Seems to depend on the day.
Two days ago I didn't even turn on my thermacell or apply deet. Yesterday on maple creek I was covering myself  i deet on every portage.
Blackflies are almost non-existent in APP North, mosquitoes are plentiful, however.
When I was on 60 last week it seemed like a normal mix between the two, but they were very tolerable. The garbage and human fecal matter all over the back country was not acceptable, however.

ATVenture wrote:

When I was on 60 last week it seemed like a normal mix between the two, but they were very tolerable. The garbage and human fecal matter all over the back country was not acceptable, however.

If anyone ever wonders why all of my WiA pics are north of 60 - this is the answer. I found this to be waaay too common of an occurrence south of 60. That said, I've also seen it north of 60 but nowhere near as frequent or severe. People suck.
 

ATVenture wrote:

AlgonquinLakes wrote:

They aren’t awesome.

We did a loop this weekend down through Big Thunder that we ended up cutting short thanks (in part) to the bugs (we also had issues with a broken seat and spoiled dehydrated dinners). I didn’t find them to be too bad when we were on the water or even moving across the portages, but as soon as we stopped in one place it was like we were starring in a remake of The Swarm.

Weirdly, when we did Maple Creek yesterday it was the best bug free zone of the day. Maybe they were all following @atventure.

Haha so funny! I was totally expecting to meet you on Friday. You were the only other car in the parking lot. I was the Hyundai parked right beside you when you got back to the access. ;-)

That’s funny. It’s too bad we didn’t cross paths. I was actually wondering if you’d be out in the area.  We didn’t see a single other person while we were out there. I’d thought we might find people on Erables or Maple. It’s probably why the girl in the office laughed at me when I asked if there were enough open sites in the area to change our first night lake if needed.

Bugs in Algonquin? That's crazy talk! Lake Louisa, day before yesterday. 




 

Thanks for the replies everyone. I guess it will be what it will be. We are heading in on Opeongo and heading towards Laveillle. Hoping it's not too bad, but am no stranger to having to run and hide in the tent because they are just swarming, even if they aren't biting.

Garraty

breed85 wrote:

Garraty wrote:

Hoping it's not too bad, but am no stranger to having to run and hide in the tent because they are just swarming, even if they aren't biting.

Gotta love the ones that sneak in the tent behind you before you get the door zipped, bite you, then get killed in the tent leaving blood stains in the tent! 

Oh yes. Been there. I’ll just bring a little extra DEET and slather myself down and hope for the best. How bad could it be!? 

martin2007 wrote:

"How bad could it be?"
That question could come back to bite you.
Like the movie title: "There will be blood!"

 
Haha! That’s super clever. I think we’re all prepared but are all also hopeful that it’s not swarming, though the time of year is working against us. When we head out again in August I’m sure it’ll be significantly better.

Leaving Saturday, so will come back and give you all a report on how it was. Kind of love the “memoirs” that people are doing on this site and will be sure to add one of my own.

Hi All,

As previous poster mentioned, when portaging the bugs could not have been worse, but they were mosquitos and horse flies mostly. When my friend laid down his canoe he was covered by such a large number of them, all attached to his back and pants, that I was astounded. Portaging was just terrible. Really.

At site it was a hit and miss. At times the amount of bugs was nominal and very manageable. One night, a wet and rainy one, was just so bad even though the wind was up and even though we were camped at a very open site, hiding out in the tents was really the only option and no one wanted to go anywhere outside. The sound of the black flies hitting the walls and roof of the tent sounded like rain so much that we had thought the rain had continued. When I went out to drain my bladder, mauled by black flies in the process, I could see the rain had completely stopped and the sound on the tent was just insects slamming against it.

We had a great trip regardless. The Dickson/Bonfield portage is no joke. I did it fifteen years ago when I was thirty one and dont remember it being so unmanageable. But this year I could feel my leg muscles cramping up to the point of seizing, even with breaks every kilometre. But we got through it and had a blast with my friends.

In short, with respect to the bugs, bring a bug jacket, for sure, and a good supply repellent. And, as mentioned above, stay out of the woods if you can. Good luck trying to use the outhouse.

I’m not even going to tell you about that experience, at least not in detail, but suffice it to say that it was kind of like The Walking Dead. I now know what it’s like being eaten alive. Any exposed skin... let’s just say I carry the wounds of battle as I write this on the couch and they itch something fierce!

Thank you all for the advice.