Drove to Mt. Shasta from Northern California Coast today

It was foggy really foggy but luckily I could see enough to drive the first hour to get inland far enough for the thick fog to dissipate but finally the sun came out by the time I got to Interstate 5 it was over 100 degrees most of the way north to Redding where it was around 102. But, luckily my air conditioning was working so I was okay. I wore a long sleeve shirt and long pants today to avoid getting sunburned on my legs and arms from wearing a T Shirt and shorts. However, when I moved into my room in Shasta I realized I had forgotten to put on sunscreen which is pretty necessary this time of year in the mountains to avoid sunburn and at my age Skin Cancers too. So, tomorrow I better remember to put on some sunscreen. But, luckily my room has a good air conditioner and so does my 4 wheel drive truck.

I didn't see any fires but there is a little haze traveling north likely from fires that have been put out already but not enough haze to smell the smoke which is good because it is less likely to affect your lungs if you cannot smell the smoke. If you haven't been around fires all your life as a Californian this is important because most people don't die of burning up they die of smoke inhalation instead (and then sometimes they burn up too because they are unconscious or dead already.

IF you are driving through California, Oregon or Washington this summer and you see a fire (if you aren't used to being around fires all the time during the summer like me growing up in California mostly) you turn on your air re-circulation button usually and the Air conditioner if you have one. This combination usually will filter out all (or most all of the smoke). If you are still worried wear an n-95 mask for added protection to keep air particulates from the smoke from giving you smoke inhalation. 

However, if you are at altitude this  might not work at places like Lake Tahoe where you are already at 6500 feet so wearing a mask might just make you pass out at this altitude. Even coming to mt. Shasta I realized I couldn't easily wear a mask indoors anywhere to protect myself and still breathe until I adjust to the altitude and if there is a bad fire I likely will have to leave pretty soon too. So, I'm glad at least for now I'm okay at this altitude and I still have time to adjust if any bad smoke comes this way (july and August and September are usually the worst smoke months around mt. Shasta but so far the city of Mt. Shasta hasn't burned down any year I'm aware of. But Weed nearby did burn up pretty bad a few years ago right next door north up Interstate 5.