid
06-21-2010, 07:56
Heh, nothing like a 2.5 ft long section of pipe to make filling your filter bag easier. It's the little things in life that make it more enjoyable. :D

Yukon
06-21-2010, 07:59
Heh, nothing like a 2.5 ft long section of pipe to make filling your filter bag easier. It's the little things in life that make it more enjoyable. :D


You said it buddy :)