When the bugs are really bad it seems as if they could eat you alive. Every location has its own collection of biting insect species: horse flies, deer flies, white-socks, black flies, no-seeums, sand flies, biting midges and mosquitoes. Along the beach, hot summer days with no wind are the worse. It’s amazing that just a very short way out onto the Brady Glacier, which is in the distance behind this bear, there are few or no biting insects. Among the folks with whom I go camping, we often spend more time and effort preventing issues with biting insects, especially mosquitoes, than with bears. These bears do not see humans as a desirable food item; you could stand 50 yards down the beach from this bear and it would most likely just walk past you, into the woods and be gone. But the biting insects here can drive you wild in minutes. I have friends who carry no bear spray or gun, yet spend years searching for and paying top dollar for the ultimate lightweight, breathable, waterproof tent that will also keep the bugs out. Our gear checklist inevitably includes insect repellent, head-nets and thin multiple-layer clothing to help keep the bites to a minimum. Photographer: Bill Eichenlaub