We all know that insects are of great benefit to the natural world, e.g. in pollination and nutrient recycling, and as food sources in both aquatic and terrestrial food webs, and that this group of organisms is immensely successful in terms of abundance and ecological specialization. And there are those of exquisite beauty and gracefulness such as butterflies and dragonflies. But a few weeks ago my appreciation of insects and the important role they play was severely challenged. I'm talking specifically about the groups of insects from the Culicidae and Simuliidae families that include mosquitoes and black flies, respectively.
I grew up in northern B.C., so I am very familiar with the swarms of mosquitoes and black flies that occur upon first emergence. My mom used to spray our entire body from head to toe with OFF - that was before anyone knew about the toxicity of high levels of DEET - whenever we ventured into the forest to pick berries or go hiking or to the river to fish. Living in the Lower Mainland as an adult, I've since stopped the use of bug spray, instead relying on bug nets when the mosquitoes and black flies get really bad.
I grew up in northern B.C., so I am very familiar with the swarms of mosquitoes and black flies that occur upon first emergence. My mom used to spray our entire body from head to toe with OFF - that was before anyone knew about the toxicity of high levels of DEET - whenever we ventured into the forest to pick berries or go hiking or to the river to fish. Living in the Lower Mainland as an adult, I've since stopped the use of bug spray, instead relying on bug nets when the mosquitoes and black flies get really bad.
Wells Gray Park is really all about water. The 5 out of 20 waterfalls we saw are truly spectacular. Over 200,000,000 years of geological history of volcanoes, glaciation and erosion by water have carved canyons and produced an abundance of falls and rapids, whirlpools and eddies. The most amazing of these waterfalls is Helmcken Falls, where the river free-falls 140m to a plunge pool below. |
Rather than drive to the tourist viewing platform on the opposite side of the canyon, Henning and I first hiked the 5 km forested trail to the edge of the falls. The trail follows the fast moving Murtle River. When you hear the roar of the water rise a decibel, the trail stops abruptly and you find yourself looking down into an extremely massive steep-sided canyon. I felt very small and in awe of nature's handiwork; not to mention feeling a little uneasy being so close to the edge without a guardrail of any kind!
Although Wells Gray Park is not particularly
notable for day-long alpine hikes, on our second day in the park we hiked in the Trophy Mountains, in the vicinity where Henning went backcountry skiing last February.
The meadows were a lovely sea of yellow glacier lilies, but if we stopped walking for even one minute, the black flies were all over us. As we got even higher into the alpine, and for some strange reason especially when we crossed snow fields, the flies were so numerous and so aggressive that they formed a black cloud around our heads that moved along with us. I tried outrunning them; I lashed out at them; I railed at them; I went spastic, to quote Henning.
We prayed for wind and kept going higher to try to find a place we could eat our lunch in peace. But it wasn't happening so I wolfed down some trail mix and a power bar while swatting away flies and walking in circles. The whole time I was moving my hand through my hair, across my cheeks, along my neck and behind my ears - over and over again, and squishing one, two, or even three flies with each pass and feeling my dried blood caked to my neck.
Finally high up on a ridge we got the wind we so desired and had a reprieve from the relentless black flies. Henning's legs were dotted red-purple, as was my neck. Unbelievable!
Our campsite was a lovely spot next to the turbulent Clearwater River, but each evening I had to flee into the tent after dinner. I simply couldn't stand the onslaught of mosquitoes and black files - the bites and welts just kept coming, one on top of the other - and covering up wasn't really an option either since the daytime temperature was in the mid-30s and it didn't really cool down till much later.
Our campsite was a lovely spot next to the turbulent Clearwater River, but each evening I had to flee into the tent after dinner. I simply couldn't stand the onslaught of mosquitoes and black files - the bites and welts just kept coming, one on top of the other - and covering up wasn't really an option either since the daytime temperature was in the mid-30s and it didn't really cool down till much later.
Hoping that the black flies were only a problem in the alpine, we next hiked a trail that began near our campsite. The trail started off promising, through pleasant open pine forest up to a ridge and beautiful view over the Clearwater River. Then, however, we descended into dense forest, punctuated by swamp, and the onslaught from bugs began again - this time mosquitoes buzzed around our heads. It felt like we were in the middle of a jungle, so hot and muggy and buggy! And with every step I made the same passes through my hair and over my face as I had the previous day.
After an hour of this, I turned to Henning and whined that I couldn't do this for another 5 hours. We were on a 17km loop hike (estimated time of 7 hrs), but had no clue as to how much of it was through dense forest. We came to a small lake, but couldn't get close enough to take advantage of the breeze; we came to the Easter Bluffs, but couldn't stop long before the mosquitoes found us; we came to another lookout and tried rubbing orange peel on our socks, legs and faces, but this only seemed to help very briefly. Upon our descent to Clearwater Lake, we encountered another swamp - the mosquitoes were so bad that we stopped to pull on our jackets and long pants (despite the heat) in a panicked frenzy. When we finally got to the lake, there was a wonderful breeze. We stripped off our jackets and just sat and waited for the sweat to evaporate from our bodies. A little further along the trail we found a place to climb down to the water's edge and refresh ourselves in the clear water, but not for long - our feet were screaming in pain from the ice cold water! Further downstream the rapids were building for Osprey Falls and the start of the Clearwater River.
After an hour of this, I turned to Henning and whined that I couldn't do this for another 5 hours. We were on a 17km loop hike (estimated time of 7 hrs), but had no clue as to how much of it was through dense forest. We came to a small lake, but couldn't get close enough to take advantage of the breeze; we came to the Easter Bluffs, but couldn't stop long before the mosquitoes found us; we came to another lookout and tried rubbing orange peel on our socks, legs and faces, but this only seemed to help very briefly. Upon our descent to Clearwater Lake, we encountered another swamp - the mosquitoes were so bad that we stopped to pull on our jackets and long pants (despite the heat) in a panicked frenzy. When we finally got to the lake, there was a wonderful breeze. We stripped off our jackets and just sat and waited for the sweat to evaporate from our bodies. A little further along the trail we found a place to climb down to the water's edge and refresh ourselves in the clear water, but not for long - our feet were screaming in pain from the ice cold water! Further downstream the rapids were building for Osprey Falls and the start of the Clearwater River.