The summer vacation is over as we know it (CNN op)

[HkNewman]

The author references ruined vacations due to Greek wildfires/smoke this past summer, .. but expanding it to the US/typical hiking season, .. the smoke season in the PNW is usually pretty bad/getting worse.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/27/opinions/climate-crisis-fires-heat-summer-vacations-mcguire/index.html

I (along with other section/thru hikers) have been inundated most summers in Oregon/NorCal.  Even the US Northeast got hit with Canadian wildfire smoke this past year.   Backpacking wise everywhere else tends to be hot or being smacked around by thunderstorms after July 4 .. usually (except for drought .. last drought I hiked, .. the wildlife used the one water source to make poop palaces).

So there’ll be adjustments to summer backpacking, and vacation in general (the op-ed says  the latter may choose vacationing closer to home with a easier to manage and more climate friendly train ride .. Europe of course)

There’s [what remains of] winter I guess..  Read elsewhere there’s more AT winter thru hikers (keep hiking and cook at night, I guess// winter cold soaking probably isn’t a thing).

Well, Happy New Year’s!!

[Jerry Adams]

I’ve always worked around the smoke

2022 I never found a time to got to Three Sisters, but I did Mt Adams instead

2023 wasn’t as bad

I think we’ll still have summer vacation but you have to be more flexible.  And you need wildfire smoke map apps

[HkNewman]

Three Sisters

Had a wonderful time at Crater Lk and coming up the PCT from the south. The greenery (guessing from the winter precip) was spectacular against the blue sky all the way to Crater Lk.  It started smoking up in earnest when I started climbing up Mt Thielsen.  The Thielsen creek meadow was nice though (maybe the downdraft sprinting away the smoke?) but a trail crew was going to settle in.  Looked like it would get humid anyways and being a southwest type, I had a lotta down insulation.  Got off the PCT and hiked around the multi-use trail system in the Odell Lk region (kept on the lookout for bikepackers .. didn’t see any). Did the alternative to Shelter Cove the next day and the smoke was fairly bad though it gave me some nice pictures with a Bladerunner 2049 dystopian vibe.  Shelter Cove was great but anytime there’s beer and burgers, that takes your mind off dystopia.  Started up and got north of Williamette Pass, and the smoke got thicker.

App

Had service so checked a few “smoke” websites.. it was looking worse to the north.  Kind of like a volcano erupted except it was wildfire smoke.  Settled down to a nice night near a lake (write about it later too) and the next AM it wasn’t getting better.  Got a hitch coming returning back to Williamette Pass to Eugene where I got the train to Portland (and the Timberline trail).

[DWR D]

Smoke is not just a disruption to your vacation and photos… it is extremely bad for your health… especially when doing some athletic breathing…

[jscott]

Geeze Jerry I flew over Oregon last august to Seattle and more than half the state was covered in smoke. this had been going on since July at least and if I remember correctly, longer than that. I grew up in the PNW and hiked a lot. My brother lives near the Canadian border up from Spokane. I visit there regularly, including going to Stehekin and hiking. Sure. there have always been fires. it’s gotten much much worse. And the glaciers up in Stehekin are all but gone. This is new.

hard to “work around’ the fires in Greece.

[Jerry Adams]

Yeah, I agree, totally different the last few years.

It used to be that occasionally there’d be a major fire somewhere, but now there are major fires every year.

Still, I have found it possible to find a place if I choose between trinity alps, three sisters, Jefferson, mt hood, goat rocks, mt adams, Olympic peninsula,…

[Geoff Caplan]

It’s all becoming very depressing…

But at least you’ll be very welcome over here in the UK, or in Scandinavia, or in the Western Alps. No significant issues with fire here, so far.

Of course we do have the other side of the coin – you’ll need to bring your rain shells!

We don’t have your wildness or grandeur, but we do have wonderful walking on a smaller scale, mixed in with history and regional artisanal food…

[John S.]

What are the stats on how many US fires are caused by arson?

https://phys.org/news/2017-02-humans-percent-wildfires-season-decades.html

[Jerry Adams]

The headline was “Humans sparked 84 percent of US wildfires, increased fire season over two decades”

In the article they said that 84 percent of fires in 1992 to 2012 were human caused, but nothing about an increase over time.  In order to conclude that, they’d have to compare 1992-2002 to 2002-2012 or something like that.

And they mentioned fireworks, but the biggest fires I can think of were caused by downed powerlines in windstorms – human caused but not fireworks.

That article didn’t help me understand the problem and solutions, but was more just sensationalizing to get mouse clicks to sell more ads.

Just my opinion.  I apologize to you John if it seems like I’m attacking you : )

[Marcus]

The vacation is dead (or dying), but not from smoke as the commentary says. Younger generations don’t have the disposable income of older generations that made the summer vacation a family staple. Heck, we’re not even having families to vacation with…

The newly-adulted can still travel due to minimal obligations, but the prime range from 25-45 are often struggling to pay basic bills, keep up with inflation, and the overall deteriorating economic structure of the US.

So I agree with the premise, but for different reasons. Smoke spoiled some plans for me in 20 & 21, but you can pretty well figure a dry winter will result in mid-late summer fires.

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

Maybe you all grew up with family vacations, but I sure didn’t. And neither did my husband. We are solid Gen X. I didn’t go on a “summer vacation” until the mid 2000’s. Younger generations (mid to young Millenials, elder Z’s) have different priorities.

In many ways the station wagon and big families on vacation was a Boomer thing. It really only existed for that generation.

So it’s not going away….for most of us not in that generation it was not a thing. (My and my husband’s parents were/are Silent Generation). We didn’t grow up in suburbia, with a huge wagon. I was born around the time gas got really pricey and cars got tiny.

As for why the younger gens are not having families…..that’s the media and their parents turning them against it. Which is sad.

I just got back from a family vacation. It was splendid. Our younger boys got to see their only cousins (all around the same age) and we had 3 gens there.

When we have fires, if the wind is blowing right…I just hike locally. And stay out of the mountains.

[Author]

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