Summer wilderness and mosquitoes

Summer: the call of the Wild is stronger than ever this time of year. This is when most people feel the pull for adventure: a multi-day canoeing exploration, a camping trip, a backpacking expedition maybe. Everything is more inviting in summer: flowers, blue skies, baby animals, campfires and marshmallows with friends, swims in lakes and rivers. The wilderness becomes, at least for a few months, less unforgiving. It is the ideal time to create the greatest memories of your life.

However, statistically, things are more likely to go wrong for summer adventurers, for one simple reason: there are more of them in summer, a lot more in fact. Unfortunately, a higher proportion of those outdoor people are less experienced and take things for granted. Extreme heat kills but so does hypothermia, even in the middle of summer. In some regions capsizing a boat in cold water is a life-threatening event. It is very challenging to swim in cold water and hypothermia can remove the will to live in a couple of minutes. You can get lost, hurt yourself by slipping on a rock, burn your hand on a stove, be attacked by a large animal, etc. 

So, how do you prepare for the summer wilderness? Just like in winter: be ready for changing weather, humidity, and cold, get dressed properly (no cotton please!), and have minimal equipment with you at all times: matches or lighter, knife, a bear spray, and a titanium cup or pot. 

That being said, there is one thing you don’t need in winter but absolutely should be in your summer essentials: protection from insects, mosquitoes and flies especially. The buzzing animals in the summer wilderness may be one of its greatest threat. In an emergency, you may need to sleep under the stars. No shelter, no protection. Unfortunately, the ability to rest and sleep is critical for survival. Without even talking about “emergency,” you may travel in areas that are bug-infested, and you may need a break from them sometimes. So, how do you protect from insatiable insects? You may want to use bug dope, insect repellent like “Muskol”. It smells bad, burns your skin, and tastes atrocious if by mistake it touches your lips, but it is lightweight and compact. That is “chemical protection,” not the best one, because not totally effective, but better than nothing. The best protection is still the “mechanical protection”: hat, face net, long sleeves, socks, and gloves. If the bloodsuckers can’t reach your skin they can’t hurt you. In some places the bugs are so voracious they can even bite through the clothes, so make sure your pants and shirts are thick enough. Never underestimate those little creatures, they drive crazy even the largest and strongest animals, like bears and moose. And one last tip: at camp, you may find some respite by creating a lot of smoke from your campfire, flying insects are slowed down by smoke. 

If all else fails in your battle against mosquitoes you may find some comfort in contemplating the fact that your blood partly contributes to the health of something much greater than you: the natural cycle!