These images are from our thru-hike of the JMT in 98. We hiked from August 16 through September 3, southbound. The hike took 18 days to complete, covering about 220 miles. Solophile and I are indebted to Big Bird (of AT 97 fame) for the splendid hospitality in the Bay City, the time he took off to be our personal tour guide, and the great hitch out to Yosemite.
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Fish Creek We got into Tully Hole with the sun setting. Met the German while he was coating himself with bug spray. Seconds later, we learned why. The mosquitoes were horrific. Thinking that we only needed to get closer to serious running water to pick up the stream breeze, we headed down trail. The mosquitoes laughed at us. We forded the creek to a sandbar and set up camp. The bugs were so bad, we abandoned our bear-proof food prep and escaped into the tent to eat a meal. Even the risk of bears was preferable to being blood donors while we ate. The next morning, we had light enough to take this shot of the creek. Streams with running water produce a cool breeze following the stream course. The combination of cooler air temps and moving air makes it harder for mosquitoes to fly and attack. Unfortunately, these mosquitoes seemed to have exceptional wings -- they stayed with us easily. |
