Planning out a trip for the last week in July this year. My wife and I are debating between two options: a hike in the Sawtooths and one in the Winds. If bugs were equal, we would pick the one in the Winds. I know it would be better for bugs to wait until August, but that's what I've got to work with in terms of timing. I've heard horror stories about the mosquitoes in the Winds, but are they so bad compared to the Sawtooths that it should factor into the decision?
Of course there is variability between years and location, but overall you can count on bugs being, shall we say, a force to be reckoned with in the upper Intermountain west. I've worked the Bob, Great Bear, Scapegoat, Absaroka-Beartooth, and Teton Wilderness (plus Oregon's Strawberry, Monument Rock and visited Eagle Cap and Black Canyon, and etc.). I much prefer late August for personal playtime. But when work is work you adapt and endure. In summary, go prepared and the locations won't make as much difference as the time of year. Also, mosquitos and No seeums are worse earlier in the year. That is followed by the deer fly and horse fly friends later in the summer. The joy of deer and horse fly is the probability of crushing them is greater.
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