Re: 2015 Fire & Smoke Reports
Posted: Sat Aug 22, 2015 10:30 pm
Wanted to submit a smoke report, just back from 10 days wandering portions of the northern third of Kings Canyon NP. (August 13-22)
Route was South Lake - Dusy Basin - northbound JMT - Black Giant Pass - Ionian - upper Goddard Creek - basin immediately to the east of Finger Peak - Reinstein Pass - Martha Lake - Davis Lakes - JMT north - Darwin Bench - Lamarck Col.
I got smoke EVERY day from the Rough Fire, but it varied considerably in seriousness. Some days I had clear skies and only whiffs of smoke here and there, usually in late afternoon/early evening. Other days I had smoke all day. A couple of nights (Ionian) I had bits of ash fallen on my tent. But even on the worst days, it was never "choking" or thick or eye-watering smoke. Never enough to make me want to change my plans.
The biggest lesson for me was that you can't game/guess where the wind will take the smoke on a given day. One of my very LIGHTEST smoke days was the one when I was physically closest to the fire (basin east of Finger Peak). A pleasant northwest wind took the smoke in a different direction than me and I had blue skies. I think that was August 18. Whereas one of the HEAVIEST smoke days was August 21 going over Lamarck, many dozens of miles distant from the fire. The smoke arrived not only heavy, but early in the day (10 a.m. versus around 1p.m. most days).
So don't think you're going to avoid the Rough Fire smoke just by keeping a few dozen miles distant. Wind has a way of making up the distance.
The strategies that helped the most were:
1. Camp high. Very high. 11k+ if possible. 10k might be okay. You may/will still get some smoke, or even (on the worst nights) ash falling, but it won't be NEARLY as bad as in the lower basins.
2. Hike very early in the day. Days start out very clear around 5 or 6 a.m. (I could even get some great non-smoky morning photos!), but the smoke was sometimes noticeable enough by 1 p.m. to cause me to cough a little when exerting myself uphill.
3. It's the altitudes/basins under 9,500 where the smoke looks overwhelming. There is some kind of inversion effect happening? So if you're going into the region, just plan to not only camp high, but do a very high-altitude trip in general.
The worst-looking places (from my vantage point) were the Enchanted Gorge and the lower (under-9500 feet) Goddard Canyon. Fairly heavy smoke also seemed to settle in the lower (under-9500) South Fork San Joaquin, below Maclure Meadow, but it didn't look as bad there as it did further south.
A party who tried to go into Ionian (Black Giant Pass) about 3 days after me, said it was terrible and that they had turned around and left. I had found it just fine there. They probably got unlucky with wind direction. Or else the smoke haunting the lower basins has started blowing up-basin.
As of at least August 20, the rangers at both Maclure Meadow and Leconte Canyon have posted signs and are actively patrolling the trails, encouraging southbound JMT'ers to exit the trail. This morning both the North Lake and the South Lake trailheads had disoriented, recently exited JMT'ers trying to figure out their next plan. Also met a party who'd left their car at Wishon and exited the east side instead, stranded.
On the drive from Bishop back to the Bay Area today (8/22), smoke the whole way. On the 395, midday, you could not see the mountaintops. In Lee Vining it was slightly less bad than further south. Through Yosemite the smoke seemed thickest in the middle part of the park (Mt. Hoffman area), then thinned out a bit again on the west side.
Now time to turn in after a long drive.
- Elizabeth
Route was South Lake - Dusy Basin - northbound JMT - Black Giant Pass - Ionian - upper Goddard Creek - basin immediately to the east of Finger Peak - Reinstein Pass - Martha Lake - Davis Lakes - JMT north - Darwin Bench - Lamarck Col.
I got smoke EVERY day from the Rough Fire, but it varied considerably in seriousness. Some days I had clear skies and only whiffs of smoke here and there, usually in late afternoon/early evening. Other days I had smoke all day. A couple of nights (Ionian) I had bits of ash fallen on my tent. But even on the worst days, it was never "choking" or thick or eye-watering smoke. Never enough to make me want to change my plans.
The biggest lesson for me was that you can't game/guess where the wind will take the smoke on a given day. One of my very LIGHTEST smoke days was the one when I was physically closest to the fire (basin east of Finger Peak). A pleasant northwest wind took the smoke in a different direction than me and I had blue skies. I think that was August 18. Whereas one of the HEAVIEST smoke days was August 21 going over Lamarck, many dozens of miles distant from the fire. The smoke arrived not only heavy, but early in the day (10 a.m. versus around 1p.m. most days).
So don't think you're going to avoid the Rough Fire smoke just by keeping a few dozen miles distant. Wind has a way of making up the distance.
The strategies that helped the most were:
1. Camp high. Very high. 11k+ if possible. 10k might be okay. You may/will still get some smoke, or even (on the worst nights) ash falling, but it won't be NEARLY as bad as in the lower basins.
2. Hike very early in the day. Days start out very clear around 5 or 6 a.m. (I could even get some great non-smoky morning photos!), but the smoke was sometimes noticeable enough by 1 p.m. to cause me to cough a little when exerting myself uphill.
3. It's the altitudes/basins under 9,500 where the smoke looks overwhelming. There is some kind of inversion effect happening? So if you're going into the region, just plan to not only camp high, but do a very high-altitude trip in general.
The worst-looking places (from my vantage point) were the Enchanted Gorge and the lower (under-9500 feet) Goddard Canyon. Fairly heavy smoke also seemed to settle in the lower (under-9500) South Fork San Joaquin, below Maclure Meadow, but it didn't look as bad there as it did further south.
A party who tried to go into Ionian (Black Giant Pass) about 3 days after me, said it was terrible and that they had turned around and left. I had found it just fine there. They probably got unlucky with wind direction. Or else the smoke haunting the lower basins has started blowing up-basin.
As of at least August 20, the rangers at both Maclure Meadow and Leconte Canyon have posted signs and are actively patrolling the trails, encouraging southbound JMT'ers to exit the trail. This morning both the North Lake and the South Lake trailheads had disoriented, recently exited JMT'ers trying to figure out their next plan. Also met a party who'd left their car at Wishon and exited the east side instead, stranded.
On the drive from Bishop back to the Bay Area today (8/22), smoke the whole way. On the 395, midday, you could not see the mountaintops. In Lee Vining it was slightly less bad than further south. Through Yosemite the smoke seemed thickest in the middle part of the park (Mt. Hoffman area), then thinned out a bit again on the west side.
Now time to turn in after a long drive.
- Elizabeth
