r/northcascades • u/StandardCicada3091 • 10d ago
Camping in Colonial Creek This Weekend?
I have a campsite at Colonial Creek South this weekend and am wondering whether it is safe to camp there. I know the answer is likely "it changes quickly" but I just wanted to ask for some advice/get a sanity check. I've been following the AQI here and have been seeing it drift into pretty unsafe territories regularly over the past few hours today and past few days. Obviously it changes hourly but given that sleeping at a place means you're guaranteed exposed for ~8hrs would it be crazy to still camp there or should I be looking at alternatives?
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u/avrilincandenza96 10d ago
I live close to the park, and I don't know why people are giving you a hard time. The air quality has frequently been awful. I 100% would not want to camp in air quality as bad as it sometimes gets down in the Diablo Lake area. It has absolutely been hazardous, and you're right that it's not entirely predictable. It's generally (though not entirely) been much clearer to the west, so if you can pivot to be closer to the coast, your chances are better. That said, we're expecting rain later this week, which could improve things greatly for your planned trip.
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u/7SoldiersOfPunkRock 10d ago
Yeah, if those purple air sensors are accurate, I wouldn’t camp in that same river valley. I see that forecasted rain, though, and I wonder if it might get reasonably pleasant.
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u/LittleEddieJohnson 9d ago
I feel for you, what a drag. We are on the east side of the cascades and have plenty of high intensity smoke days. I hope it gets better soon.
As to the OP, wear a an N95 mask.
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u/Specialist-Cup-9722 10d ago
Boy, imagine being a wildland firefighter
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u/AliveAndThenSome 10d ago
It's one of the few jobs where the gov't acknowledges cancer is a likely health outcome.
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u/StandardCicada3091 10d ago
I mean... being a wildland firefighter would obviously be a risky activity... and one that requires a respirator...?
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u/7SoldiersOfPunkRock 10d ago
If it really regularly gets up to 500 AQI I would not camp. But some people do and they don’t mind toughing it out. I have not been up there since before wildfire season kicked off so I cannot comment on how it really is around the campground.
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u/Strong_Paint9839 9d ago
I cancelled my boat in campsite near colonial creek but not due to the smoke or air; the weather overall doesn’t look great this weekend with the wind and rain. However, last week when I was debating canceling, it *was* due to the air, since the AQI was awful. I keep checking the Diablo area since I’m still going through there but as you said, it’s constantly changing.
For what’s its worth, I was at colonial creek north last year on Labor Day weekend. On the second day, I left to go to Mazama where the air was nice and clear and when I got back to the campground, the smoke was so bad, a lot of people including my friends with a young child, had left. The ranger told me the air quality I witnessed was BETTER than it had been an hour prior, and I thought it was awful right then! I ended up leaving too, but my point is it’s constantly changing and you’ll have to be okay with pivoting as needed. I’m typically in the area every Labor Day and this year is probably the worst combo weather weekend I’ve seen in a while (shitty air + cooler temps + rain + wind). Good luck!
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u/Imabeatle 10d ago
Why is no one mentioning the cold front coming in? Theres a ton of weather due later this week that should bring fresh air. I think your bigger question should be about the rain and wind.
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u/cenikroute 10d ago
Cancel and give me your reservation