I have to admit, the climate and fire danger changed exponentially from the 60s through the late 80s. Nowadays, if there is a hint of fire west of anywhere within 100 miles of where I would want to forest/wilderness camp, I wouldn’t go. Radios, GPS/2-way sat text, and heli-rescue would all have to be provisioned & negotiated before any long trip. Gear is light and compact these days and not all that expensive. Rescue/Evac insurance can be had.
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Boundary Waters wilderness canoeing with grandkids.
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I grew up in the asbestos forest of New England so don’t have the personal long term experience with the arid West. But tree ring studies seem to show we are transitioning from a period of well above average rains from the early to mid 1900s to a period of below average rains similar to the droughts that led to the Anasazi culture’s collapse.
They at least caught the idiot who was violating the open fire burn during a red flag warning today. Unfortunately the fire he started is headed towards a neighborhood that just barely escaped a big fire earlier this Spring started by another idiot who I think was never caught.
Definitely a good idea to keep an eye on prevailing winds and future wind direction forecasts during fire season and don’t camp in an area where you can’t get fire updates. Fortunately our fire season is only about 2 months long here in Northern AZ. We just need to deal with the hordes of irresponsible idiots camping in the forest and the rare early season thunderstorm until the monsoons kick in and green up the forest. Hopefully very soon🤞
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Back a little more on topic. I’m pretty sure my son’s first camping trip was when he was 2 at the Kelso Sand Dunes. An interesting area where wind and mountains sort the sand in just the right way that when the moisture levels are right the sand makes these strange sonic boom sounds with every step you take.
My son loved the giant sandbox:)
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