The Uintas trip that was not to be

[fouristhenewone]

So, the wife and I loaded up and headed to camp in the Uintas yesterday morning, ending up in a little used campsite near Lambert Meadows. Theres a pretty little marsh and lake up there that has some excellent trout fishing, tons of 'bows in the 10-15 inch range. The plan was to spend the weekend fishing and hiking around there with the dogs. That area sees such little use, it's a great place for the dogs.

We got to the campsite around 12, set up and did a little hiking. At this point we realized that there were quite a few mosquito's, but the repellent we were using was doing a pretty good job keeping them from biting. By 2, we returned to relax at camp and realized that they were swarming by the thousands. You simply couldn't stand still and not have 50 around and on you.

I was determined to do a little fishing, and I figured once it got close to dark the mosquito's would settle down a bit. So we hid out in the tent off and on, and tried to keep moving around so we wouldn't get too annoyed.

At around 7 I headed up to do a bit of fishing, and instant success, line wasn't in the water more than a minute for I got a good bite. Unfortunately, this is when my reel decided that it wasn't going to pull line in correctly and after a thorough game of what the hell is going on, I ended up hand reeling in a 12 inch 'bow. However, at the same time, the mosquito's apparently decided they were no longer going to be dissuaded from biting me by the repellent, and I started to get swarmed by hundreds of mosquito's.

Long story short - 54 bites on the parts of me that were exposed, my hands and my face under my hat line. I got my gear packed up in 1/2 an hour and headed home. It was really pretty frustrating, as I was really looking forward to a long weekend of fishing and camping, and instead am home itching and cursing.

A few pics below.

[Alex]

I bring a net with me like this all the time if I go into the beast's territory!

http://www.rei.com/product/718365?vcat=REI_SEARCH

Thanks for the TR, looks awesome up there.

[rockgremlin]

That sucks!!! I hate it when insects ruin an otherwise perfect outing.

If you don't have an insect net like the one Alex suggested, then just bring out the long sleeves, gloves, and go ninja-style -- wrapping your head and neck with a blanket or spare t-shirt, leaving only the eyes exposed.

[accadacca]

Nice report. Not sure what kind of repellent your using, but I have used this stuff for years. Yup, thats 100% deet! I use it all over the Uinta's and they stay away.

[brookiekiller]

That is a long way to go for a short weekend. I love that area as well.

That is the bad thing about going up there this early is the bugs. I usually spray permethrin on my clothes, and use the 3M Ultrathon. I also try to go to a drier area at first.

I can't wait to go up into the Uintas.

[tanya]

I love the water lily photo!

[Cirrus2000]

100% deet! I use it all over the Uinta's and they stay away.

Isn't it kind of dangerous using it on a sensitive area like the Uintas? Well, I guess if you already have a kid...

Looks like a beautiful spot, 4, sucks about the bugs. I got about 10 black fly bites a week or so ago, and it drove me nuts for about 5 days...

[tanya]

[shlingdawg]

I use the same stuff Acca uses. I find that it repels everything and it stays on your skin for a LONG time. Usually, one application in the morning lasts all day long.

I imagine that continued use may even kill the same cancer cells it caused in the first place.