Northern California: The Aftermath of the Forest Fires

Hi everyone!

I'm currently sitting in the town of Belden, CA. I just did part of a stretch from Sierra City to here. I've decided to give myself the option of opting out of certain parts of the trail for whatever reason. It's freeing! I decided to skip over a steep exposed area that was known for many rattlesnakes. I opted out and instead got a ride a number of miles up north.

I've reached an area where there were massive fires in northern California in the last number of years. It's a dramatic change in the scenery. What strikes me is how much area has burned out here. I've traveled the last 2 days through the burn. It's actually beautiful in its own way. You can see forever......and everything is burned. The lack of shade makes the hiking extremely hot, but luckily so far the water sources along the trail have been pretty descent.

Finding a place to camp in the burn areas is quite challenging. It's hard to find a safe spot away from huge pines all ready to fall to earth. I do the best I can and sleep light.

Coming up in the next stretch is Lassen National Park. Looking forward to it!

Here's a few pictures from between Sierra City and Belden.

Take care everyone!

In the Buck Wilderness Area. This is what much of the hiking looked like..

Coming into Belden up on the ridges was spectacular this morning!

Beautiful trail above Belden

Another section hiker, Ryan, who I've hiked around for the past couple days. There are some very cool people out here. I was jealous of his umbrella this day. 😁

Wildflowers lead the way

The town of Belden tucked into the valley. It's surrounded by all burn. Not much to this little town...about 5 buildings.

Some more cool burn area

Cool mountain lake