Look closely at the picture above and you can see the smoke plume from one of the wildlfires raging in the Gila Wilderness at the end of May this year. Fires are a force of nature that are always a concern of mine when I decide to travel, but there isn't a whole lot I can do about them other than rearrange my travel plans and hope for the best. This fire in particular was many miles away and headed the opposite direction from where I was going to hike, but a careless match, an unattended campfire, or a lightning strike (as was the case with this one) can spark a massive wildfire that puts people and animals in harms way. Fires are no joke, but they are a natural and important part of any wilderness area, and often are left to burn themselves out as long as they don't threaten habitated areas. Fires happen every summer, especially in the dry western US, and being this close to one, even from a very far and safe distance, was enough for me!
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