Highline Trail - Insects in May

[sajor75]

Hi everyone, im planning to hike the Highline trail around mid May, anyone know what is the average weather and how bad are the creepy crawlies and mosquitos in the month that i will be hiking, I plan to use a tarp as shelter I have a bivy but would like to replace it with a bugnet or better yet no bugnet or bivy and just use sawyer permithrin , or is that to adventurous lol. Thanks.

[sajor75]

Lots of good info guys, how can you tell the difference between a regular trail (highline) and a game trail, do people actually set up camp on any trail , I'm a newbie and would think that is common sense lol.

[ljcygnet]

@chumley
LOL, yeah, maybe. I didn't know what had just run through camp, though (I was asleep) until morning when I could get a better look at the tracks.

FYI, mosquitoes aren't a problem on the Highline today. It's snowing up on the Rim right now. I tried to get a photo of Myrtle Point with snow on it but it's pretty socked in and generally soggy, I can just see the snow through breaks in the clouds. Down here at 5800 feet, we're getting sleet and rain and it's 35 degrees. I'm glad I'm in a warm house and not out hiking today.

The snow will be gone as soon as the sun hits it, but I wouldn't want to be camping in it.

(We need the rain, though, so I'm so glad to see it -- this pushes the fire season back another week.)

[SuperstitionGuy]

It is recommended that you camp out of sight of all trails to give animals and other hikers their space. If you are going to have a campfire and be loud and boisterous it is wise that you be even further away from all trails. You camp or set up on the Highline trail only if you are injured or lost and want to be found. SAR teams search the known trails first and then the jungle after they assume you are deceased. Just sayin.... ;)