I've been kind of sick and tired of backpacking in smokey conditions every summer the last 5 years or so, so when my partner and I decided to go for a trip to Iceland and Greenland this summer, I jokingly told people it was so I could get away from the smoke. All was well and good in Iceland (ie cold and wet), but 40 miles into our 100 mile hike on the Arctic Circle Trail in Greenland, we started smelling smoke frown Turned out there was a fire burning right on the trail. No trees, but all that brush and peat puts out a lot of smoke and deep ash. We had to climb off the trail and wade through the edge of a lake on underwater boulders in water waist deep. Kind of sketchy but the smoke was terrible and I didn't want to melt the soles off my boots with 6 days to go!
It turns out there was a drought in Greenland this summer with "high" temps, meaning it occasionally reached the upper 60's. But the fact that it started along the trail makes me think stupid human behavior probably ignited it. All the same, I must admit I did appreciate the dry conditions and warmer temps, for purely selfish reasons.
https://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-...eenland-n793511


Edited by bobito9 (08/25/17 11:07 PM)