Today we knew we were ending the day in civilisation, so we had an incentive to push a bit. On the other hand, we knew there would be hot food available until 9pm so there was no rush. In the end it was the 20 mile dry stretch starting 3 miles out of camp that decided it; we should get…
Tag: wildfires
Day 106: A Rest Day?
I definitely needed rest after the tough end to yesterday so a lie-in was in order. Leaving camp at 8:30 aiming to get to a creek 26 miles away seemed pretty reasonable. Thankfully the early part of the day was fairly forested with lots of shade, and we took lots of breaks to eat and drink, ensuring we didn’t make…
Day 103: Awaiting Fire Updates
Last night we had decided to leave today, but on waking we felt unrested and slightly nervous about the fire in Crater Lake National Park. It’s only 4 days away from here and it’s currently on fire, with the PCT closed for a few miles. Most hikers follow an alternate trail along the rim of the lake, and that is…
Day 94: The Smoky Mountains?
Today was about flora and fauna given the lack of visibility and the absence of wide vistas. We disturbed a rattlesnake hiding in the rocks when we stopped for a break, and spent the rest of the morning on the alert for hissing. However we only saw a young spotted deer, accompanied by some older chaperones, gambolling in the woods…
Day 90: The Disappearing Mountain
Today was a race to town amid the sun and smoke. We had the rest of the hill to climb up from camp, just under three miles, and then a gradual downhill for two miles and a steeper downhill for three more before our first intended stop. We marched up the first hill at over three miles an hour, stormed…
Day 89: Wildfires and Wildlife
Despite being cool overnight, the campsite was warm this morning as we got up and going early again. We could barely see the mountains across the valley through the haze, and it promised to be another hot day. As we walked we could smell smoke which turned out to be from fires in Napa. Evidently the smoke funnels into the…