PCT Day 104 – SoBo Flip – Fire as a Season, Apparently

Middle Rae Lakes (mile 794) to Bishop (via 8 miles on Kearsarge Pass Trail)

Total PCT miles hiked: 1400

Due to our early start Keith (Starman) and I arrived at the Sierras when there was still a lot of snow, and decided it wasn’t safe to attempt a crossing given my skill level. We elected to flip up to northern California and hike southbound (SoBo) back to where we left off near Lone Pine – giving the snow a chance to melt out. During this flip the PCT milage will be counting down, but I’ll include a tally of our total milage hiked so that you can keep aprised of our progress in a linear fashion.

I wake to intermittent rain splattering gently onto my face. Springing from the tent I throw the rain fly hastily on top of us, buckling the last clip right as the rain ceases. It’s not even cloudy, it’s not really even raining. The smallest, thinnest wisp of a cloud is scooting away in the sky above our camp. Well, at least I’m awake now and I can see that the thick smoke that filled the southern sky last night is completely gone. Were it not for the light dusting of ash over everything, I wouldn’t have known there was a fire at all. Plus, Rainbow can’t get any further information on his In Reach other than “you’ll probably be fine” so we decide to hike out the way we planned and hope for the best. If you’re looking for a theme on the PCT it would be this: make a rough plan, hope for the best, adapt as necessary. Here we go!

It’s not until we’ve climbed up and over the relentless switch backs of Glenn Pass and taken our left turn onto the trail that will lead us over Kearsarge Pass and back into the front country that we can begin to smell smoke. This, paired with the unending stream of hikers coming over Kearsarge is the first sign that something is amiss. As we near the summit of the pass the leaden grey clouds are tinged with brown and orange. Yet more hikers stream over the pass and we learn that Whitney Portal is closed due to a fire, and the 24 person per day quota has been relaxed to accommodate all the folks who have been shut out of Whitney.

It would seem fire season has come early to California. Years of drought followed by a year of massive growth means that there are now two seasons in California, fire and kindling growing. When we make it to town we learn that in addition to the fire burning near Whitney there are fires in Southern California and along the Oregon border, right where we’re headed next. So for the time being we’ll make a rough plan, hope for the best, and adapt as necessary.