Where have all the bugs gone - I miss them...

I finally found them last wknd too... good times!

I finally found them last wknd too... good times!

Thank God! I felt like a pretty lonely guy in the Olympics....

I took them up with me to Alaska...

ouch

The cold temperatures killed them again... no bugs at all today.

Very interesting, atypical summer. I usually don't do a lot of summer hiking just because I can't stand the bugs, but I've had four in a row great hikes with almost no bugs now and all in different areas: Rainier(Pyramid Pk), Tinkham up by The Pass with many lakes and streams, and Labyrinth up by Stevens Pass. Last year at this time I went to Whistler and got chased off Rainbow Mtn by bugs and just got back from there and climbed Wedge with no bugs at all. Very odd, but I'll take it!

My wife and I came upon a huge bug hatch on the summit of Lassen Peak in June. It was the most concentrated bug to air ratio I have ever seen! (The picture doesn't do it justice). They only swarmed the summit rocks and once we got onto snow they wern't an issue. It was interesting to start to ski under a huge, humming summit bug cap!