Am I out of luck?

[CoffeeCraft]

I grew up tent camping in the high mountain regions of New Mexico. Even in the summer, one could expect temperatures to remain below 80 degrees during the day, and would drop down to 50 degrees at night. It was relatively dry with some dew in the morning, and there was a distinct lack of insects.

Then I moved to the east coast, and now live in Northern Virginia. I just returned from a camping trip in the Shenandoah mountains and the experience was not entirely what I hoped. Even at this time of year, insects dominated the forest. Spiders were everywhere and even after just two nights, the underside of my rainfly was practically it's own ecosystem.

Is there anywhere within a reasonable trip (by reasonable, I mean someplace I can get to by car in one day) that I can camp once again among pine trees and not find myself among so many bugs I'm reminded of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom? Is the east coast as a whole just too humid for the kind of camping I'm used to?

Am I out of luck?

[toedtoes]

Re: Am I out of luck?

Topping for reponses

[MacGyver]

Re: Am I out of luck?

Well... you're not all that far from me. I live in Baltimore County, Maryland and I can tell you that, at least from my experience, summer camping is the last thing you want to do around here. Hot, humid and buggy are the norm. That's why I can't wait for this time of year. Just went out last weekend and I have another trip planned for October. Western Maryland is finally cooling down, so just about any park from Washington County on out west should be good to go now. Had a few stink bugs to deal with last trip, but they'll be gone very soon.

[CoffeeCraft]

Re: Am I out of luck?

Thanks, good to know.

What about camping in the Spring? When do the bugs tend to appear?

[Campfire-chronicles]

Re: Am I out of luck?

Have you tried Cumberland Gap or Harper's Ferry areas? It seems to me that the humidity is fairly inescapable below 1,000 feet in elevation, so your best bet is to get up and get windy. The AT has some really cool, hike in spots. Also, once October comes around, humidity gets more bareable.

[Force10JC]

Re: Am I out of luck?

My first thought on this is that where you grew up may have an effect on your preferences. I grew up near lots of trees and would spend hours in the woods day-after-day as a kid. Perhaps this is why I now feel at home camping in the Piney Woods of East Texas? That said I would love to get out to camp in the areas of New Mexico you describe.


One thing about the woods that you and Mac mention is the critters. You will definitely see more of them in the Summer. For this reason we try to avoid camping after Memorial Day and not before right about now.

[wiiawiwb]

Re: Am I out of luck?

Nah, c'mon, just get out there and have a little fun. Spiders, schmiders! Get a fire going at night and you'll be fine. I camp from mid-April to end of December and love the change of seasons. You can't let life pass you by worrying about a few bugs.

Get out and experience it all!