[pct-l] Mojitos

[Stephen Adams]

Ha ha ha ha ha.  I like that, "bouncy flies".  I think they are gnats, but not sure.  They drive me bonkers when I'm at the lower elevations  leaving Kings Canyon areas.  they seem to die out after about 8,000 ft.  They are horrendous anywhere near where a lot of stock are used like like Cedar Grove or Yosemite area.  
What seems to really help is keeping your sunglasses on, they like to fly into your eye, and a wide brimmed hat, not a ball cap.  I have the OR Sonora sombrero that has a fairly wide brim that hangs a bit and covers my ears and neck pretty good so that works.  The draped ball caps I don't use so don't know.  I pretty much just walk through them and get sort of used to waving them away from my face after a bout a half hour of complete irritation.  
As far as the skeeters and the Sierra, it depends when you actually pass thru, snow pack melt off, and daily and evening temps.  If it gets and stays warm thru May and into June, look out.  It is usually not too bad in early June as big hatches aren't happening yet, but may be by the time you get along towards lower elevations in Mammoth area and Tuolumne perhaps.  early July is predominately peak skeeter season in the High Sierra south of Yosemite.   It was the worst I have seen it this last July, and folks were getting mauled.   Freakin gnarly.  I loved having my travel bug net which is an earthy green double bed size.  I can make a nice big bug free space to relax.  It is heaven in earth when it's really buggy around dinner.  It does not however, keep the ants out at lower elevations.  Light and packable, it is my favorite piece of gear in July in the Sierra hands down.  If interested, look at REI and look up bug nets, and look at the Mombasa travel nets.  Don't get the white ones, bugs get thru them.  Otherwise I'd suggest an enclosed tarp tent, or a bug bivy and tarp etc...  I hate head nets so just use a little deet when hiking and eat in my net room later in the evening.  Awsome.                 
On Jan 12, 2010, at 5:19 PM, Diane at Santa Barbara Hikes dot com wrote:

> About the little bouncy flies, for some reason they really liked my  
> ears. I got more than one in my ear. One of them got stuck and I had  
> to listen to it die a horrible death by earwax. I swore I was going  
> to invent special little mosquito net ear protectors just to prevent  
> that from happening again.
> 
> 
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