Isle Royale Forums

For which months, if any, do experienced IR backpackers feel a bug head net is desirable or necessary? I'm considering a week-long round trip backpacking trip out of Rock Harbor. It could potentially be sometime from June through mid August.

I always bring one regardless of month, although maybe used it once. But it's an ounce (literally) of insurance if you hit a hatch.

I would always carry a head net on the Island. Since they weigh so little, it's not worth the risks. Black flies will certainly be an issue at some time during your time frame. It all depends on temperatures not the calendar. Likewise for mosquitoes, although for me at least they are more tolerable, especially during daylight hours. Black flies would be unusual in August but no guarantees. Wear light colored clothing to help with black flies.

I heartily second everything above.

In the nearby Upper Peninsula, I've used a bug net in each month from May through September while camping/backpacking/hiking. The island is quite similar.

Thanks. Sounds like its going on my Christmas wish list. Looking at the Sea to Summit mosquito net.

I have two Sea to Summits and they work great. One is supposedly infused with Picardin, but I've not noticed a difference.

Long sleeves and, in the worst case, tucking your pants into your socks, help a lot.

I take a bug net on just about any backcountry trip, and I keep a spare one in my group first aid/repair kit in case it's needed. I don't necessarily use it on every trip, but it's a lot of protection for minimal weight.

I agree with the rest of the posts... head nets weigh virtually nothing, compress into a tiny footprint, and are well worth taking. Case in point, during our first trip to Isle Royale in 1999, we stayed a night at East Chickenbone. The mosquitoes were so terrible that we wore our headnets the entire time until the sun went down and the temperature dropped. We even ate dinner while wearing them. They bugs were so bad that two people wandered past us while looking for a campsite and offered to pay us $20 each for both of our nets because they were being eaten alive. We politely declined.

Sent from my SM-G781V using Tapatalk

Backpacker534 wrote: Sat Mar 04, 2023 2:38 pmThe bugs were so bad that two people wandered past us while looking for a campsite and offered to pay us $20 each for both of our nets because they were being eaten alive. We politely declined.

Sounds like a good reason to bring a 2nd head net (or 2), a virtually weightless opportunity...

Funny, I always bring a headnet and have never used it. Makes me feel claustrophobic, I guess. That said, as others have pointed out, the weight and space are negligible so why not?

The only time I remember using a headnet at ISRO was on the Minong Trail. This is the old man Jerry

The only way I wouldn't bring one is if I was going to be on the Lake Superior shoreline the whole time and the extended forecast included a breeze the whole trip. I always bring one, but have only used it once in 5 trips. One evening at West Chickenbone when there was no breeze...