I wish.
But, if you can’t have a pack that instantly kills those pesky winged devils once they penetrate your personal space, then you might as well have a pack that’s ergonomically comfy and stays on your back when you’re swinging for the fences trying to escape from the torture of those worthless winged things. Since it covered my entire back, my Gregory Triconi 60 probably did save me from a few more dozen bites.
I should have known better though. Taking a four-day backpacking trip into Wyoming’s Wind River mountains in the beginning of July after a huge snow year is like going to your local blood drive - except you come away with 46 swelling bumps instead of feeling warm inside that you might have helped save someones life. The Winds in July equals Mosquitoville and my girlfriend, Genevieve, and I were held hostage.
Yes, our friends, sisters, brother-in-laws, crusty old retail gear shop guys and co-workers all told us the bugs were going to be bad. But really, how bad can it be, I thought? Bad enough that after every mosquito bite you got you wanted to name it after someone who told you not to go?
It was bad. Unbearable at times. And dousing yourself in DEET didn’t seem to do the trick. 
Little known to many fans of Gregory Mountain Products in North America, the brand has enjoyed a huge following in Asia for the past 25 years. In particular, Japanese consumers love the quality of the Gregory brand and the lifestyle that it represents. So much so that company founder Wayne Gregory is a minor celebrity in Japan. People recognize him and stop him on the street for autographs. 
Just ask him.
So it was a natural that Gregory’s first brand/flagship store opened in downtown Tokyo last week, on July 4. Located in the Shibuya area of Tokyo, a popular shopping district for younger city residents, the Gregory store is on a pedestrian-only street, which is also home to Patagonia’s top store in Japan, as well as flagship stores for Burton, Oakley, The North Face, Columbia, Millet and Cannondale, to name a few. The area, as you might imagine, is pretty popular among the outdoors set.
Like many who trained for the Western States 100 this past weekend, Gregory athlete Hiroki Ishikawa, who traveled all the way from
Japan for the race, was disappointed it was cancelled because of the fire and smoke situation. But, like many others, he made the best of it, looked for other things to do, and entered a local 20-mile trail run, the Burton Creek Trail Run on the California side of Lake Tahoe. He came in second to another WS racer, Laval Benoit, who had come from France.
Gotta stay in shape, eh?
The two will soon meet again, in France, where both are registered for the Ultra-Trail Du Mont-Blanc in late August. Apparently, trail running is catching on in recent years in France. Benoit told Ishikawa the Mont-Blanc Ultra, which is capped at 2,500 people, took only 14 minutes to max out after registration opened.
