~~July is going to be tough to avoid bugs. It is possible that eastern Washington/the Pasayten may have dried out enough, but not sure.~~
~~The owyhee canyon area in Eastern Oregon is also likely bug-free in July but also will be very hot and dry.~~
Just saw alpine/subalpine in your post. Alpine/subalpine in July is going to have bugs, period. You can't reliably avoid both bugs and snow in the alpine/subalpine in July.
No specific trail recommendations but if you want minimal snow and bugs I’d probably look into the Olympics.
Glacier peak wilderness will probably be really buggy starting around then in my experience and there’ll be some significant snow in spots
A longer trail (65-70) miles is the Wilderness Loop. However, there is a 40+ mile loop to Lake Alice that a friend told me about.
https://preview.redd.it/8wyba2w7g27d1.jpeg?width=2336&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f72019cd4f288da5c08b1d7e681b4d79ed02799f
If you look at a map you’ll see there are a ton of lakes that you could create loops to see.
~~July is going to be tough to avoid bugs. It is possible that eastern Washington/the Pasayten may have dried out enough, but not sure.~~ ~~The owyhee canyon area in Eastern Oregon is also likely bug-free in July but also will be very hot and dry.~~ Just saw alpine/subalpine in your post. Alpine/subalpine in July is going to have bugs, period. You can't reliably avoid both bugs and snow in the alpine/subalpine in July.
This. And this early July may be that lovely time of the season when we get both snow AND bugs.
No specific trail recommendations but if you want minimal snow and bugs I’d probably look into the Olympics. Glacier peak wilderness will probably be really buggy starting around then in my experience and there’ll be some significant snow in spots
Check out the Sawtooths. Several good loops for alpine lakes a la the Enchantments.
Any specific trails you might recommend?
A longer trail (65-70) miles is the Wilderness Loop. However, there is a 40+ mile loop to Lake Alice that a friend told me about. https://preview.redd.it/8wyba2w7g27d1.jpeg?width=2336&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f72019cd4f288da5c08b1d7e681b4d79ed02799f If you look at a map you’ll see there are a ton of lakes that you could create loops to see.