Fire? What fire?

[welikecamping2]

So recently I had to get away to escape the intense summer heat in Phoenix. We have been really leaning into Paddleboarding lately, so I planned to hit a rim lake that I always have wanted to paddle. This was to be Blue Ridge Reservoir, aka CC Cragin Reservoir. Started doing my usual meal planning, packing for activities, and mapping routes. There was a small forest fire south of here under the rim that I needed to keep an eye on. The day before our departure, they closed the forest almost up to the southern edge of the lake. We decided we didn't want to have to deal with this, so pivoted to another location on the rim, near some lakes.

All was well and we had a nice drive on a Wednesday morning in light traffic. I gotta say one of the best things about retirement is the ability to come and go as I please. I rarely camp on a weekend or a holiday anymore, preferring the quiet of the in-between times. I was really amazed driving up the forest road north of Forest Lakes to find one of my favorite spots open. I immediately pulled in and we started setting up camp. After a nice lunch we broke out the zero-grav chairs and just relaxed.


The weather up here was still a bit warm, but we were expecting afternoon rains which usually cool the forest. Late in the afternoon both of our mobile phones went off like mad with an urgent alert. Apparently, there was a new fire (Sheep Springs) that was being fought just a few miles south of us. The town of Forest Lakes was between us and the fire, and the report was that this fire was a mile south of Forest Lakes. Much of the town and the area we were camping was in a "Set" status as of this alert. I am very familiar with this entire area, know all the roads, etc. We researched the fire situation and made a plan for potential escape routes.

 

[welikecamping2]

One of the pluses of this location is that you are relatively remote, yet still have a decent cell signal. This is important for us at this time as the MIL is 94 and has some health issues. I know. 5 miles from town is hardly remote, but this was intended as a way to simply get out of the heat. After the Emergency Broadcast about the fire we started checking the usual websites for updated information. At this point the fire was 35 acres and moving slowly north. Late in the afternoon, the monsoons came in and we had a pretty good wetting. Figured this would impact the fire, but we remained on set status.

you can see the drainage "canals" I had to cut to drain the water away from the trailer and the firepit and on down the slope. We were camping on the Apache Sitgreaves, which is usually the first to lift fire restrictions. I always clean out the firepit, reset any loose stones and make sure it is properly oriented to the trailer and the wind. This particular firepit showed evidence of when I first made it years ago. I like a deep pit with high walls formed into a C shape around a large flat stone. This allows you to safely manage the fire and you have a nice flat table in the front where you can sit a coffee pot or skillet, It's always easy to drop a grill into as well.

Our first day winds down. For dinner we had "taco" salad, which is your basic garden salad topped with seasoned ground beef, chiles, cheese and the usual condiments for a taco. Washed it down with a tasty bottle of Montepulciano.

 

[welikecamping2]

So, with no updates during the night, and no red sky to the south, we were feeling like it was gonna be okay. After a leisurely breakfast, I packed up the boards and we headed off to a local lake. There was a general store once we hit the main highway, so we stopped for some local knowledge. Guy didn't seem too concerned, hadn't seen a whole lot of activity and the local scuttle was that it was under control. We decided we would go on to the lake for a paddle and just be aware. Just as we set out on our boards, we see this:


This particular lake has two arms that extend for a half mile or so around a central peninsula. The chopper hit the far end of the lake to fill his bucket, so we decided to paddle over and check out the action. Meanwhile, he was joined by another Type I, and they spent the next hour or so dropping in, filling up then heading over to the fire. It was pretty cool watching this, despite knowing why it was happening.





We had a pretty awesome day of paddling. Finley is still trying to decide if he likes the paddleboard, so he often just jumps in. He is a big dog, and when he moves around on the board, it can get exciting. Eventually, we just let him swim. He has a huge PFD, one that supports his head out of water, and he really seems to enjoy just swimming along, so we let him.

There are a lot of Osprey in this area, and they are constantly fishing. It was cool watching them dive for food and a lesson in that an actual catch was rare. They were working for the meal. While watching the Osprey, the wife noticed an adult Bald Eagle flying over, following a juvenile. What happened next was about the coolest thing I've seen a bird do, and we were so mesmerized by this behavior, we unfortunately did not get any pictures. So the adult flew along behind the younger bird, then suddenly flew up over it, and suddenly dove on the younger bird. He hit the bird from behind, grabbing it's talons and actually flipping the bird around in midair. The birds spun around in this death grip, falling toward the ground, releasing just before and then flying off together. I found later that this behavior is called "Talon Locking". Awesome display and I will be watching for that in the future.

As the day wore on, the thunderheads built up, and we got off the water, leaving the lake just as a major downpour hit. I hurried back to camp which was only a couple miles as the eagle flies, but several more as we had to go the long way around. I was worried that a sudden gust of wind would take my awning with it, but arriving back at camp, all was well. We settled in for lunch and to watch the afternoon storm.

 

[COAKXterra]

I know the pilots on that Rotak chinook. Great shots of them!