Wild Fire Smoke

Heading to the mountains near Yellowstone this Saturday for 10 days of backcountry backpacking and am wondering how the smoke will effect the air quality and of course the views. Has anyone been in the area or near there that can report on the visibility? I would like to get an idea on that to expect.

If you have past experience with hiking with the smoke from the west, I would love to hear from you.

Thanks in advance

Well, unfortunately smoke has affected my trips for each of the last four years, including a trip I did to the Wind River Range in Wyoming 4 years ago. 2014 and 2013 there were really bad fires affecting me in the Sierra Nevada. When the gigantic Rim Fire burned in Yosemite, I actually changed my route to a trailhead 60 miles south, it was that bad. Last summer when I did the JMT, I really couldn't change my route, and unfortunately I had some very smokey days But I still had a great time on all my trips overall. Long distance views can be hazy, but usually it's clearer in the mornings at least. I'm a big believer in changing my itinerary if I think it's necessary, so one thought is to have a plan B. For eg, if it seems like it will be clearer to the south, say in Teton or the Winds, go there instead. Still going to have fantastic scenery. Good luck and have fun.

We are going to the Beartooths and the Winds.

Is there someplace to check the conditions?

I suggest calling the local ranger station.

Air quality can vary a lot, but my experience in hiking not too-o far from fires has been mostly good. FWIW !

One sort of upside: you can get some spectacular sunsets, and views of the sun through smoke can at times make you feel like you're in a science fiction story.

But call the local rangers and get their current best guess.

The air quality and views will depend on the whims of wind and weather. It is impossible to predict in advance when and where wildfires will start, how close they will be to your hiking destination, what volume of smoke they'll put into the air and whether the wind will blow it your way.

I can tell you that smoke from a very large fire can travel hundred of miles downwind, that smoke haze will affect the views at low concentrations that will not affect your sinuses and lungs, or only very mildly affect them.

The best strategy I know of is to consult government websites that give information about wildfires. In Oregon and Washington I use http://gacc.nifc.gov/nwcc/. I am sure there are similar sites for other parts of the west. If a big fire is nearby and the wind direction is unfavorable, having a plan B is usually the best response.

Good luck!

This year, in the Pacific Northwest, it's well to have a Plan C and a Plan D!

Inciweb is your best source for current fire locations and other information. You can get the info by state. Just be aware that the situation may change hourly! For an example, we just had a minor, isolated, lightning caused blaze flare up into a monster that is burning most of the south side of Lake Chelan and filling the area with smoke to the point that even people nowhere near the fire are leaving in droves. It went from a tiny fire to 4,000 acres Saturday and as of last night (Tuesday) was up to 25,000 acres.

It may not be quite that dry where you're going, but do keep checking up until the last minute!

EDIT, LATER: So I won't get snarled at by local members (just kidding, 99.9%l our members are friendly and polite and never snarl!), the Wolverine fire is actually burning the west side of Lake Chelan--the lake runs more north-south. This long, narrow lake is down in a funnel for winds, which is of course causing the problem. This will not, however, affect Wyoming or Montana.

EDIT AGAIN, MUCH LATER! I went through 11 pages of Inciweb and could find no listings of large active fires in the areas of the Beartooths or the Wind Rivers. The only one close is in the Big Horn Range which is farther east and therefore downwind.

I just checked that site out and noticed that same thing. That is a great site and very helpful. Thanks. I will keep checking to ensure we don't run into a fire area.

Thanks for the help everyone!!

Happy Trails

Have a good time! Please don't forget that the "price" of our advice is trip reports!

LOL, yes I will be sure to post a trip report on our adventure!! Less then 48 hours and we will be on our way!

We are headed to the Canadian Rockies for a road trip in late August. I found this great website for Canada:

http://firesmoke.ca/forecasts/