Not going to Alaska!

[Capt Nemo]

Well, my nephew didn't get his gear here to get packed for the trip. June 1 was the cutoff date.

I may head up there in August to do a 1 day recon trip of the valley. I want to check the Y in the streams to figure out where the gold is coming from, and to check the values for possible claiming next summer. Also want to figure out the best spot for camping, and to see what is going on with those dead patches, whether it's bugs, or volcanic. It'll be about a 6 mile hike down the valley.

 

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[et1955]

The one thing you have deal with up there is Mosquitoes and we are talking millions of them, I know and if you weren't running you were surrounded by a cloud of them, nasty.

 

[Capt Nemo]

I don't know how bad they'll be above the treeline at 2500-3000'. Below the treeline they'll be terrible. We'll have pyrethrin bug spray that'll wipe out stable flies/blackflies. It's the only thing that knocks down the flies on Lake Superior. I've used it on fleas, and it hits faster than nerve gas. They won't jump very far, and they begin twitching. Only thing it doesn't seem to work on is ticks.

 

[OreCart]

I don't know how bad they'll be above the treeline at 2500-3000'. Below the treeline they'll be terrible. We'll have pyrethrin bug spray that'll wipe out stable flies/blackflies. It's the only thing that knocks down the flies on Lake Superior. I've used it on fleas, and it hits faster than nerve gas. They won't jump very far, and they begin twitching. Only thing it doesn't seem to work on is ticks.

There is a town in Maine (Lincoln, Maine), where this time of year when the bugs are bad, the Native American Indians used to move out of the area for a few months. Now that is bad!

Thankfully in Maine they are short-lived, but then again our summers are so short here we take off our Long Johns on July 3rd, and put them back on July 5th!

Sorry to hear about your canceled plans; I knew you were really looking forward to it.

 

[Capt Nemo]

The worst part is that I have to tear the packed load apart to get to my sluices and pans. It's a brand new military A22 slingload/parachute cargo bag under the shrink. Was made the month after I left the service. It cost the gov ~$600, but I picked it up surplus for $49. Both bags came new in the box. These are the newer nylon and not the canvas ones like we had at the unit. That load with rigging weighs 850 lbs, and the bag can handle 2200 lbs, but must have a minimum of 500 lbs for flight stability.



This is what makes me



Did make a score at the thrift shop! New frame and slightly bent shelf for just under $20.

 

[wildminer]

Wow, sorry to hear about this. Must be the definition of frustration.

 

[Gold4Mike]

That's too bad Capt Nemo. I was looking forward to hearing about the trip.

 

[Capt Nemo]

The bright side is that another year will net more cash in the bank that'll give me more breathing room up there. If I do the recon and it's a bust, we'll go check the huge boulder/rock/gravel bar on the Kashwitna. That bar is a mile or two long, and you could fit a 40 acre claim across it without being in the trees on either side. Need to be careful upstream on the south end, as there's rockfall/avalanche zones present. Lot of nice benches there.

 

[Capt Nemo]

I'm wrong! It was the Sheep River with bars that wide. The Kashwitna's are 200' wide and about a mile long. There are a couple claims on the Kashwitna near Caswell, so there is gold coming downstream.

 

[KevinInColorado]

The one thing you have deal with up there is Mosquitoes and we are talking millions of them, I know and if you weren't running you were surrounded by a cloud of them, nasty.

We were in AK from mid/late July thru end of August last year. Almost zero mosquitos anywhere. Just not a problem later in the summer from what I could see. Locations visited where this was true: Kenai Peninsula, Anchorage, Denali, Wrangle-St. Elias NP, Fairbanks, Chicken AK, northern Yukon, southern Yukon....and ares in between these places. I prospected at 17 public access sites with no bug problems whatsoever!

 

[et1955]

We were in AK from mid/late July thru end of August last year. Almost zero mosquitos anywhere. Just not a problem later in the summer from what I could see. Locations visited where this was true: Kenai Peninsula, Anchorage, Denali, Wrangle-St. Elias NP, Fairbanks, Chicken AK, northern Yukon, southern Yukon....and ares in between these places. I prospected at 17 public access sites with no bug problems whatsoever!

Things may have changed since I was up there back in the late 60's and early 70's.

 

[Gambrinus]

We were in AK from mid/late July thru end of August last year. Almost zero mosquitos anywhere. Just not a problem later in the summer from what I could see. Locations visited where this was true: Kenai Peninsula, Anchorage, Denali, Wrangle-St. Elias NP, Fairbanks, Chicken AK, northern Yukon, southern Yukon....and ares in between these places. I prospected at 17 public access sites with no bug problems whatsoever!

What did you do in Denali? I was there in the 1980s it was late August with no mosquitos, but one day we got rain/snow mix so that helped. We could not walk on the tundra without our boots turning purple from all the Huckleberries.

 

[BillA]

What did you do in Denali? I was there in the 1980s it was late August with no mosquitos, but one day we got rain/snow mix so that helped. We could not walk on the tundra without our boots turning purple from all the Huckleberries.

ah, brings back memories
was east of Nome (George Massey's dude claim) and my face was purple ear-to-ear from walking bent over eating the berries

 

[KevinInColorado]

What did you do in Denali? I was there in the 1980s it was late August with no mosquitos, but one day we got rain/snow mix so that helped. We could not walk on the tundra without our boots turning purple from all the Huckleberries.

We did the bus ride to the end of the road (free advice, bring a gold pan- the end of the road is not part of the park and there’s a creek with gold!). We also did a couple long day hikes. One on our own, one with a Ranger. Loved it! Was rainy or overcast much of the time but we got great clear views of Denali too!

 

[63bkpkr]

Alaska and bugs, my experience.

Went up in 1982, along the rivers where we fished for Salmon, along the out in the bush rivers BUGS. On rivers near houses, very few bugs.

Went on a Moose hunting river trip in September and very few bugs in the bush.

I suspect there are variations in the bugs from year to year and from the timing of a visit there, early to late spring versus August and end of summer.

When there really are bugs = wearing two shirts at a time with bug net and liberal use of insect repellent. Great place to visit or live...........63bkpkr

 

[jsurddy]

I live in Alaska and have lived here my whole life. The mosquito population does fluctuate from year to year. We always hope for a low bug year or for the little *******s to go extinct. Lol. Last year our mosquitoes were pretty mellow. This year they’re a little thicker. The product i like to use most is the Thermacell. It’ll clear out a cloud of thirsty mosquitoes quite well. Another cheaper and about as effective option is mosquito coils, or pics. It’s a green coiled material that burns like incense. I don’t know how popular those are in other parts of the country but they’re a common household item up here. I use them while outdoors during bug season. One or two of them will usually keep the bugs from driving me nuts. It’s about $5 for a pack of them and they'll last one person about a few days to a week of constant use. I dont go through mine very fast at all. I use thermacells while bear hunting or if i’m just walking around. It uses butane to heat up an absorbent mat that is soaked with plant oils that naturally repel mosquitoes and other bugs. It works extremely well and doesnt make smoke or a strong odor. The lack of smell makes it a good option for hunting so as not to scare off animals. The biggest downside is they can get expensive to use all the time. It’s about $25 for enough butane and absorbent mats to las as long as a pack of mosquito coils. I can clip the thermacell unit on to my clothing to carry it hands free it’s about the size of a 20 oz bottle of water. The mosquitoes are heaviest in mid-spring to mid-summer. Their population size is really dependent on weather and proximity to a still water source. A pretty even mix of rain and sun really makes them thrive. Hot sunny summers tend to keep them near water sources and they cant fly much while it’s actively raining. When the sun comes out after a rain they really multiply quickly. Around swamps they’re the thickest. Sometimes you can hear them make a constant whine or hum when you get within a few hundred feet of a swamp. It sounds like a horror film sound effect.

 

[et1955]

I live in Alaska and have lived here my whole life. The mosquito population does fluctuate from year to year. We always hope for a low bug year or for the little *******s to go extinct. Lol. Last year our mosquitoes were pretty mellow. This year they’re a little thicker. The product i like to use most is the Thermacell. It’ll clear out a cloud of thirsty mosquitoes quite well. Another cheaper and about as effective option is mosquito coils, or pics. It’s a green coiled material that burns like incense. I don’t know how popular those are in other parts of the country but they’re a common household item up here. I use them while outdoors during bug season. One or two of them will usually keep the bugs from driving me nuts. It’s about $5 for a pack of them and they'll last one person about a few days to a week of constant use. I dont go through mine very fast at all. I use thermacells while bear hunting or if i’m just walking around. It uses butane to heat up an absorbent mat that is soaked with plant oils that naturally repel mosquitoes and other bugs. It works extremely well and doesnt make smoke or a strong odor. The lack of smell makes it a good option for hunting so as not to scare off animals. The biggest downside is they can get expensive to use all the time. It’s about $25 for enough butane and absorbent mats to las as long as a pack of mosquito coils. I can clip the thermacell unit on to my clothing to carry it hands free it’s about the size of a 20 oz bottle of water. The mosquitoes are heaviest in mid-spring to mid-summer. Their population size is really dependent on weather and proximity to a still water source. A pretty even mix of rain and sun really makes them thrive. Hot sunny summers tend to keep them near water sources and they cant fly much while it’s actively raining. When the sun comes out after a rain they really multiply quickly. Around swamps they’re the thickest. Sometimes you can hear them make a constant whine or hum when you get within a few hundred feet of a swamp. It sounds like a horror film sound effect.

I know those green coils, had them burning constantly around the camp and worked well but if you walked 20ft from camp the mosquitoes would attack, thousands of them so walking was not an option, running was.

 

[Capt Nemo]

Here's what I put up with every year. When they're parked two deep on the house they're thick! Least the lakeflies don't bite!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BogXZsTww8s

 

[jsurddy]

I know those green coils, had them burning constantly around the camp and worked well but if you walked 20ft from camp the mosquitoes would attack, thousands of them so walking was not an option, running was.

Ha ha! Yea, constantly moving quickly is another way to avoid them. I should add that bug dope with deet has also always worked for me. I’ve tried some of the repellants that double as a sunscreen or ones that smell nice and have not had any luck with them. I havent tried permethrin but have heard that it works really well. Another type of product i’ve heard works well is the propane powered burners that attract the mosquitoes to a trap and kill them. People get buckets full of dead mosquitoes from them and they keep the population in the area really low. They’re a few hundred bucks and are meant to be stationary. It would be good for a base camp that is being used for a couple weeks or longer. They’re probably the best long term solution to the bugs.

 

[jsurddy]

I went out to the woods yesterday and the mosquitoes are out in full force this year for sure! Used my thermacell and mosquito coils quite a bit.