Beulah, Michigan
It’s been about a month since I last touched After Effects. The week following the 8/15 update went into packing and making the Brooklyn apartment fit for sub letters. I then drove 15 hours to northern Michigan, dropped off most of the gear and both of the cats and flew to Wyoming to get Dave and Darcie married. I also got a chance to hike up into a forest fire on the last day, pix follow. Returning to Michigan I spent an afternoon on the Betsie River and stayed up late into the night talking movies with Jonathan. The last four days have been a bit of a blur, what with unpacking, cleaning and setting up the gear. Tonight I am gonna find out how much I’ve forgotten how to do.
A day or so is usually needed to get back into the groove. Should be cranking again after this weekend.
Less than 24 hours before leaving Wyoming, a mad dash up the mountain to try and catch the edge of a big forest fire.
Many smaller fires were burning all around. Snake Lake (top) and panning right to it’s watershed (bottom) are at about
7000 ft of elevation. I shot this from about 8000 ft.
On the way to the “big” fire, I find many smaller conflagrations along the way. Here I watched the fire burning downhill,
which was kinda of contrary to what one would expect. I suppose it’s following the fuel.
Sunday 8/31, about 2:00 am at 9000 ft. I ascend through an area that had already (mostly) burned, but little fires flare up all
night – like the one at the left. After sleeping on a rock for a few hours, I prepare to descend. The main fire edge is still too far
to reach, I’ve got to get back down and catch Dave and his boat at 6:30 am so I can make my 11:40 am plane out of Jackson Hole.
I’ve got four hours to descend 3000 vertical feet and bushwack about 5 horizontal miles with 50 lbs of gear… in the dark.
Slightly challenging.
