Wildfire, Trail Closure, & Healing

The last four days have been a whirlwind of change, chaos, and awe at the destructive power that nature can bring. Its amazing how our "set" plans really aren't as stable or sure as we think they are and can be altered by things yet unseen.  We set off from the Saufleys, who's hospitality and freely giving of their home and resources has been unmatched on the trail, on the 31st to hike 24 miles to the Andersons. The day of our departure smoke from a small fire close by but near the trail had begun the fill the sky, it was small and not posing a threat.  As we walked that day we were able to see the plume in the distance, it appeared to be very unassuming, coming from Utah where it is almost commonplace to see a couple fires a year this one did not worry me. Descending to the bottom of a canyon road some new signs posted hours before hand let us know that due to the fire they were rerouting the trail along a huge out of the way road walk to an aqueduct. There was no water along this path, no shade, extremely out of the way, and would not allow us to visit the Andersons who are legendary trail angels along the trail. So with the map of the fire that was posted we felt reasonably safe continuing at least to their home and then making a plan. Green Valley had almost been evacuated the day before our arrival but it was lifted.  The rest of the miles ran smooth and we were happy to arrive at Casa de Luna, the name given to the Anderson's home for the nonstop, anything goes, welcoming and laid back feel of their home.  Their slogan, "A place where we can all be insane at the same time."  The first thing that you must do upon your arrival is take off your pack and put on your pick of a thrift store Hawaiian shirt.  We came in pretty late but they saved us taco salad, because they knew we were coming in. Terrie makes taco salad every night and pancakes every morning during hiker season. Making the same meals and hosting a brand new group of hikers each day is like ground hog day for Terrie but you would never know because she does it all with the biggest smile, the most engulfing hugs, and sincere care of any person that I have ever met. It was so nice to relax with all of our hiker crew which has grown in size as we all know and love each other now.  Out here every hiker you meet is instantly your friend.  There is no wall between you or sense of judgement.  Its an amazing community of hodgepodge people who share a love for being outside which draws in a wide variety of personalities and flavor. That night we retired to sleep under the stars in the manzanita forest behind their home. This forest is literally magical, small paths wind on at what seems like forever with little nooks and secluded campsites found everywhere tucked in between overarching manzanita bushes.

The next day as we gathered around their home we watched the fire grow.  There began to be a lot more helicopter and plane activity. A DC-10 jetliner, the size of a smaller commercial airliner was brought in to dump fire retardant on the flames. We watched it make circles above our head towards the ever increasing plumes.  Each hiker tried to put in there two cents about what we should do as the flames were now obviously moving toward the trail.  It was pretty obvious to us now that we needed to at least head the trail closure warning and either shuttle forward or take a long road walk around the fire.  All 13 hikers at the Andersons decided to skip forward to Hikertown at mile 517, including Cameron, except for me. At times I can be a bit egocentric and stubborn.  I don't like to admit defeat and if I think I can do something, amidst consequences I usually will, this often comes back to bite me in the butt.  I took off at 6PM to hike through the night in an effort to catch up with my brother and friends. The sky had darkened considerably with how much smoke was now in the sky, it blotted out the the sun.  Hiking up the road it was crazy to be this close to fire, especially after we had hiked through so many burn sections already and now see the force behind all of the damage that fire had left in its wake along the trail already.  I put one of my favorite songs from a band named Death Cab For Cutie which seemed fitting entitled Grapevine Fires.

Please watch it! Traffic picked up on the road a swarm of firetrucks, army sized vehicles carting in firefighters as if to war, and police vehicles were going every which way. As I turned to make my way around the fire on Elizabeth Lake road, one of two small towns in the path of the fire, the descending sun emerged from the smoke in the deepest form of red i'd ever seen, only to be consumed again an hour or so later.  Traffic again picked up as they had now begun to evacuate Lake Hughes and were in the process of closing off the road that I was intending to walk down.  At this point you could see the flames begin to bridge ridgeline above the town.  I had to reroute turning my road walk into a 27mile trip rather than 21. Walking away from the town a woman in a small Honda full to the brim with her two young girls in the back noticed me walking and stopped to offer me a ride.  I told her I was too prideful but thanked her and asked her if she was from Lake Hughes.  She began to tear up telling me how she had grown up there and how fearful she was. I was in awe it made me stop and feel like I hadn't in a long while. Part of reason why I had chosen to hike this section alone was because I need sometime to myself to think and process through some emotional baggage that I'd left unattended for awhile. When I saw this woman who was fleeing her home and in distress think of me offering me help I couldn't keep it in anymore either.  As she drove away tears came.  So did the ash, the wind picked up, smoke began blowing in, sending ash into my eyes and down my throat.  Luckily I was now heading away from the fire.  It was dark now the darkest night on trail yet as the smoke literally covered the entire sky, not a sign of stars or moon.  Yet with the darkness I had to wear my sunglasses and a bandana to keep the ash from my eyes.  The only light I saw was from the flames dancing on the ridge being blown downwards at times because of the strong wind. This would light up the clouds making for an interesting show.  I was torn between amazement and sorrow as I thought of the people that would potentially loose their homes and as I thought about the women who stopped to offer me a ride and the Andersons who's town was not too far off from the wildfire as well. Prayers were in my heart as I walked but the wind did not seem to show any signs of diminishing.

I made it to Hikertown at 5:30AM and crashed for 4hrs. When I awoke and started hiking again, now safe from the wildfire.  The fire had taken a turn for the worse. It had jumped the ridge, overtaken the road I'd walked and the aqueduct that I'd planned on walking on but didn't find. It looked as though a volcano had erupted with smoke reaching as high as a cumulus cloud, creating its own weather. The cloud had the appearance of a mushroom cloud and I could watch as these huge planes that I mentioned earlier that now looked like a speck against the cloud take sweeps as if their load had even the slightest chances against this giant of unstoppable wind and flame. It started spotting meaning starting new separate fires across the desert plain I was to hike across from hot particles landing away from the main blaze.

   This picture is not my own as I am not carrying a camera, I found it on the internet. Had I chosen to sleep at the Andersons and not walk through the night I would not have been able to walk around the fire and would have been stranded. I made it the nick of time.  Someone must have been watching out for me. The next morning the winds miraculously died down, the smoke thinned out and as I hiked on to catch up with my brother it faded from my view.

The fire burned 32,032 acres, thankfully only destroyed 6 homes and damaging 9.

Cameron's ankle is doing amazing! Thank you all for your prayers. He is even beginning to be able to walk without his brace and experiencing minimal pain if any at all. Healing is possible. Just as this parched earth will eventually heal.

We are both safe in Tehachapi staying at the Best Western Inn living a life of luxury with a pool and jacuzzi. Our feet need a rest. We'll hike again tomorrow catching the trail at mile 558.