Story:
I wanted to scope out the damage from the wildfire this week. The fire was up near Sunfish Pond, but for some reason, I decided to start at the Dunnfield Creek parking lot. The lot was packed; every spot was taken and my car was the 2nd to last car to fit in the grass. Happily, there were no signs indicating trail closings due to the fire.
The Appalachian Trail was the most direct route to the fire. Once I got to the top of the Douglas Trail, where the backpacker camp site is located, I could see it. The scorched brush was between the last hairpin curve of the Douglas Trail and the creek that drains Sunfish pond. There was only one spot on the hike where I could really smell the fire, and that was at the western tip of Sunfish pond. I think there was still smoldering in the woods near there. Nevertheless, I had a nice lunch on a comfortable rock by the pond, turning my back on the blackness up the hillside.
After I skirted the pond, I continued around using the Turquoise Trail and the Sunfish Pond fire road, arriving back at the western tip of the pond to complete the circumnavigation. There was a thru-hiker there, and after I refilled my camelback, I gave him my last pint of water. Then, I went back down the Sunfish Pond fire road to get to the Turquoise Trail again. There was a black bear in the brush. I clapped my hands repeatedly, and he went away, only to appear down the road moving away from me. I chased him down the road (from a sizable distance) until he disappeared for good. The Turquoise Trail took me further south to the Tammany Fire Road. While here, I heard a sailplane going by that sounded like an Ultralight. A quick phone call to an expert (Elwood) led me to believe the sound was duct tape flapping in the breeze. The rest of the hike was uneventful: there were a few nice sitting rocks, and I took the Red Dot trail back down to the car.
I wanted to scope out the damage from the wildfire this week. The fire was up near Sunfish Pond, but for some reason, I decided to start at the Dunnfield Creek parking lot. The lot was packed; every spot was taken and my car was the 2nd to last car to fit in the grass. Happily, there were no signs indicating trail closings due to the fire.
The Appalachian Trail was the most direct route to the fire. Once I got to the top of the Douglas Trail, where the backpacker camp site is located, I could see it. The scorched brush was between the last hairpin curve of the Douglas Trail and the creek that drains Sunfish pond. There was only one spot on the hike where I could really smell the fire, and that was at the western tip of Sunfish pond. I think there was still smoldering in the woods near there. Nevertheless, I had a nice lunch on a comfortable rock by the pond, turning my back on the blackness up the hillside.
After I skirted the pond, I continued around using the Turquoise Trail and the Sunfish Pond fire road, arriving back at the western tip of the pond to complete the circumnavigation. There was a thru-hiker there, and after I refilled my camelback, I gave him my last pint of water. Then, I went back down the Sunfish Pond fire road to get to the Turquoise Trail again. There was a black bear in the brush. I clapped my hands repeatedly, and he went away, only to appear down the road moving away from me. I chased him down the road (from a sizable distance) until he disappeared for good. The Turquoise Trail took me further south to the Tammany Fire Road. While here, I heard a sailplane going by that sounded like an Ultralight. A quick phone call to an expert (Elwood) led me to believe the sound was duct tape flapping in the breeze. The rest of the hike was uneventful: there were a few nice sitting rocks, and I took the Red Dot trail back down to the car.
Tags:
wildfire, forest fire, fire damage, Sunfish Pond
wildfire, forest fire, fire damage, Sunfish Pond
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