With multiple fires burning around us, we took a little loop drive from the Scott River to the Klamath and back home. The air was filled with smoke and the landscape reminded us of fire at every turn.
The abandoned Fire Lookout on the point at Scott Bar Mountain once gave a view onto the Scott River's big turn north to the Klamath. Today the view is hazy and indistinct.
Jones Beach below was a quiet respite of dappled light, where baby fish darted in shallow pools.
And still the smoke could be seen beyond.
Lake Mountain Fire Lookout, reached by a winding road west of the Scott, is the oldest lookout tower still in continuous use in Forest Service Region 5 (California) and is currently staffed by
Nancy Hood, the longest-serving lookout in probably the whole U.S.
Below the tower, a beautiful silver-leafed buckwheat matches to an astonishing degree
the lichen-crusted rocks of Lake Mountain.
An old fox-tail pine shows a cat-face fire scar, now lined with lichen but still alive.
This tree is one of a stand at the northern-most limit of fox-tails.
This tree is one of a stand at the northern-most limit of fox-tails.
No comments:
Post a Comment