Leaving for the Great Divide Trail!

[scott_bridges]

what's the best bug spray to use that's not too toxic to the body(all natural maybe?) but effective in the area I'll be(mid New Mexico through CO and WY to ID going north)?

also any reccomendations for bear/pepper spray from local stores here in Phoenix(I don't have time to order anything)?

Thanks,
Scott

[Julie]

My experience on the Divide is that if you get into heavy mosquitoes no spray works well. We found burning sagebrush helped keep them at bay at night. We found few mosquitoes in Colorado and New Mexico (were there July and August). Northern Wyoming and Montana were the worst. Maybe you'll get lucky and avoid the worst of them. I would check locally for products if you need them. As to bear spray, major areas of worry were parts of Wyoming and Montana. Again, you can most likely buy bear spray in a town on the trail. Have a great trip!

Julie

[ekoostick]

Scott, we are on the trail right now and 100% agree with Julie. We haven't had bad mosquitos since Pinedale, WY area and haven't seen a bear (or bear signs) since Jackson, WY (both Northern). I have been using a single can of OFF Sport (contains a small amount of Deet) and it works for about 15 minutes before they are back on me. Like I said though, haven't used it for about two weeks (We are in Sargents, CO, south of Salida).

We haven't seen bear spray for sale since Togowee Pass in WY. We have about 20-25 days left on the trail (southern CO and NM) and if we pass ya, we can sell you some cheap (unused!). If not, I am sure one of the sports stores here in CO has some, I just haven't noticed.

What you need to find is some kind of electrical storm diverter. We've had horrible lightning ever since we hit CO with some pretty bad afternoon rain. If you can find a way to make the storms go away, you will be golden!

-Keith
 Divide Ride '07

[vgbailey]

I know that REI (Recreational Equipment Inc.) sells a potent brand of "bear spray".  You can find one of these stores in almost every state - I'm sure their in Colorado.

                        Vernon

[ekoostick]

...No REI anywhere close to the trail though. A lot of the gas stations in bear country sold bear spray. We didn't have to use ours but we thought we were going to with the dogs in New Mexico. Watch out for those d*mn dogs!

-Keith