Within a couple of days, I had a couple of unique situations when it comes to bugs in the woods. It’s June in Ontario. It can be hot. It can be cold. It can be wet or dry. This year, we’ve had the full royal sampler of weather conditions. It seems that we’re on a 3-4 day cycle featuring 2-3 different seasons.
We had quite a bit of moisture and some cool weather heading into the month. This, to me, should translate into a buggy paradise. In my mind, we should be getting carried off by mosquitos and black flies. But, I really haven’t found that to be the case. Maybe, it’s not just the bees that are disappearing.
Deer Fly Hell Run
On June 16, 2022, we were spending time at our trailer on Pigeon Lake. We’re northeast of Bobcaygeon, Ontario, at Nogies Creek. Across from the trailer is Bass Lake Road. This road is paved for a short while before becoming a remote, narrow gravel road that ends at the small beach at Bass Lake. The road roughly follows Nogies Creek, a dammed up waterway and fish preserve that runs from Bass Lake to Pigeon.
I had thoughts of doing an early morning run from the trailer to the Bass Lake beach and back. I didn’t pre-measure but I figured it was about 15km one way (I believe that to be pretty accurate – still haven’t measured the distance). My minimum was going to be two hours and I’d play it by ear.
The run turned out to be just under 20km. At nearly the 10km mark, it wasn’t the mosquitos that were the cause of torture. It was the deer flies. With early morning sunshine, heat and humidity, along with zero wind creating the perfect environment for these nasty bastards to annoy any other living soul.
I didn’t carry bug spray. However, it’s been my experience that bug spray isn’t much of a deterrent for these guys. Frankly, it’s not so much the bites that are a bother but the constant circling of your head by tens of these at a time.
They do bite, though. Never down low. They always go for the back of the arms and the hairline on your head. I wear a ball cap backwards when I run. When they would land, they would slowly work their way between the band of the cap and my hair, digging in deep before chomping.
Anyway, at 10km, I’d had enough. The further away from so-called civilization I got, the worse the deer flies got. There certainly were mosquitos, as well, but I was able to outrun them. But, when I stopped for water from my pack, it would be an all-out assault. I turned around and headed for home.
The attack reminded me of our 2016 road trip to the Northwest Territories. There is a similar biting fly that they call ‘bulldogs’. At a few places, these things were unrelenting and swarming in the hundreds. I’ll take the Bass Lake Road bugs over the NWT ones anyday…
The full Bass Lake Road run is still going to happen! On a nice windy early morning. The wind is certainly their handicap.
Where Are The Mosquitos
Move ahead three days. On June 19, 2022 (Father’s Day), my second oldest son and I met for a 6:30am start on the Bruce Trail. We were looking at a little more than 20km on a typically hilly section of the famed Ontario hiking trail. We park and enter at Boyne Valley Provincial Park and head east.
For this hike, we both came fully prepared with bug spray, expecting the worst. After all, anywhere on the Bruce Trail seems to be perfect breeding grounds for mosquitos. Again, I was sure that the conditions had been perfect for a buggy population boom.
I was wrong. The spray stayed in my pack for the over four hours we hiked. Over that full distance, I had a total of two mosquitos buzz my ears. There would be no blood donations on this day. In stark contrast, the two of us have hiked sections of the Bruce in the past and have nearly gone insane swatting away these damn vampires.
Although it was great not to get eaten, it was a bit concerning. Where were the bugs? Mosquitos are a royal pain in the ass but are a major part of the food chain. We ran into another pair of hikers and they echoed the same sentiment.
However, I’m sure the lack of mosquitos is not going to end the world. We’ve got bigger problems! I’ll certainly take it but it is something that makes you wonder…