Change of PLANS! We often say backpacking is solving one challenge after another! We had our fair share this section.
On 7/24/24, the Park Fire was ignited when Ronnie Dean Stout presumedly set fire to his mother’s car and pushed it down a 60 foot embankment in Northern California. Park Fire is now the fifth-largest wildfire in the state’s history!
On the morning after we departed from Chester, Kyle and I went to bed with a cool, pine scent in the breeze and awoke with spluttering coughs as smoke surrounded us!
We quickly contacted our emergency fire app set up to track fires via satellite (just text coordinates to (765) 553-4737). No fires within a 50 mile radius, however there was a new fire to our south, called the Park fire and its black grey fumes were being blown directly at us! The Air Quality Index was in the 200’s but increased to over 450 on the PCT near Burney Falls, (AQI runs from 0 to 500. The higher the AQI value, the greater the level of air pollution and the greater the health concern, typically AQI is < 100).
As we packed up and started hiking we felt more and more lethargic, nauseous and developed headaches. Our eyes and throats burned. We pushed on, eventually arriving at Burney Falls Camp Ground. It felt as though we were transported into a post-apocalyptic universe. The sky was grey black and thick with smoke, which blocked out the sun light casting everything in orange shadow. The sky also rained ash, with white flakes settling into our hair and onto our packs.
Given the conditions we made the hard choice to jump ahead to Mount Shasta, CA, skipping 80 miles of PCT. Until that point, we had a continuous foot path, and letting that go was personally heart-wrenching. Fortunately, Kyle’s sister, Emily, had planned a weekend visit and saved the day by driving us out of the smoke and into blue skies! She also fed us homemade meals including Tacos and Grilled Chicken!
The skyline north of Burney falls state park is dominated by Mount Shasta, and at 14,179 feet it’s not difficult to see why. We had many glimpses of California’s 5th highest peak on rocky ridge lines and enjoyed the crisp, clear 79 degree air!
Other highlights from this section include: passing the 1500 mile mark, getting trail magic in the form of chocolate chip cookies with whipped cream and a cherry from “The Owl”, and visiting Lassen National Park with its “Subway” - a pitch black, 1/3 miles long, 46 degree lava tube!
We would also like to say thank you to Trail Angels Mark, Darcy, Adam and Frank for assisting us into Etna after Kyle tweaked his ankle on trail. After some rest, the injury is doing well, and Kyle is ready to get back at it!
Ashland, CA here we come!
