Any suggestions for a moderate weekend backpack w/o swarms of bugs? Our plan is to head out on Friday after work, camp at a trailhead (or maybe go in a few miles, depending on distance from Portland and when we manage to leave town), pack to a new campsite for Saturday night and back out again on Sunday. Total packing miles 10-15 (with optional non-packing exploring).
We were up on Rainier this past weekend, and while the lower elevations were fairly bug-free, we did a side trip up to Mildred Point and the skeeters were absolutely awful. For this weekend we had been considering our favorite September huckleberry sites (Olallie, Indian Heaven) but it sounds like the bugs will make those places unpleasant. So I'd love to hear other suggestions.
Bug-free weekend backpack?
Re: Bug-free weekend backpack?
I'm going to Olallie Lake tomorrow/Thur and I don't expect the bugs to be a problem at all. The mosquito hatch there was more or less the first two weeks of July. I'm sure there'll be a few but I'll be surprised if it's bad.
Re: Bug-free weekend backpack?
I hope you're right. Please report back with what you encounter!
Re: Bug-free weekend backpack?
I recently did a loop up at MSH and it mostly bug free. I was able to take a nap on the Loowit trail.