I have never, in all my years of visiting Rocky Mountain National Park, seen the sky so hazy. As a result of the fires burning all over Colorado this past summer our visit to the state, and specifically to the park, was filled with smoky skies. The smoke and fires were concerning enough that we mapped out our planned 14'er hikes accordingly, making sure the fires weren't anywhere close to where we would be. That didn't stop the smoke, of course, and on more than one occasion the brown smudge of smoke filled the horizon no matter where we looked. It was particularly bad in Rocky Mountain NP, with the mountains reduced to featurless silhouettes in the not-too-far distance. Breathing never became difficult, but you could smell smoke tainting the fresh mountain air, feeling it on the back of your tongue like a bitter aftertaste. I know fires are a natural part of forest life, especially those started by lightning and not the man-made kind, but it was still a bit sad knowing how much was going up in flames around us.
Leave me a comment below and tell me if you've ever seen the smoke from forest fires firsthand. What was your impression?
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