High Sierra Topix

Hi folks-

With the crazy high snowpack, this summer's window has been so cruelly brief, and the crowd-free trip I'd scheduled for next week keeps getting smoked out by new fires. I'd originally planned to do Ottoway Lakes from Glacier Point Rd, ending up in Tuolumne, but GP Rd is now closed because of firefighting activity, & the Tuolumne ranger I spoke to yesterday said she had a sore throat from the smoke. I just phoned the Bridgeport ranger station, and they said that starting yesterday the smoke was pretty bad there too.

I've been obsessively browsing the Inciweb site, looking for places without fires. Can anyone recommend someplace that isn't insanely smoky?

Here's to breathing fresh air sometime before the fall rains begin.

Give us some info, so we can recommend places accordingly: http://www.highsierratopix.com/communit ... f=1&t=4205

I'm not actually looking for trip/trail recommendations, just general locations where the ash might not be falling on my Tarptent all night & making me wish I was just breathing exhaust in the city instead.

That said, I'd rate a Level 3 experience (not x-country though), & I'm in the vein of trail hiking (Class 1) with a goal of lakes/big mountain scenery. I was thinking of 2-4 nights out, up to 20 miles a day.

b-k,
I spent 9 days out of Bishop basin (8/17-26) and except for one afternoon of mildly smoky sky, it was great. I'm guessing anywhere south of Mammoth (from Duck Pass down to Bishop basin) would avoid the worst of the plumes that are engulfing Yosemite. Cameron

Exactly, south of Mammoth, east side, if the wind directions don't change.

Hmmmmmmmmmm; just looked at Bishop & Williamson & Hume webcams and it looks like a lot of smoke mixed in with clouds. Maybe the winds did shift? Ugh. Well, let's see what tomorrow holds!
cg

The smoke seems to settle into the lower elevations. If you get above 10,000 feet usually OK. You at least do not breath the smoke, but the haze makes some distant photos less that ideal. On my last trip, the smoke settled in at night, then morning with wind, dissappeared. I was at about 10,000 feet. I suspect the smoke from the fire at Wawona, may be drifting up the San Joaquin into the Mammoth area. Then entire east side from Minden to Lone Pine is hazy with smoke. Smoke is hard to predict at specific places. I would just go high, where you want to go and take your chances.

Just reported on 4 more new fires, that just started up.
Looking at the Mammoth, Lone Pine, Whitney, and SEKI webcam, it already looks bad, these fires will just add more smoke, especially since the winds will be blowing blowing in a southeast and southwest directions next week, which means even more smoke for the southern areas, but the newer fires to the north, will be making Yosemite conditions bad too.
Then there are thunderstorms starting up on Mon thru next week, which ain't going to help things.

The Farallones?

Santa Catalina.