The La Sals, Molas Pass, and fires

Joan did an acclimatization hike to 12,000 feet on Friday before starting her trek from Molas Pass, heading north to finish the Colorado Trail in Denver.

The La Sal Mountains provided the training – our local range, which, unfortunately, is suffering from another fire.

As we crested a peak, we saw the smoke plume from the Deer Creek Fire rising on the other side of the range.

The La Sals are a compact range, and a fire here can have an outsized impact.

The last significant fire in this area, the Pack Creek Fire, occurred in 2021, caused by a campfire.

An unfortunate part of our modern times.

Fifteen minutes before we returned home, the sheriff’s office shut down the access road we had just driven. Helicopters were flying out of Ken’s Lake to fight the blaze.

Flags had recently gone up in known dispersed campsites. A plea on the honor system from the USFS, which, like so many agencies, is severely understaffed and requires people to do the right thing.

It won’t stop people determined to have a fire, but maybe it makes those on the fence think twice.

On Sunday, I dropped off the ever amazing Joan at Molas Pass in the San Juans.

Last year, she hiked from Molas Pass to Durango while I took on a separate solo trip.

This year, she’s walking ~400 miles to Denver to finish the Colorado Trail.

We returned to the very spot where I dropped her off last year.

I joined her for a short walk to see her off.   I also earned some serious brownie points; she had errands on Saturday and forgot, so I made an 8-hour round-trip drive on Sunday. Ha!

We stopped by Little Molas Lake. I even took a selfie (I don’t like them, but Joan does). Every so often, I shed my Northeast curmudgeon ways as it makes Joan happy!

Joan is Denver-bound!