Waxing Gibbous Moon
Two days ago I learned that my camping reservations for this coming week at Lodgepole Campground in Sequoia National Park were cancelled due to a complex of lightning-caused fires moving into the area. They started as three hot spots and grew into one large unit. The park is closed and the surrounding region is either on fire or in the fire's path. The wonderful mountain community of Three Rivers is under an evacuation warning, but holding steady.
All I can say is thank goodness for the tireless firefighters and gutsy operators of modern technological machinery. Despite the spread of the fire in the past few days, fantastic progress has been made toward saving key landmarks and iconic groves of sequoias. The Giant Forest and the General Sherman Tree (at 52,508 cubic feet, it's the world's largest tree) appear to be okay, as are the Wuksachi Lodge and the Lodgepole Visitor Center. Today's summary of the team's progress can be viewed here.
It will be some time before the park is open again so I doubt that I will be able to do the series of hikes I had planned before the snow comes. But hey, as long as the trees and animals stay safe, that's okay. This is one of the holiest of all the holy places in California and Mr. Goldie, the marmot mayor of Lodgepole, must not be harmed.
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