How bad is the smoke at WA Pass?

[Sol]

Thought i'd mix it up a bit from the stuart threads and ask if anybody's been up to the pass in the last day or so.

 

How was the smoke?

[olyclimber]

I was just up there today. There is smoke for sure, and it gets thicker as you descend down to Mazama.

 

However (based on pictures alone), it is no where near what you've got there in Der Town.

 

It certainly isn't that crisp mountain air, but it looked ok to me. We hiked the Maple Pass Loop and though you could smell the smoke in the air all day, and views were really obscured, it was nice to get out there.

 

It really does suck...its like for most of the Eastern Wa Cascades someone farted under the collective blanket and there is no fresh air anywhere.

[John_Scurlock]

Did you go to Maple Pass? I was wondering. It's been murky with clouds all day up here N of Bham... didn't really look like a good day for the near mountains anyway. Weather reports have been saying clear above 4000 for the next day or three..

[olyclimber]

Ya we should have called you when we went through Concrete John. Given Ulee's sports schedule, this was one of my few chances to get up into the hills and I didn't want to miss it. It is a really nice little hike! I'm sure its much nicer without the haze. Otherwise it was nice to get out and see the rockery. Camped down at the free Diablo site and met and talked with a woman who said a lot of her family helped build the dam there.

[John_Scurlock]

No worries, I wasn't home anyway..got down at dusk from Lava Divide & left home little after 6 this morning for work... but from looking at the clouds here in Whatcom county today it just seemed like the Wx was somewhat worse than what I was expecting. There was still that brownish tinge in the clouds that led me to believe that smoke was still drifting over, either in or above the clouds.

[olyclimber]

[olyclimber]

[olyclimber]