Just a Sec...

On Hwy 50 - South Fork American River - a friend with a cabin along the Hwy near Sierra at Tahoe told me they had no rain since a weekend in June. Apparently the storm on the ridge top where Wright's lake is located was an exception. A ranger at the Stanislaus Ranger Office on Hwy 108 said they also had heavy rain the same weekend of June and nothing since.

The Sawmill area had a heavy deluge 2 weekends ago - streets had minor flooding. The ground was very wet in the areas I checked around sawmill. Unfortunately, I am not familiar with good Bolete spots there - so no luck for me.

Markleeville also had a deluge from the same storms that hit the Sawmill. The State Park adjacent to Grover Hot Springs had only sprinkles - only a few miles up the canyon from Markleeville!

The Leavitt Meadows campground host - Hwy 108- told me they were hard hit by the same storm system. Unfortunately the FS road into Leavitt Meadow was locked - smoke from the Rim Fire was appalling that day, so I didn't try to get around it.

East side of the Sierras was soaked in spots while the western slopes look like they have been mostly dry since June - the exception - some western ridge tops have gotten an Occasional thunderstorm.

Rim Fire smoke was extremely variable last weekend. It completely depended on wind direction. I camped Saturday night next to Sonora Pass and could not see the mountains or breathe! I would have driven straight home but I was exhausted. In the morning, it was all blue skies. No sign of smoke!

Apparently, in the afternoon the winds pushed the smoke up to the ridge tops. At night the winds descended and took the smoke back to lower elevations.

Sawmill is wet - good luck at Echo this weekend!

Mark Gillespie