No, really, the mountains were on fire! After a hot and dry summer the worst finally happened and we were faced with forest fires up in the Uintas. To make things more complicated, our intended picnic spot for the drive was closed due to the fires. A recon drive was undertaken the night before and a new lunch spot was found for the group.
On the morning of the drive the group gathered at our frequent spot by the zoo and headed up to Kamas for drain-and-gain and any necessary passes for the Mirror Lake area. A few Wasatch-Backers (myself included) joined up here and the group of about 20 vehicles headed up the road towards the top of Bald Mountain Pass and our lunch stop and the Bald Mountain trailhead. It was a bring-a-chair location, but we had plenty of parking a nice spot with some relief from the winds.
The colors were lovely, even though we could see the smoke cloud from the big fire in Murdock Basin. After lunch a few of us continued over the pass for a few more views (and some fire watching) and all headed for home. All told we had 37 members and 20 vehicles on the drive, and lovely colors to see. Thanks all for a good driving season, and we’ll be ready to do it again in the spring!
-Drew
Pictures courtesy of Charles, and a video from David:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10157882151414899&type=1&l=a96479becd