How awful are the mosquitos in July?
How awful are the mosquitos in July?
Mosquitoes can be bad, but not generally too much of a problem away from standing/low flow water sources anywhere in Wyoming. I find early August to early September to be the absolutely best time for our mountain ranges for temperatures, water and bugs.
We are zeroing in on the first week of sept, but I may well look into a few weeks further back in August as well. Either way, we have gear for comfortable in the 20's.
Be prepared for snow also. A couple of years ago we got nailed by 18 inches of snow at 9000ft on September 11th. That was a base-camping trip with horses and they were only predicting a couple of inches....woke up to camp being buried.
We encountered zero bug issues in early September.
There will also likely be far fewer other hikers in the area (especially the popular locations like the Cirque and Titcomb Basin) after Labor Day. Last September we were headed into the backcountry on the Monday of Labor Day weekend, and encountered a number of people who were heading out. Very few people were heading in.
Yeah, we are still leaning heavily towards that first week of sept for exactly that reason.
Well, my group of 4 may well reduce itself to 2, but I'm still all in. I just found out that one of my coworkers grew up right by where we will be going. Awesome to have a good source of local knowledge. Just did a major job change, full of stress, and planning/looking forward to this trip is keeping me going. Down 5 lbs so far in training. Should be in great condition by Sept.
You won't regret making it happen. I still think about that trip a lot.
I'm still figuring out some details. If I get to finish my CT hike I doubt I'll make it, but if I have to come back early due to a lack of dog/house sitter then I will more than likely come out for this.
Although the g-bears are expanding southward as they disperse from the core areas farther north, g-bears encounters/problems should be few and far between. It just isn't as good habitat as farther north. Albeit, it is hyperphagia time for bears and they will be on the prowl maximizing food intake. We were especially cognizant of this to the north of the Winds, i.e. Teton Wilderness, YNP, A-B Wildernesses. Bow season so don't camp next to gut piles
What type dogs? How do they get along with other dogs?
Some of the nicest areas in the Winds will make hanging challenging, so I would suggest being prepared to go to ground, or miss out on nicer areas. Sample scenery of four areas not to be named:
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Lastly, we typically had what was termed the "equinox storm", i.e. a storm event centered around mid-September. Some times later, sometimes earlier, a good boy scout will be prepared.
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