Smoked out

[balzaccom]

We were all set to spend three days in the Mokelumne Wilderness, starting at Carson Pass and then moving on to Emigrant Lake this weekend. But Friday, as we drove up Highway 88 in the morning, the smoke from the big Mosquito Fire first appeared on the horizon, then got thicker, then got really bad. So bad, in fact, that we bailed on the trip.

Welcome to our new world.

We turned around, headed for our cabin near Sonora, where the smoke was not evident, and I spent the day working there. On Saturday we went up to Pinecrest Lake and took a hike around the lake, noting that the outlet was roaring, and the inlet was trickling. Must be that time of year when they lower the level.

It was a pleasant enough hike, with loads and loads of other people, but it was a far cry from Mok Wild. The lake was down at least twenty feet.

Meanwhile, one of the other volunteers hit Carson Pass later in the day, and told us that the wind had shifted, and his hike was very pleasant.

Nuts.

[cgundersen]

Paul,
Back around Y2K, I was excited (yes, latent pyromania) to see a smoke plume from a fire burning in the foothills South of Florence Lake, and the wind direction kept the gunk from being a problem until we were getting close to the area where we would have continued into Blue Canyon-Tunemah terrain. So, we re-tooled and avoided the smoke. Another decade went by without too much concern about smoke, but now it's a chronic issue. If you cannot get a trip done in May/June, you 'll be lucky to avoid wildfire smoke these days. And luck really is the key factor. This year and last year, there were big fires burning relatively close to where my East coast pal and I were backpacking, but the wind direction kept us in the clear. I was not nearly as fortunate on an August trip with my wife last year. And this year, we got smoked out the day we were heading down McGee creek. Very capricious....sort of like life, no? Cameron

[kpeter]

Question, is there a different Emigrant Lake in the Mokolumne Wilderness which was your initial destination, or by "moving on" did you mean you were going to do one hike in the Mok and then a do a different hike to the Emigrant Lake in the Emigrant Wilderness? Or was it going to be a through hike from the Mok to Emigrant? I am curious about what the initial plans were going to be before the smoke.

And yes, backpacking season is now radically different than it was 30 years ago. I have gradually learned to tolerate mosquitoes, since they occupy the land most of the time that smoke is absent. People who want to avoid both mosquitoes and smoke will have precious little season left. The sweet spots on the calendar for backpacking keep shrinking.

[Gogd]

The gods smile on me, at least as far as smoke goes. I generally camp in peak fire season. I've had only one day of mild smoke affecting my trips in the previous 20 years. But some of that good fortune was due studying the weather charts and going with Plan B venues.

Ed

[c9h13no3]

Strange timing for this thread... the air quality in the entire US is actually quite good after the recent rain Sunday. Seems like at least for a short while, there's some great late season hiking to be had. Just a few rough spots in Oregon & Idaho.

[balzaccom]

Strange timing for this thread... the air quality in the entire US is actually quite good after the recent rain Sunday. Seems like at least for a short while, there's some great late season hiking to be had. Just a few rough spots in Oregon & Idaho.

Yep. As I noted, the weather changed that very day, and another volunteer was able to get out and do the work the next day.

[maxr22]

You are not the only one! Was doing a big trip in ynp this summer and the oak fire arrived on the second day and smoked us out. Looks like I'll be doing more trips in May/June from now on. Good luck on the next one.