On this day two years ago I rose at dawn and gazed on early morning sun illuminating the forest. My tent was pitched near Echo Point in striking distance of South Lake Tahoe. After ten days hiking around the Meiss Meadows it was time to return to civilization via a bus to Sacramento then train to Oakland. I walked to a nearby stream to collect water for a rudimentary wash and to rustle up some coffee. I had several hours of hiking ahead of me, broke camp and hit the trail. By evening I was resting up in a hotel room in downtown San Francisco.

 I wonder when I'll do a trip like this again? Needless to say long distance travel is a non-starter during the pandemic. I also wonder quite what the wildfire situation will mean for planning hikes in that region in the future? My treks to Mount Shasta, Crater Lake and Mount Eddy in 2016/17/18 were all in areas of northern California and southern Oregon that have been badly affected at one time or another. I see there is now a big fire burning to the south-east of Tahoe.

 And it's been so damn hot. Those record temperatures are mind boggling. I encountered temperatures in the high thirties and that was tough enough- backpacking in anything hotter would be fierce indeed.