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#Conditions Air quality on trail? #Conditions

 

Can people recently off the trail comment on air quality? Due to the fires, the air quality in the towns on 395 is bad right now.? Wondering what it is like at altitude.

I have a permit to go SOBO out of Onion Valley on Sept. 8.
 

Things can change, but air quality was much better on the trail than in Owens Valley as of last week.?
Pamuela Hodson
 

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I just got off trail from doing a section of the PCT July 20 - August 20, Onion Valley to South Lake Tahoe. ?We had no issue with air quality and smoke.

Pamuela “Uela”
Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have?for you. Plans to prosper?
you and and not harm you,
plans to give you hope
and a future.?



On Aug 23, 2021, at 9:15 AM, Charles Fannin <cjzilla@...> wrote:

Can people recently off the trail comment on air quality? Due to the fires, the air quality in the towns on 395 is bad right now.? Wondering what it is like at altitude.

I have a permit to go SOBO out of Onion Valley on Sept. 8.

 

I was just up at Cottonwood Lakes last week and we were above the smoke at 11,000 feet. On the drive up it seemed the smoke stopped around 8,000. There's a fire north of Lake Isabella that's messing up the air in addition to the fires in Nor Cal.

Jeff

On Mon, Aug 23, 2021 at 9:16 AM Charles Fannin <cjzilla@...> wrote:
Can people recently off the trail comment on air quality? Due to the fires, the air quality in the towns on 395 is bad right now.? Wondering what it is like at altitude.

I have a permit to go SOBO out of Onion Valley on Sept. 8.

 

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This is a common pattern. Smoke sinks as temperatures fall at night and the fires dampen. Then it rises up the valleys as things warm in the day. In general hike early and sleep as high as you are comfortable with to limit smoke exposure. ?


On Aug 23, 2021, at 10:31 AM, Jeff <hamilton.sr71@...> wrote:

?
I was just up at Cottonwood Lakes last week and we were above the smoke at 11,000 feet. On the drive up it seemed the smoke stopped around 8,000. There's a fire north of Lake Isabella that's messing up the air in addition to the fires in Nor Cal.

Jeff

On Mon, Aug 23, 2021 at 9:16 AM Charles Fannin <cjzilla@...> wrote:
Can people recently off the trail comment on air quality? Due to the fires, the air quality in the towns on 395 is bad right now.? Wondering what it is like at altitude.

I have a permit to go SOBO out of Onion Valley on Sept. 8.

 

We just finished a PCT section from Sonora Pass to Ebbets Pass. We had planned doing Lower Echo Lake to Donner Pass, but upon arrival at Lower Echo, the ominous reddened sky, ash and smoke changed our minds.
?We drove south to Sonora pass and did the section from Sonora pass to Evett‘s Pass. By that time Abbotts pass north was posted as closed.
The smoke we did encounter was just as you say, settled into the valleys in the morning and evenings, and not as noticeable during the day. Didn’t have that smoke smell, and didn’t seem to hinder our progress.
 

I did a trip out of Virginia Lakes, past Summit Lake, over to Spiller Canyon and then back and out at Green Creek in early August.? The AQI seemed pretty bad at times and we left 2 days early because it was getting worse.? I slept in an N95 mask several nights.? It didn't feel that bad at the time but it aggravated my asthma and I'm still affected by it even though I've ended up on stronger medications (steroid inhaler in addition to albuterol).??
Be careful out there.
Martha

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On Mon, Aug 23, 2021 at 4:31 PM harper hatheway via <hhathew1=[email protected]> wrote:
We just finished a PCT section from Sonora Pass to Ebbets Pass. We had planned doing Lower Echo Lake to Donner Pass, but upon arrival at Lower Echo, the ominous reddened sky, ash and smoke changed our minds.
?We drove south to Sonora pass and did the section from Sonora pass to Evett‘s Pass. By that time Abbotts pass north was posted as closed.
The smoke we did encounter was just as you say, settled into the valleys in the morning and evenings, and not as noticeable during the day. Didn’t have that smoke smell, and didn’t seem to hinder our progress.
 

If you do decide to go, I recommend a N95 mask with an exhalation valve. They aren't good for COVID but I can hike fairly comfortably in them and they have considerable smoke protection. I was recently day hiking is some fairly heavy smoke, up near Lake Chelan and Stehekin and found that there were times I'd get a headache without the mask, but no headache with it

The exhalation valve is very helpful

--
John Curran Ladd
1616 Castro Street
San Francisco, CA? 94114-3707
415-648-9279
 

We had planned a hike up Sheppard's Pass to Florence Lake August 23 - September 8th. ( slow, I know, we are in our 60s and 70s)? anyway we started up Sheppard's Pass this last Monday morning and it was just too smokey so we turned around 1 mile in.? ?
 

Thank you, really good judgement on your part.? If I do start on Sept. 8, I'll be ready to call it off if it doesn't feel right on the initial climb up Kearsage Pass.? Should know within a mile or two, that is not a trivial climb.
 

I just got off the trail. Air quality was bad in the Owens Valley, but cleared up dramatically once you got up and over into the mountains. So what you get on the east side of Kearsarge can be (and was) dramatically different from the west side. ?It was also much better at altitude than down below.
 

Thank you so much!? That is great information.

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