Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board SMOKE

Hi Short hike yesterday to Iceberg Lake , left Portal around noon and air was fair but warm, on the way down smoke had set in and below 11,000 hard to move at my normal pace took 2 hours from Lower Boyscout Lake to Portal normal would be 35-45 minutes.
A First stage air quality alert was issued yesterday for Owens Valley.

Clearer today but watch the webcam this afternoon for a wind shift.

I was in Onion Valley today and while the valley below was hazy, the mountains were beautiful and clear.

OK SO the 9 PM doom report we closed about an hour early you could not see across the Pond ,ash was falling and getting thicker driving down unlike most Smokey days it was clearer in the Valley not great but visibility was say 5 miles not 300'

The first light in the morning should be the overnight build up report so check the webcam again as today watch the conditions change.

My experience with these conditions you will turn back long before the summit. If the ash keeps falling we will have at least 100 people wanting to evacuate fear of the fire burning over the crest and down to the Portal which is impossible but the smoke and ash create the image that the fire is very near.

Time for a barbeque. I'll bring the burgers.

It's the end of the world as we know it
It's the end of the world as we know it...

Just looks like LA SMOG as I remember it. It helps if you don't breath.

But it was nice and clear on that unnamed mountain yesterday

The good news is you don't need sunscreen.

There are postings on The Yahoo forum that the Rangers are turning folks away on the JMT Southbound at Muir trail ranch,due to heavy smoke from the Rough Fire.They mention they have been told to exit over Piute Pass or down to Florence Lake.

From the Facebook HST Group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/HighSierraTrail/):

I thought the air quality was fine yesterday. The only smokiness was in the BBQ I had for dinner. Thanks, Uncle Doug!

The smoke is definitely coming in and out. I was on the summit of Whitney on Thursday and it was clear. Smoke could be seen from fires to the north and south of us but the skies were clear and blue. That evening smoke came in thick and ashes were falling from the sky. When we woke up Friday morning it remained very smokey.

Looking south from the summit. Smoke in the distance and blue skies above.


Looking NW from the summit. Smoke from the Rough Fire.


Crazy Jack and me on the summit.


Friday morning from Upper Boy Scout Lake.

That smoke is getting bad. I saw this morning its 17% contained and roughly 50,000 acres burned. SEKI has cancelled all permits for Cedar Grove making a Rae Lakes Loop backpack trip now not possible. They will change the permit to go in somewhere else but I'm not sure it's worth it with all the smoke.

I experienced nothing but blue skies in the Horseshoe Meadows area this morning.

I don't know how far in advance they cancelled permits, but it's misleading for SEKI to say they cancelled all of them since I called the permit office and my permit for Bubbs Creek in on 9/5 is still there. I don't know if I'll be able to do the hike, and I'm not very optimistic, but I do have a backup for the Mineral King area on the same date.

I did Half Dome yesterday and there was a fair amount of smoke in the area, which reduced visibility considerably (although the smoke wasn't bad enough to notice it breathing).

I spoke with my long time friend Dennis Mattinson who does the forecast at www.easternsierraforecast.com. He issued a Stage 1 health advisory this morning for the town of Independence. PM-10 was 50.55 ug/m3. I asked him for an explanation of what PM-10 is. He told me it's

"Particulate pollution is associated with dust, smoke and haze, and is measured as PM-10, which stands for particulate matter less than 10 microns. These particles are extremely small, less than a tenth the diameter of a human hair, and because of their small size they can penetrate deep into your lungs. Smoke associated with wildfires and residential wood burning is largely composed of particulate matter less than 2.5 microns and because of its smaller particle size can pose health risks at lower concentrations than for PM-10. Therefore, a lower PM-10 threshold for smoke episodes is used to call Stage 1 and 2 health advisories during events caused by wildfires and wood smoke. Breathing PM-10 can cause a variety of health problems. It can increase the number and severity of asthma and bronchitis attacks. It can cause breathing difficulties in people with heart or lung disease. It can complicate existing respiratory infections and can increase the risk for respiratory infection in all of us. If you suffer from respiratory allergies, breathing PM-10 may aggravate your existing symptoms."

Hi Very clear in the Portal today and mountain is clear also . Last night we went to Bishop on the way up smoke started n/o Indy and on the way back you could see the smoke in all the canyons from Bishop back to Indy and started to clear just n/o Lone Pine. We have a slight breeze now and that is helping, when that stops we will most likely have the smoke return. 50 Degrees in the Portal 6:30 AM Very slight chance for showers this week but history says we will have snow.

Unexpected rain today in San Diego. Removing roof tomorrow I hope.

We sure miss everybody at the Portals. Thanks for a fun vacation.

Crazy Jack and Wildflower Betsy

It was another beautiful, clear day in the Horseshoe Meadows area today. It did start to get cloudy in the afternoon, but there was no smoke.

I have a permit for 9/4 and was told they are canceling all permits due to the road closure/fire. You might want to check again. I need to figure out a backup trip now.

And that many days snow on the summit!Should change the focus on the smoke to when will we need that box of tricks Jeff M about.

Portal mid 40's this AM and bluebird sky ! but smoke started coming back in late last night so watch the cam this afternoon.