I’m writing this sitting in Medford, OR after escaping the McKinney Fire during its explosive first night, when it grew from 300 acres to 18,000.
We saw the fire around 4:30 the night before, and it looked pretty small and a good distance away. There were several aircraft working the fire, and several air tankers – including a DC–10 – that flew overhead. With so many resources on the fire we weren’t too worried about it when we went to bed around nine.
Some hikers came through camp around midnight and woke us up telling us that the fire had grown significantly. We thought it had been raining water on our tents, But it was Ash. We spent about half an hour deciding whether to move out or sleep a few more hours before getting a pre-dawn start. At 12:30 AM, we decided to start hiking out when we learned that the evacuation warning turned into an order and that there was transportation available 4 miles ahead.
A little after 1 AM we were packed up and on the trail. Hiking out we were rained on by ash and some rain.there was also significant lightning and thunder overhead, and when we passed through a Meadow we were able to see a glow from the fire on the other side of the ridge. The hike out was thankfully easy, all downhill.
We get to the truck a little before 3 AM and there were 17 hikers including myself looking to get a ride out. The driver said that there may be another ride coming but it was unconfirmed and would be several hours.
We managed to fit all 17 hikers, including backpacks, in the pick up truck. There were eight hikers in the cab, and nine of us in the bed, with most of the packs. It was an extremely tight squeeze, with legs and feet going in all directions, looking for a sliver of room. We stopped a few times to reposition, and at the end I was sitting on the rail of the bed as it was by far the most comfortable position.
After about 3 hours in the truck, we met a minivan who was able to share the load, and bring us back to the house of the owner of the truck. We were not prepared to be in town so early, and had to do some last minute research on our next steps, as well as calling the parents. The trail angel then brought us to his favorite breakfast burrito spot, and the most exciting part of the fire saga was over.
The rest of the section was a lot less eventful – the big factor was the oppressive heat. It really slowed our hiking and was a big drain on moral. Even though the scenery was amazing, going through the Marble Mountain Wilderness, the heat put a damper on everything. I’m glad to be up in Oregon now and enjoying the cooler temperatures around the Sisters – but that’s for another post.
