Learned a little lesson this weekend on an overnight hang. Was down in Zaleski with my pal Lukesteg, it was a beautiful blustery fall evening a bit breezey in the low 40's we were setup at C camp on a ridgeline covered in white oak. Camp was a bit crowded so we sorta stealthed off on a little spur that wasn't really cleared for camping, which is to say that the leaves were pretty deep. We had a fairly beezey night and it spit rain off and on, it might have gotten down into the high 30's. But the next morning Luke was cooking breakfast from the hammock and I hear him complaining about the mosquitos getting after him but good. I'm thinking mosquitos? In this weather? Where would they be coming from? All the while he's slapping mosquitos and trying to cook beakfast between expletives. I tried not to laugh too much.

As I was laying there thinking about getting out of my warm hammock, I realized that we both have the same huge winter tarps with doors, I had pitch mine fairly high in porch mode and had the doors pulled back while Luke pitched fairly low and closed up his doors. I'm guessing the heat trapped under Luke's tarp brought those dormant mosquitos in that thick layer of duff and leaves back to life.

Lesson learned, storm mode equals mosquito incubator.


David