How Bad Are the Baxter Bugs in June?

I know that any answers will be subjective, but how bad are the bugs in Baxter State Park in mid-June? Am I likely to die? Or, throw myself of a ledge having been driven mad by them? (Background: I rarely use bug dope, but when I do, it's Ben's 100 all the way. I carry a headnet, but have only used it once.)

I was there for a whole week beginning of July and the I'd rate it at 3 b/sqft (yes, this is a very scientific measurement!) at the worst areas. The bug concentration was very different depending on the current weather and the location.
I had a hell of a night at Pogy Pond where they kept me up as I buried my sweating self inside my sleeping bag and slept with my headnet on. Hiking that day was also buggy, but only near streams, bogs, lakes, etc. Same deal at Little Wassataquoik Lake, but this time I smoked them out with a fire.
A lot less bugs on the South side of Katahdin during that trip.

I think you should be fine with the headnet and the Bens - reminder, the 100 is meant to be used on clothing and gear, not skin.

cbcbd said:

and the Bens - reminder, the 100 is meant to be used on clothing and gear, not skin.

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Nonsense! I mix with the Jim Beam--it adds a little zing.

Seriously, though, I worry about that stuff eating through my clothes, I only apply it to my skin.

TEO said:

Nonsense! I mix with the Jim Beam--it adds a little zing.

Seriously, though, I worry about that stuff eating through my clothes, I only apply it to my skin.

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I personally am a fan of a Ben and Tonic.

Seriously, though, I worry about the tonic giving me gas and GI distention so I only drink it straight.

June

We were there many years ago around the summer solstice and they were miserable. It was a warm day and there was little breeze and there was no relief on the ridge or the summits along Helon Taylor Trail. Along with the blackflies were huge hornets or wasps on the summit of Pamola that seemed to be nesting in the trailsign. In the low areas around Katahdin it was even worse.

If we had been there much longer, yes, I might have jumped to my death to stop the buzzing/biting.

KDT

TEO, I don't recommend throwing yourself off a ledge. In the time it takes your body to fall, the bugs will have totally consumed it.

Seriously, the bugs are BAD in Baxter (and much of the Maine woods) in June. That stops some people, doesn't stop others. Impossible to say what effect they would have on anybody but myself. I'd probably go, then be mad at myself for being such an idiot (as I tried to get the itching to stop). Remember, it's not mosquitoes so much, it's black flies. They don't penetrate, they chew.

It depends on the year, whether it comes later or earlier. I think this year the hatch will be earlier based on current weather trends, so we may be out of that season by June.

When I stopped at White House Landing on the 100-Mile a few years ago, I talked to the owners there and inquired about the bugs. They said in May and June they are atrocious and make most of their money hauling hikers out of the woods and back to Thrillinockett so they can go home. It's almost impossible to escape them since there are clouds everywhere.

I avoid hiking in Maine during the 3-4 weeks they hatch and am not sorry about it. I'm usually on the bike then anyway.

Not only are they bad, they find the worst places to bite you, too. I was up there a couple of years ago and got bit by one on the corner of my eye and another on the top of my ear. The next morning, my eye was swollen shut and the top of my ear was about twice the size it is normally. I looked like I'd been in a fight.

I agree with the others that the bugs are bad in June, but it's easier to get a campsite

I suggest bringing headnet and gloves for around camp, stay in tent or bunkhouse not leanto, and hike trails that climb out of the woods