Friends and I went up the Kearsarge Pass trail yesterday, in hopes of climbing Mt. Gould. When we left Onion Valley, we could tell the air wasn't perfectly clear, but the casual out-of-town visitor probably wouldn't have noticed. But the higher we got, the worse it got, and it was one of the reasons we turned around at Kearsarge Pass.
We encountered several people coming out who had been at Sixty Lakes and Rae Lakes, and they reported a lot of smoke the last ?? days.
There were several parties who, like us, also started up from Onion Valley, and had planned to camp or pass through those areas. They turned back at the pass also.
On the trail, we could just make out the form of University Peak, on the south. And from the pass, you could barely see the outline of the Kearsarge Pinnacles, and nothing beyond. Our eyes were stinging until we got back close to Onion Valley.
Descending, we encountered one group of about eight going up who were planning to go to Mt. Whitney in the next six days. I told them it was likely it would clear for them the next day, after they'd gotten a few miles south of Vidette Meadow. This was my guess based on the wind currents, and observation of the general smoke behavior.
We met SEKI Ranger George Durkee and his wife Paige coming out. George is working Charlotte Lake this summer. I'd communicated with George quite a few times over the past ten years, but this was the first time we'd met in person.
I'll post trip report pictures later.
