US West Hello everyone. My wife and I went to Afton Canyon campground last week and we must say that it sucked! (clickbait)

[MojaveGreen]

Hello everyone.
My wife and I went to Afton Canyon campground last week and we must say that it sucked! (clickbait)
OK, the campground itself was nice and I will go again for the Mojave Road but the bugs there were trying to suck the blood out of us and prevented us from spending the time there that we had planned for.
As we walked around the campground I would look at the past tags left on the posts in front of each campsite and it seems that everyone was there six weeks before us and now I know why.
Now I have experienced mosquito bites, poison ivy, bee stings and other unpleasant things before but I never experienced anything that left me with a 1” welt with the center looking like I was shot by a BB gun until now.
Years ago I went on a two-week fishing trip up to Canada where their local bird was the mosquitos were so thick that a machete could have been used just to cut through them and they were big enough that a hunting license was required to kill them but not even those left me with the keepsakes like the ones in Afton Canyon did.
We planned for a three-night outing where we would spend the first night and part of the next day at Afton Canyon then head to Baker where we would head east on Kelbaker Road checking out the different campsites on the way to Kelso for the second night and spend some time there before heading over to the Kelso Dunes campground for the last night and look around there for a while the following day before stopping at the Amboy Crater on our way back home, but no.
We arrived at the Afton campground an hour before sunset so we had time to look around before choosing our campsite and since no one else was there we had it all to ourselves, for the first half hour anyways, when a young lady showed up in her car and so we invited her to our campfire and we all talked for a while and we found out that she would spend the night before her continued journey back home to Berkeley from Arizona where she spent a two-week adventure bike-packing out on the back roads there. I wish her many more safe adventures.
As we exited the truck we were greeted by the welcoming party of nats that seemed to enjoy our company so much that they threw us a party and they danced in our eyes, nose and ears and seemed to have a great time at it but some time later they realized that the party was over and left, light weights.
A king snake came to visit for a while as it seemed to have been attracted to our camp light and that was pleasant to see but then the party crashers showed up, mosquitos and maybe something else between the breeze and a somewhat smoky fire I had hoped that would have been enough to drive them away and it did for the most part for I only have a hand full of bites but at some point, the heavy hitting party animals showed up without our noticing and provided us with a dozen + bites that we needed to see a doctor and was prescribed steroids to stop our skin from getting any worse for the 1” welts turned into 2”.
With no sleep and no desire to stay there any longer, we packed up at first light and left without breakfast deciding to head back home.
Not wanting to just give up like that and miss an adventure, instead of the route that I had planned for we headed down the Mojave Road until we met up with Crucero Road where we drove down to the town of Ludlow.
We saw the Mojave Megaphone from afar for it was too hot out and the lake of sleep, climbing to it just didn’t sound any fun at the time but we did get to see it, maybe next time.
We continued down the dirt road to Ludlow got some gas talked to some 100 bikers heading cross country to Washington with another 500 + meeting them on the way for their yearly Run for the Wall event, after this impromptu meeting and wishing them a safe journey my wife and I went down Route 66 to Amboy Crater were we finally had breakfast, sometime later we drove back home.
The outing was overall fun, the campground was nice and my wife finally saw why I am building my truck out for this type of camping and kept saying how exciting it was and she now looks forward to our next adventure, with the crossing of the river, viewing of all the different colors of the mountains and the butt puckering effect of some of the obstacles it was an exciting and enjoyable outing after all and I can’t wait to do the whole Mojave Road now.
Post-trip, I bought us some head nets, a Thermacell Mosquito Repellent to add to my kit and maybe a gas fire pit soon for those fire bans. Safe and enjoyable adventures to all, until next time, Brian

 

[MOAK]

That’s actually pretty funny. Who would think mosquitos in the desert? We have had great success using permethrin10, deet and the thermacells. They will attack your private parts quickly, so carry the thermacel , let it warm up a bit, then go.

 

[MojaveGreen]

Right, but parts of the Mojave River were above ground nearby, and since the surface waters do not move fast it made a swamp-like environment. Thanks for the tips Donald, Brian

 

[pluton]

As a general rule: Water = bugs, sand dunes = wind. I drove past Afton Campground once, but it looked bleak with no privacy separation between sites, so I crossed it off my list.

 

[ZombieCat]

Hello everyone.
My wife and I went to Afton Canyon campground last week and we must say that it sucked! (clickbait)
OK, the campground itself was nice and I will go again for the Mojave Road but the bugs there were trying to suck the blood out of us and prevented us from spending the time there that we had planned for.
As we walked around the campground I would look at the past tags left on the posts in front of each campsite and it seems that everyone was there six weeks before us and now I know why.
Now I have experienced mosquito bites, poison ivy, bee stings and other unpleasant things before but I never experienced anything that left me with a 1” welt with the center looking like I was shot by a BB gun until now.
Years ago I went on a two-week fishing trip up to Canada where their local bird was the mosquitos were so thick that a machete could have been used just to cut through them and they were big enough that a hunting license was required to kill them but not even those left me with the keepsakes like the ones in Afton Canyon did.
We planned for a three-night outing where we would spend the first night and part of the next day at Afton Canyon then head to Baker where we would head east on Kelbaker Road checking out the different campsites on the way to Kelso for the second night and spend some time there before heading over to the Kelso Dunes campground for the last night and look around there for a while the following day before stopping at the Amboy Crater on our way back home, but no.
We arrived at the Afton campground an hour before sunset so we had time to look around before choosing our campsite and since no one else was there we had it all to ourselves, for the first half hour anyways, when a young lady showed up in her car and so we invited her to our campfire and we all talked for a while and we found out that she would spend the night before her continued journey back home to Berkeley from Arizona where she spent a two-week adventure bike-packing out on the back roads there. I wish her many more safe adventures.
As we exited the truck we were greeted by the welcoming party of nats that seemed to enjoy our company so much that they threw us a party and they danced in our eyes, nose and ears and seemed to have a great time at it but some time later they realized that the party was over and left, light weights.
A king snake came to visit for a while as it seemed to have been attracted to our camp light and that was pleasant to see but then the party crashers showed up, mosquitos and maybe something else between the breeze and a somewhat smoky fire I had hoped that would have been enough to drive them away and it did for the most part for I only have a hand full of bites but at some point, the heavy hitting party animals showed up without our noticing and provided us with a dozen + bites that we needed to see a doctor and was prescribed steroids to stop our skin from getting any worse for the 1” welts turned into 2”.
With no sleep and no desire to stay there any longer, we packed up at first light and left without breakfast deciding to head back home.
Not wanting to just give up like that and miss an adventure, instead of the route that I had planned for we headed down the Mojave Road until we met up with Crucero Road where we drove down to the town of Ludlow.
We saw the Mojave Megaphone from afar for it was too hot out and the lake of sleep, climbing to it just didn’t sound any fun at the time but we did get to see it, maybe next time.
We continued down the dirt road to Ludlow got some gas talked to some 100 bikers heading cross country to Washington with another 500 + meeting them on the way for their yearly Run for the Wall event, after this impromptu meeting and wishing them a safe journey my wife and I went down Route 66 to Amboy Crater were we finally had breakfast, sometime later we drove back home.
The outing was overall fun, the campground was nice and my wife finally saw why I am building my truck out for this type of camping and kept saying how exciting it was and she now looks forward to our next adventure, with the crossing of the river, viewing of all the different colors of the mountains and the butt puckering effect of some of the obstacles it was an exciting and enjoyable outing after all and I can’t wait to do the whole Mojave Road now.
Post-trip, I bought us some head nets, a Thermacell Mosquito Repellent to add to my kit and maybe a gas fire pit soon for those fire bans. Safe and enjoyable adventures to all, until next time, Brian

Oh, man, I feel for you!
I also invested in a Thermacell last summer, as the mosquitoes were BRUTAL out west, especially in California with the lingering winter precipitation. It helped, but isn’t perfect.
A few other ideas:
1. Buy a couple of mesh head nets. They take up very little space in your kit. Mine is an inexpensive, very lightweight one from Walmart that I wore for nearly an entire month of hiking and photography in 2023. You’ll need to pair it with a hat, preferably with a wide brim, although I typically wear a ball cap and put non-DEET bug spray on my ears/temples.
2. Pretreat outer clothing with Permethrin (pants, sun hoodie).
3. On my skin, I apply repellent with 20% Picaridin (I’ve used both Natrapel and Sawyer). Here in the Mid-Atlantic, ticks potentially carrying Lyme Disease are a big issue and Picaridin works well for both ticks and mosquitoes. I avoid DEET, as it can melt/damage plastics, rubber and synthetic fabrics, not to mention it stinks.
4. Create airflow, either by positioning yourself in a breeze or using an outdoor fan.
Sometimes nothing works and you just have to flee!

 

[ThundahBeagle]

Not sure if STEM would work. It helps a lot here in the Northeast. All natural blend of things like Peppermont, Rosemary, Thyme, Lemon, Cedar. I put it on myself and the dog, though I do use a monthly chemical topical on the dog as well. And I wash the dog with a similar shampoo that comes in a green bottle from PetSmart, called Vet'sBest or something

 

[genocache]

I went and camped at Afton, 13 Feb, 2020, no bugs! Wind but no bugs. Your bites sound like what horse flies do to me. I've been bit a few times up in the Black Rock Desert, Those things as huge as they are can land and you don't know it until they bite ya. I found either a tennis racket for when they are flying or a pumped up BB rifle. When they are sitting somewhere you can slide the barrel up close, pull the trigger and the air blast blows them apart, no bb needed. Very satisfying!