Return to Dave’s Beach on the smokiest day of the summer.

Dave’s Beach always give me something different to look at. This was one of the worst days of the summer. Makes me think of old photos of Los Angles in the 1970, or Beijing before the 2008 Summer Olympics.

It’s hard not to get a little bummed out with this kind of weather. If you have been follow my posts this summer, you’ll notice there have been a lot of days like this. We are starting to get more weather passing thru now that we are deep into August. A good storm always clears the skies for a couple of days.

But when I really think about it, I’ve got nothing to complain about. I’m here. Embedded. And with my schedule, I can take advantage of the good weather windows. But of course, I’ll tolerate the bad because at least I’m hiking and climbing.

What I do feel for are the people just here for a day or two. Or those paying for a Jammer outing and looking thru all of this stale air. This is a beautiful place, and it’s terrible if you can’t enjoy even a couple of hours of these vibrant blue skies and towering mountains.

So sure, I’ll take a little smoke. Doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy exploring new places. And it gives a reason to keep coming back.

I did take a second run up to the Apgar Fire Lookout really early morning before all of this smoke blew it. Was nice to be up there again. Just wanted to get on a few miles and some gain to stay in shape. Got some big climbs coming up. Time is getting short.