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ecocliffchick
May 18, 2005, 3:16 AM
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Thinking about heading up to the southern Bruce Peninsula to camp this long weekend... Has anyone been up there within the past couple of days? How are the blackflies? They are just coming out around here (Guelph). I just want to know what I'm getting myself into...
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cgailey
May 18, 2005, 4:28 AM
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Man, I could go for a trip to the head...thanks for the reminder :evil:
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jumpingrock
May 18, 2005, 4:44 AM
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I was there two weekends back and they were ok, but they are becoming nasty around here, so no idea how it will be up there.
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shutterbug
May 19, 2005, 1:41 PM
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I have heard the black flies are out in full force at Mount Nemo, but I haven't been there this week.
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hoppinbig
May 19, 2005, 2:08 PM
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I was at Bon Echo last weekend and came back with maybe 2 blackfly bites - so they are coming out but it might not be so bad yet. Have a great time.
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tc
May 19, 2005, 6:35 PM
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was out at nemo on Sunday they were starting to come out a few bites on the people I was with. Rattlesnake on monday the I didn't see any bugs. just watch for the the rodents they are out and hungry. tc
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crimptacular
May 19, 2005, 7:22 PM
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I was up in the Muskoka region last weekend and they were out in full force so bring the Deet!!!
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kungfuclimber
May 19, 2005, 7:24 PM
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FYI: DEET works well against mosquitos but does very little against black flies.
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ecocliffchick
May 20, 2005, 1:10 PM
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deet also eats your harness, rope, webbing...
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kungfuclimber
May 20, 2005, 1:59 PM
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Actually ecocliffchick some types of nylon, specifically nylon 6, are not affected by DEET. Around a year ago a test was done where a rope was soaked in a bucket of DEET then tested for strength. There was no significant effect. Here is more info: It is best to assume that all chemicals are bad for your rope. Do not expose your nylon or polyester ropes to chemicals. That said, much recent data has been collected regarding how substances affect rope life. Data available from Honeywell Corporation (makers of nylon 6, polyester and Spectra(R) ) shows that nylon's strength is not greatly affected by motor oil, mineral oil, salt water, Freon, gasoline, kerosene, benzene, chloroform, paints, pine oils, or insect repellents containing DEET. Chemicals that should be avoided at all costs are bleach and sulfuric acid. Still even with this reassurance it is best to protect your rope from any exposure to any acids or alkalis and to store your rope in a cool dry environment. So climbing gear, made of nylon 6 or spectra, is safe against DEET. Your clothes and backpack however may dissolve if a bottle of "Deep Woods" breaks open.
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crimptacular
May 20, 2005, 2:06 PM
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whatever you use...deet or not...whatever...the black flies suck up there right now. enjoy the long weekend... :D
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skateman
May 20, 2005, 2:06 PM
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In reply to: FYI: DEET works well against mosquitos but does very little against black flies. Now you tell me! I was eaten alive last night at my local crag after hosing myself down with deet! I think the black flies thought it was A-1 steak sauce! Dan
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nedsurf
May 20, 2005, 3:59 PM
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I use naturapel which makes one smell like a citronella candel. It works reasonably well with our variety of biting flies on the chesapeake bay.
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tradrenn
May 23, 2005, 12:51 AM
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They are hare for a time being and there is nothing we can do about it. At Nemo a friend of mine noticed that in spaces with wind and sun there is less of BF and I noticed that there was not many BF about 11 am but they just went nuts on us around 6 - 7 pm so we just went home after 7. Next day ( Sunday May 22 ) we went to Buffalo Crag and before 11 it was ok but the warmer it got the more BF we got. We were there till 3 pm. After 2 days on the rock we got about 50 - 60 bites each.
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dontmaytagme
May 23, 2005, 1:48 AM
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[quote="kungfuclimber"][snip]... Data available from Honeywell Corporation (makers of nylon 6, polyester and Spectra(R) ) shows that nylon's strength is not greatly affected by motor oil, mineral oil, salt water, Freon, gasoline, kerosene, benzene, chloroform, paints, pine oils, or insect repellents containing DEET. Chemicals that should be avoided at all costs are bleach and sulfuric acid. Still even with this reassurance it is best to protect your rope from any exposure to any acids or alkalis and to store your rope in a cool dry environment. So climbing gear, made of nylon 6 or spectra, is safe against DEET. Your clothes and backpack however may dissolve if a bottle of "Deep Woods" breaks open. That is verifiable information? I think it is a load of poo. I had a 150' static line in the tray/trunk area of my celica.. the heat made a quart of unused motor oil expand and eventually spill everywhere in this /resevoir/. It may be true that strength is unaffected, but, who the pooey is going to rap 150' on a static line that is a modified sponge for oil? Strength at that point appears to be bunk in the real world situation wrt motor oil/gasoline. I can not wait until some neebs decide to test the above hypothesis. Geesh.
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geezergecko
May 23, 2005, 12:32 PM
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In reply to: ...Strength at that point appears to be bunk in the real world situation wrt motor oil/gasoline... I think the real world situation most climbers would find themselves in would be getting a bit of some chemical on their rope. Battery acid in even the smallest amount would rot a rope but oil/gas/DEET in any amount would not affect the strength or life of a rope but for sure may make that rope undesirable from an ickiness point of view.
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kriso9tails
May 23, 2005, 3:52 PM
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I was at Nemo just over a week ago. The blackflies were thick, making it difficult to look up to find the routes I wanted to do. They weren't biting much yet, but they were flying up my nose, into my eyes and into my ears. Just last week I was up climbing in Bancroft and Bon Echo. The blackflies were biting a little more on Wednesday, and by Friday they were were at it full on, along with the mosquitos.
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ecocliffchick
May 24, 2005, 1:12 PM
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I really don't feel too bad being injured now... hopefully the bugs will be gone soon (if summer ever starts)...
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kungfuclimber
May 24, 2005, 1:55 PM
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My info about various chemicals not affecting the strength of climbing ropes is "poo" because in your experience motor oil makes a rope slick? "...it may be true that strength is unaffected...". Did I give any information/opinion about the usability of the rope? You are a shining example of internet logic, I congratulate you.
In reply to: That is verifiable information? I think it is a load of poo. I had a 150' static line in the tray/trunk area of my celica.. the heat made a quart of unused motor oil expand and eventually spill everywhere in this /resevoir/. It may be true that strength is unaffected, but, who the pooey is going to rap 150' on a static line that is a modified sponge for oil? Strength at that point appears to be bunk in the real world situation wrt motor oil/gasoline. I can not wait until some neebs decide to test the above hypothesis. Geesh.
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sticky_fingers
May 24, 2005, 3:04 PM
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Why you gotta bring race into it, man? Why not just say "fly"? Dang man... :P
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mumarkz
May 24, 2005, 3:12 PM
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Climbing at Kelso on Saturday and my legs look like I got shot by a machine gun. Got bit like crazy. My legs hurt real BAD! Z
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geezergecko
May 24, 2005, 11:56 PM
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Discovery Channel program Daily Planet for Tuesday has a segment on blackflies. They claim that DEET in high concentrations work. Personally, I use a bug screen hood and shirt and wear belay gloves and long pants with elastic cuffs (eg. MEC Rad pants) while belaying. While climbing, there is an incentive to move quickly :wink:
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crazydeafclimber
May 25, 2005, 3:39 AM
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I went to Lion's Head and there is no blackfly yet. So good thing haha.. perhap will be on June next month maybe little be early. :wink: crazydeafclimber ___________________________________________________________ climbing is the best for our life goes on and forever and passion for it!!
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tradrenn
May 25, 2005, 4:00 AM
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In reply to: Discovery Channel program Daily Planet for Tuesday has a segment on blackflies. They claim that DEET in high concentrations work. Personally, I use a bug screen hood and shirt and wear belay gloves and long pants with elastic cuffs (eg. MEC Rad pants) while belaying. While climbing, there is an incentive to move quickly :wink: Not enough you are from KESWICK you look like a cloun ?
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geezergecko
May 25, 2005, 12:38 PM
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In reply to: Not enough you are from KESWICK you look like a cloun ? It is better to look like a clown than a pepperoni pizza. :wink:
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androids
May 26, 2005, 6:03 PM
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screw the blackflies what about the tourons? last time i climbed the escarpment i was swating people left and right fighting my way up the climbs.
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tradrenn
May 27, 2005, 3:52 AM
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In reply to: screw the blackflies what about the tourons? last time i climbed the escarpment i was swating people left and right fighting my way up the climbs. Ha Ha :D :D :D Where the hell did you go ? A Rattlesnake Point ?
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slirt
May 30, 2005, 4:19 PM
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You know, being born and raised up in that area (Owen Sound and the southern Bruce penninsula), I don't ever remember blackflies being an issue. Mosquitoes yes, blackflies, no. So maybe instead of making assumptions based upon Mt. Nemo and Rattlesnake, one should look at the geographical area of that is actually in question - not an area which is a 3 to 4 hour drive away!!!!!! Cheers!
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climbjunk
Jun 12, 2005, 3:54 PM
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Hi, I will be in the area an the WE of June 25/26., so how bad are the bugs? Actually if you have the choice having a day and a half before heading back to Sask. what area would you recommend? I'd really like to check out Lions head, what's the drive up there? Cheers C.
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slirt
Jun 13, 2005, 2:19 AM
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I guess it would all depend on where you are driving from, So, what is your departure location?
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granite_grrl
Jun 13, 2005, 11:07 AM
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In reply to: Mosquitoes yes, blackflies, no. And what about the deer flies!! (at least I think they were deer flies) Damn ankle biters were all over me on Saturday (Nemo)! They were nasty.
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climbjunk
Jun 13, 2005, 1:40 PM
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Slirt: I will be in toronto, have a car. Can leave Sat. afternoon, have to bee back in Sask Mon. morning. Been to the Niagara escarpment from Toronto before, Lions Head looks cool. Bouldering or sport, it's the same to me.
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jumpingrock
Jun 13, 2005, 6:12 PM
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The skeeters up at Lion's Head this past weekend were kinda nasty but the black flies were non-existance. The beauty of Skeeters is that bug spray works pretty well on them. All in all I am in more pain from the sun than from any bugs up there.
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darkside
Jun 14, 2005, 11:24 PM
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In reply to: The skeeters up at Lion's Head this past weekend were kinda nasty but the black flies were non-existance. The beauty of Skeeters is that bug spray works pretty well on them. All in all I am in more pain from the sun than from any bugs up there. The sun chewed me up bad on Saturday. The skeeters only got one bite from me on Sunday at Nemo. Lionshead is some good climbing but the usual caveats apply. Not a good place for inexperienced climbers; be capable of self rescue because there is no rescue capable service in the Bruce; expect to have a hard time finding climbs unless you have someone with you who knows the crag; drive slow, be courteous, and be respectful to the locals and cottagers for the sake of access.
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geezergecko
Jun 15, 2005, 1:47 AM
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I also got fried by the sun on Saturday at Kelso. Musta been a high UV day cause I swear I spent most of the time in the shade. No blackflies and bug spray took care of the mosquitos but there were deer flies.
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tradrenn
Oct 6, 2005, 1:32 AM
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Today Oct. 12 2005 Mosquitos where at large, couldn't climb 10a
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jumpingrock
Oct 6, 2005, 4:01 PM
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In reply to: Today Oct. 12 2005 Mosquitos where at large, couldn't climb 10a Wow... those musta been huge bloody mosquitoes if they couldn't handle a 10a. The smaller suckers dino up my leg which I'm sure goes at 15a/b.
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