[pct-l] Tahoe Fire

[Tom Bache]

On Monday afternoon I finished a section hike from Tuolomne Meadows to Echo
Lake.  The big fire started Sunday afternoon -- I could see it well from
ridges in the Blue Lakes area and took some pictures -- not sure how well
they'll come out because I could barely stand up at the time in the most
ferocious wind I've ever experienced.

When I reached Carson Pass on Monday morning there was all sorts of
information and misinformation about what was going on around Echo
Lake (where my car was parked).  I could smell the smoke, but it wasn't
bothersome to me -- though others left the trail because it bothered them
too much (different folks have different susceptibility)  I hiked on with no
problems from the smoke most of the way -- except limited visibility like in
a bad day in the Los Angeles basin. It did get more obnoxious the last few
hours when descending into the Tahoe Basin -- but still tolerable to most
folks, I would think.  I saw no signs of fire near the Echo Lake Resort,
and I met a guy who had just hiked south from the Desolation Wilderness
with no problems (he had camped on a ridge Sunday night watching this
terrible fire).  

Bottom line is that I believe there is nothing to stop folks from hiking on
except their level of tolerance for smoke.  It is just fine-particulate
smoke -- almost like smog, but to me not as bad as LA smog in the late
1960's.  I didn't see the large-particulate ash we see in San Diego almost
every fire season -- even at my home near the ocean.

But then things change -- I left South Lake Tahoe yesterday morning.

Oh yes -- it was spectacular (and heart-warming) to see the long convoys of
fire engines and other equipment entering the basin from far-away towns in
California and Nevada. If human beings can control this fire, it will be
controlled.

Tom Bache
San Diego