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[Crissa]

Since we wandered off topic on another thread, I figured I'd share this:

https://twitter.com/LakeTahoeUSFS/status/1304524991241826311

All National Forests in California (and some in Nevada, and I don't know about Oregon and Washington) are closed at the moment.

2020 keeps on giving!

-Crissa

[DonTom]

Since we wandered off topic on another thread, I figured I'd share this:

https://twitter.com/LakeTahoeUSFS/status/1304524991241826311

All National Forests in California (and some in Nevada, and I don't know about Oregon and Washington) are closed at the moment.

2020 keeps on giving!

-Crissa

Thanks for letting me know. One issue after the other.

So it's closed right where I was planning on going in a few days! By the time this is over, I will probably have to find my four season sleeping bag to go out there. I think it's in the shed at my Cold Springs Valley house. But if it's that cold and days short, I am not sure if I even want to go.

It is extra smokey in the mountains. I just rode my TTSE back from Auburn a couple of hours ago.

It's also very smokey here in Reno. I cannot even see the casinos through the smoke down the hill. My view here today here on top of this hill is of smoke!

-Don- Reno, NV

[Crissa]

I hope you're using a filter mask today.

I was making sure my mom had hers out; there's a fire near her NE of Portland dumping smoke on her pretty directly.

We were planning on going camping in Big Sur and now that campground is being threatened by the Dolan fire.  Where we were going camping this spring so far has been spared, south of Tahoe.  My favorite park in Santa Cruz, Butano, was saved by the efforts of firefighters.

-Crissa

[DonTom]

I wonder how many people are out in the closed Tahoe Nat'l Forest and have no idea it is closed. Many out there (like me) like to get far from other people and do not see anybody for days at a time.

One place I really enjoy is Hidden Lake. It's at (in all pure decimal degrees) N39.40156°  W120.62374°.  No trails and no signs to it, but it is one of my favorite places on earth.   I always have the entire lake to myself (and perhaps a few  friendly bears and snakes, etc). Just a hike over the hill from Island Lake, which does have a trail and often has a few people there, especially on weekends, which I try to avoid.

It take a high clearance 4WD to get to the trail head at Carr Lake. Then hike in from there.

Here is a photo of Hidden Lake where I often stay overnight: (not a good swimming lake <leech city>, but handy for all other things):



If I want to take a swim, Island Lake is just over the hill:



Lakes in every direction out there. Finding water is never an issue in that area. Not even during a drought year during late summer. 

-Don-  Reno, NV

[DonTom]

I hope you're using a filter mask today.

I was making sure my mom had hers out; there's a fire near her NE of Portland dumping smoke on her pretty directly.

We were planning on going camping in Big Sur and now that campground is being threatened by the Dolan fire.  Where we were going camping this spring so far has been spared, south of Tahoe.  My favorite park in Santa Cruz, Butano, was saved by the efforts of firefighters.

-Crissa

I have hiked in Butano many times, but it's in Pescadero, not Santa Cruz.  Pescadero is in San Mateo County.

Have you been to the Forest of Nisene Marks in Aptos?  I have hiked in there many times as well. And that really is in Santa Cruz County.


-Don-  Reno, NV

[Crissa]

The mountains are still the Santa Cruz Mountains, not the San Mateo Mountains.

We used to live in Soquel so Nicene Marks was a short bicycle ride (and all up hill!)

-Crissa

[DonTom]

The mountains are still the Santa Cruz Mountains, not the San Mateo Mountains.

We used to live in Soquel so Nicene Marks was a short bicycle ride (and all up hill!)

-Crissa

Yeah, true. Even  Montara Mountain (Half Moon Bay)   and San Bruno Mountain in  South San Francisco are  part of the Santa Cruz Mountain Range. And that's not all that close to Santa Cruz!

-Don-  Reno, NV

[Richard230]

The mountains are still the Santa Cruz Mountains, not the San Mateo Mountains.

We used to live in Soquel so Nicene Marks was a short bicycle ride (and all up hill!)

-Crissa

Yeah, true. Even  Montara Mountain (Half Moon Bay)   and San Bruno Mountain in  South San Francisco are  part of the Santa Cruz Mountain Range. And that's not all that close to Santa Cruz!

-Don-  Reno, NV

Well I can access the top of Montara Mountain from my home in Pacifica, so I am not sure how much of that mountain is in Half Moon Bay.  (Photo attached.) Regarding Butano State Park, I used to hike there all the time during day trips from my home. The park is notable as having the smelliest pit toilets in their picnic area that I have ever had to visit. But it is a really nice place to hike. Or at least it was until recently. I understand that much of the park is now toast. 

[DonTom]

Today is about as bad as I have seen here in Reno. The AQI is 240, "very unhealthy" and I can only smell smoke even inside  the house and I cannot see anything past a few yards out the window.

-Don- Reno, NV

[Starpower]

I wonder how many people are out in the closed Tahoe Nat'l Forest and have no idea it is closed. Many out there (like me) like to get far from other people and do not see anybody for days at a time.

One place I really enjoy is Hidden Lake. It's at (in all pure decimal degrees) N39.40156°  W120.62374°.  No trails and no signs to it, but it is one of my favorite places on earth.   I always have the entire lake to myself (and perhaps a few  friendly bears and snakes, etc). Just a hike over the hill from Island Lake, which does have a trail and often has a few people there, especially on weekends, which I try to avoid.

It take a high clearance 4WD to get to the trail head at Carr Lake. Then hike in from there.

Here is a photo of Hidden Lake where I often stay overnight: (not a good swimming lake <leech city>, but handy for all other things):



If I want to take a swim, Island Lake is just over the hill:



Lakes in every direction out there. Finding water is never an issue in that area. Not even during a drought year during late summer. 

-Don-  Reno, NV

How long is the 4x4 road from 2X road? Is it doable on a eMTB? Beautiful place!

[DonTom]

How long is the 4x4 road from 2X road? Is it doable on a eMTB? Beautiful place!

It's several miles of unpaved. You can make it with a 2wd if you have a high ground clearance.  The ground clearance there is a lot more important than the 4WD at this time of year.  Don't try to make it without a high ground clearance, if 4WD or not.

I am not sure where you can leave a vehicle to take a Mtn Bike.  It's very much in the middle of nowhere, but Carr Lake is where the trailhead is, which has plenty of parking on most weekdays. It can get full on a busy weekend.


-Don-  Reno, NV

[DonTom]

Well, another thing I wanted to do today got cancelled because of the smoke. In the middle of it!

Today, I went down to the Carson City Gun Range. It's an outdoor range. Guns is another one of my several hobbies. I was testing out a new binary trigger on a 5.7 x 28 mm rifle converted to .22LR.

Right at 1400 hrs a couple of park rangers come in to the shooting park in their city pickup trucks to tell us all they have to close the park, because they don't want their RSO's (Range Safety Officers) out in the 260 AQI air. IOW, they were not concerned about us, just their own RSO's. But they can no longer keep the gun range open without RSOs (It was unsupervised until a couple of years ago).

It did seem extra smokey today, but so far, it has had no noticeable effect on me. But I could even smell the smoke today.

-Don-  Reno, NV

[Richard230]

Well, another thing I wanted to do today got cancelled because of the smoke. In the middle of it!

Today, I went down to the Carson City Gun Range. It's an outdoor range. Guns is another one of my several hobbies. I was testing out a new binary trigger on a 5.7 x 28 mm rifle converted to .22LR.

Right at 1400 hrs a couple of park rangers come in to the shooting park in their city pickup trucks to tell us all they have to close the park, because they don't want their RSO's (Range Safety Officers) out in the 260 AQI air. IOW, they were not concerned about us, just their own RSO's. But they can no longer keep the gun range open without RSOs (It was unsupervised until a couple of years ago).

It did seem extra smokey today, but so far, it has had no noticeable effect on me. But I could even smell the smoke today.

-Don-  Reno, NV

I just heard that the Park Service was closing Yosemite this afternoon for the same reason.   

[DonTom]

I just heard that the Park Service was closing Yosemite this afternoon for the same reason.   

Too bad the COVID-19 doesn't choke on the smoke! Then it would be worth having the smoke. But instead, we get the double whammy.

When will it be safe to go outside again?

-Don-  Reno, NV

[Crissa]

The range safety officers are safe in the lead dust, but not the smoke?

-Crissa