Most people had left camp by the time we got out today. We made our way over a series of hills and onto a ridge with great views.
There was some smoke off to the east this morning which made things hazy.
After the ridge, we entered a treed section and stopped at a spring. Here Frank washed her feet and we applied KT tape to her ankle to hopefully help with whatever is bothering her. The trail opened up to another ridge and we saw a fire burning fairly close to the trail (about 10 miles away).
After texting and internet searching, we learned it was called the Dixie Fire and it had started the night before and had grown to over 1,200 acres overnight. The smoke plume was fairly intense and it looked like it was moving towards the trail about 10-15 miles up ahead.
We hiked down the steep hill toward Belden and saw a deer along the way as well as great views.
As we descended, the sunlight turned orange as the winds shifted and the smoke blew over us.
At the bottom, we found blackberries next to the Feather River and ate a bunch before going to Belden and finding Flavortown, Dragon, and a bunch of others.
The store was closed but the owner opened it briefly and we got cold drinks and ice cream. We sat outside and ate while we discussed the fire and the smoke all around us. We tapped into the Wi-Fi and found out that the PCTA had just put out an advisory to hikers to not go past Belden due to the fire even though the trail was technically open still. Apparently some Forest Service personnel urged the same thing. Had I been hiking solo, I probably would have pushed the envelope and made a run for it to beat the fire to the trail, but ultimately, we decided to stay put for now. We were also warned against swimming in the river as they were going to raise it by a foot or so. Some people booked a cabin in Chester and got a ride there. Others tried to hitch for a few hours. Frank and I decided to hang out and see if the fire lines held. If they do, we should be ok to hike through the area tomorrow. We'll see what happens. Meanwhile, we found this historical mill site right off the trail and have made it home for the night.
Big deer! How nice to have fresh fruit on the trail! Thank you Mother Nature. It’s hard to find up-to-date information on the wildfires. Let’s hope there are no more, although unlikely.
ReplyDeleteI love the historic mill! Pretty cool place to camp by. I've also never seen a buck in the wild before! It's strange how orange the sky looks by the fire.
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