Mountain Buzz banner

Deso Bug Report

3K views 19 replies 14 participants last post by  alisonmw 
#1 ·
I have a 7/7 launch. In looking at the flows, seems they are coming down. From reading everything, that seems to be the trigger of the swarms. Anyone with any reports as of the last few days?


Thanks.
 
#2 ·
Putting on this upcoming Saturday, Aug 10, and reviving this old thread. Any bug update on Deso? Floating with young kids and doubtful we can make it to Jack Creek on first day.

Also, in reading past threads, I assume collecting driftwood for fires should not be an issue.
 
#5 ·
Also, in reading past threads, I assume collecting driftwood for fires should not be an issue.
There is plenty of drift wood in the canyon. What the rangers don't want you to do is bring in firewood from outside of the area. This is because of the invasive species of bugs that it might contain from where it was collected.
 
#3 ·
River Runners Transport will have the latest bug report.

Fire pan fires only...see stipulations below:

g. Do not camp or build fires on Public Land within 1/2 mile of mouth of Rock Creek.

h. Make campfires only in fire pans and limit the use of gathered wood for
campfires to driftwood found along river banks and beaches.

Have a great trip!
 
#6 ·
We floated from 7/26 to 8/1. Bugs at sand wash were significant, but not as bad I have heard. After sand wash, bugs got a lot better but were bad is and around vegetated areas. Overall, bugs were way better than I anticipated based on reports. Ranger said they had gotten a lot better about a week before we got there.

What a great stretch!
 
#7 ·
Just got off the river yesterday. 8/1-8/5. Skeeters at put-in were bad but we had a screen cabin. We didn't have a trailer so we tried to rig and prep as much as we could before a.m. In the morn they were nuts but we had long sleeves and a 4 dollar head net. many boats rigged and launched that morn with the same idea of the head net. After that day our trip was pretty amazing and we were able to prep, cook, clean and talk into the night from there on out. No need to bring any wood...plentyO'drift out there. rained a little here and there but it was very very nice and would encourage anyone still trying to plan to go for it and enjoy your time. Peace
 
#8 ·
Just got back yesterday from a float July29-Aug 5. The bugs at Sand Wash put in were bad with a definite hum in the air. Felt like I was at a casino with every bug singing in the same key... I pretreated some clothes with permethrin and had a bug net. Was definitely tolerable. Would go with the 100 DEET no doubt. A couple of bottles. Just a heads up, the screen rooms, which we had, don't tend to have doors that close well, so bring some tools or a screen tent if you plan on staying the night. We did not make it to Jacks Creek the first day as our flow was around 3400. Stayed on a sand bar at lower gold camp and that was really so much better. Got better and better the further south you go, more sand flies, less mosquitoes. Had a great trip and really enjoyed. For those of you putting on, check out my strainer thread about the log at lower Coal Creek. Might want to stay in the raft and not kayak that one till the log moves on.

Just a quick note for consideration, when rigging at Sand Island, try and unload and move the cars at the put in away as a consideration for others. We got two of our five rafts put in after dark. Mosquitoes tend to bite a wee bit more then. Only have so many pints to donate at sand wash.
 
#10 ·
We did the Yampa a week or so ago and the bugs were plentiful. We had a Thermacell bug repeller along and it definitely helped keep the bugs down in the camps. Limited range (they say a 15 foot radius) but it has enough range for the kitchen, or a chair circle.
 
#12 ·
We floated August 5-11. When we rolled up to Sand Wash at ~5PM on the 4th, everyone was wearing mosquito suits while rigging. "Uh oh," we thought. We stayed in the truck for a few minutes and saw the mosquitoes congregating around the windows. Luckily, we had rented a screened-in cabin. There were a lot of mosquitoes there, but nowhere near biblical. A bit of deet made it bearable to walk around at least. We ended up launching and rigging on the morning of the 5th. They weren't too bad down by the water in the morning, but worse up by the parking lot.

We had a slow first two days, but camped on sand bars and had no issues. A short stroll over to the vegetation made it clear that we would be fine as long as we stayed on the beach. Another group who camped near us on night 1 in the vegetation told us the mosquitoes were terrible. We didn't have any issues.

The further down we went, the better the mosquito situation got. We camped at Above Wire Fence #1 within the trees and there were no mosquitoes.

Biting flies were a nuisance on the water every now and then further downstream (especially on the last day for a bit between Poverty and Swasey's). We did have an interesting situation with the flies. My wife and I were floating on our raft and not having any trouble with the flies. We saw them flying around, but they weren't biting us. The rest of our group on other raft/SUPs kept slapping themselves and cursing the flies. Because it was still early, my wife and I had not put sunscreen on yet. Everyone else was wearing sunscreen and getting bitten relentlessly. Possibly a coincidence, but I found it interesting.

We did see a bear night 1 near the sandbar we camped on. Lots of wildlife... Bear, wild horses, bald eagle, bighorn sheep, 3 ft. snake at Above Wire Fence #1, and probably more that I can't think of right now. Can't say I'm stoked to be back in the office right now...
 
#16 ·
The cabin space is about 12' x 16', with a long table on one of the shorter ends. We've crammed as many as 5, 3 is just about right. Keep all food in your vehicle, as there are mice. Bradley is closet to the launch ramp and has a cement floor.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Roberto
#17 ·
We had 4 people sleep in there along with a table and a couple coolers. They were on 3 paco pads and a crash pad and it didn't look to cramped. My wife and I were in our tent. I agree you could definitely get 5, but it would start getting a bit crowded. I'm sure you could make 6 work with sleeping pads if you didn't have other stuff in there.

We were in Sumner. It has a dirt floor. It's a bit further from the ramp, but plenty of room for vehicles. We were able to park 3 trucks with trailers right next to it.
 
#19 ·
Our TL rented 2 for our 9/12 launch. We'll see if they're worth it. I plan on sleeping in my tent - I snore like a freight train.
Two years ago, exact same time, we never even saw mosquitoes or deer flies. My DEET stayed in my dry bag the entire trip!
 
#20 ·
I think you will likely be good. The mozzies were def on the decline when we were there a few weeks ago. We only had one bad night and that was the first night about 15 miles down from Sand Wash. Last year on the Gates about this time we saw not a one (that was a drier year, of course). Have a fantastic trip!
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top