Bugged Out! the Whites Mountains in Black Fly Season

Bug Out: def. 1) to flee in a panic 2) to loose one's mind

Some readers may recall that I estimate the White Mountains to have 10 seasons. The 6th season commences in the middle of May, Black Fly Season. But a colder than usual May this year has meant that flying insects stayed dormant for an extra week or so. If it were named accurately this season would be Black Fly/Mosquito/Gnat/& Tick season since all of these pests emerge about the same time. When delayed by a few weeks the ravenous insects seem to explode from the forest floor like a Biblical plague.

Indeed this Black Fly season has been close to an Old Testament smiting. The mosquitoes are like a zombie horror movie; kill one and three more pop up to feast on your blood. The black flies have been just as hungry and almost as numerous. But the ticks are truly legion. Ticks also carry the most dreaded diseases. Friends of mine came home from an afternoon of trail work with a dozen ticks on their person. Almost every day we've been out the past few weeks someone finds a tick during their shower. Of the many ways to lose a nights sleep finding a tick crawling on my body after I've tucked in to bed is in my top 3. I had the misfortune to reaffirm this last Sunday.

So what is an intrepid mountain traveler to do? We could wait for the first hard frost, but that is a good 4 months away. Although swarms of blood thirsty insects do make me wistful for snow & ice, hiking in sunshine & shorts is too pleasant to pass up. At some point we must confront these swarms. This is a reminder of methods to keep the bugs from making you bug out.

1) Out run them. Black Flies and Mosquitoes are actually slow but persistent creatures, again much like zombies. When moving faster than 10 mph they cannot touch you. Even at 3-4 mph an hour they have a hard time keeping up. I've heard some folks joke they sprint up to treeline where they can then enjoy a leisurely hike. But not all of us can run that fast over rooted muddy trails, and most of us need to stop sometime. When stopped, even for a few seconds, the bugs will start biting.

2) Pick your Days. Biting insects are sensitive to the weather. Cold and rainy days are not mosquitoes favorite. If the winds are high black flies cannot fly. Ticks begin to die off if the weather is hot & dry for a stretch. But not all of us prefer to hike when it's rainy and windy just to avoid the blood suckers.

a head net can make all the difference

3) Dress for Success. Those grey haired old time hikers wearing long sleeves, long pants, and big brimmed hats in June; they know something about keeping the bugs away. The standard advice for keeping ticks & biting insects off when I was a Boy Scout included tucking your pant legs into your socks and buttoning down your sleeve cuffs. That old advice still works. Add a head net to the ensemble and the bugs can't close enough to bite. Philip Werner wrote a great article on dressing for bugs this week. I have and cherish an Original Bug Shirt from my guiding days. Just a head net and a loose long sleeve shirt can be enough insect deterrent on many days.

gaiters work for ticks as well as mud and snow

Not everyone wants to keep the shorts in the drawer until August. A US company has engineered insect repellent clothing. Supposedly these garments are coated with a secret sauce that keeps ticks and other nasty critters away. I have not tried any of the Insect Shield items from Ex Officio or Outdoor Research. But some folks swear by them.

4) Practice Good Scents. The other old time technique is to apply scents that bugs find offensive. Several companies make herbal insect repellent. Most are combination of citronella oil, cedar, peppermint, and/or Geranium oil. Recently I read about a study that Lemon Eucalyptus oil is as effective as DEET in repelling mosquitoes. Some folks still swear by Avon Skin So Soft, but I have never had much luck with that lotion. The other effective scent I've heard of recently is putting Bounce dryer sheets under one's shirt collar. But again this is a technique I've not tried. My personal choice has been White Mountain Insect Repellent, usually available at the local Tractor Supply store. But I may give something with a high Lemon Eucalyptus Oil concentration a try soon.

5) If you can't beat them, Nuke them. If all else fails most folks grab the heavy weaponry, chemical warfare. DEET works, but it is toxic and absorbs through skin. Permethrin treated clothing also works. But the reason it is used only on clothing, not directly on skin, is that it may be more toxic than DEET. Personally I will try everything else before resorting to DEET. If you do use DEET consider spraying it on clothing, not on skin. I only consider using Permethrin when I'm going to be moving slowly in tall grass areas like on trail work days, i.e maximum tick risk days. 

Frankly I go with a combination of strategies during Black Fly season. If it is a windy day on the ridge, I'll sometimes race up the trail trying to outrun the blood suckers. This time of year I usually keep a head net in my front pocket until needed. If I'm in a tick prone area I will wear long pants and gaiters. I carry my Bug Shirt in my pack until August just in case. I often use my favorite herbal bug dope on my neck and face. But if the mosquitoes or ticks are very bad, I'm not above spraying my pants legs with DEET.

Regardless of the combination, we do not need to be thwarted by the insect hordes. Dress right or slather on your favorite lotions or just race up above the trees, but find your peace one way or the other in the mountains. 

A Bad Walk Improved: the difficulties of White Mountain Trails

“I took a walk in the woods and came out taller than trees.” – Henry David Thoreau

Mark Twain supposedly quipped "Golf is a good walk spoiled". Apparently it was a common sentiment in his day. It is also one with which I entirely agree. While I have many family members who enjoy their time on the links, it is not my game. I can think of dozens of activities I'd rather devote myself to than slashing at a little white ball with a very expensive stick. No matter how serene the setting I realize that the frustration of playing golf ultimately could ruin an otherwise pleasant day.

Straight up the fall line with my 2 mountain goats

No my preferred outdoor activity is scaling mountain peaks. In most ways hiking is the polar opposite of golf. Instead of expensive clubs a hiker can be content with almost any found stick. Rather than complicated rules, the climber simply seeks to reach a peak safely. While golfers enjoy riding in a cart between shots, a hikers one requirement is that they walk every mile. While golf courses are carefully designed & landscaped, the mountains are as we find them.

Perhaps that is the one aspect of golf that stirs a small amount of envy, grounds keepers. While courses themselves do not impress me, the grounds keeping crews do. Golfers enjoy the constant work of grounds keepers trimming and maintaining their outdoor playgrounds. Hikers on the other hand often do much of this work themselves. Even where professional trail crews maintain certain paths, their work is seasonal and devoted only to the most needy areas. Would that we had full time grounds keepers on the hundreds of miles of White Mountain trails.

a river runs down the trail

But we do not. In fact compared to other regions, White Mountain hiking trails are terrible. They are terrible because the frequent violent winds drop trees across our paths. The trails are horrible because many of them were cut a century ago when the idea of getting to the top meant going straight up the fall line. Trails in the White Mountains are rough because their geography puts thick snarls of tree roots at the bottom, countless water crossings in the middle, and chunky granite scree fields at the top. Much as I love these hills the trails through them are often terrible footing; a knee crushing, hard scrabble, heart pounding, ankle twisting bad walk.

But that is also the challenge of reaching all the White Mountain peaks, it is overcoming those high natural barriers. To climb any New Hampshire 4000 foot peak is no casual walk in the park. Like many experienced White Mountain hikers I am confounded by folks who come to the trails dressed for a mild stroll. These mountains mean business when one gets up close to them. The trail obstacles often makes getting up and down a test of fortitude. AT thru-hikers will half their daily mileage in the Whites due to the severity of the terrain. Whether you are undone by the distance, scared of slippery water crossings, gripped by exposed rock scrambles, or caught off guard by high winds & snow up high, these mountains have something to put the fear into you. By overcoming all these challenges one gains a true sense of accomplishment.

still snow between the peaks

Because of the rigors on these trails, I must devote my full concentration to hike them. My attention is required from the moment I begin to prepare at home to the minute I am back at the car. I find a sort of zen in walking these trails. I can not think too much about anything off the trail while hiking. But my focus on the mountain has a different quality than attention to work. Instead of being wearied by this concentration I am invigorated. I feel my mood and mind improved after devoting myself to the trail for a day.

do not trip in the root traps

Last Sunday I hiked the Hancock's with my two regular companions, a.k.a. my little mountain goats. The Hancock's have a little bit of most things that the White Mountains offer. The beginning is pleasant, then the water crossings and mud are a little tricky, then the tangles of tree roots cross the trail, then it starts getting steep, then rocky, then extremely steep, and across the top it can be windy and/or snow covered. On a clear day the view of the Osceola's from North Hancock is spectacular. On Sunday we had all those things except the view which was obscured by fog. But we did find a spruce grouse on North Hancock who squawked and strutted around us for 10 minutes while we ate lunch.

The mud and slick rocks and steep slides and crumbling snow on the ridge made for one bad walk. Yet because we were out in the woods, met some other happy hikers, indeed just for the 9 mile effort, I came away improved. I expect I will find all that again on my next "bad walk" in the White Mountains. Lucky me.

and yet no place makes me feel this content