TRAVERSE 175
The thunder and lightning increased with ferocity , hail pelted me and filled up my jacket , pants , and underwear with small pieces of ice . I was not having fun . This was not the first time I questioned my journey and the wisdom of the world record event . I was now certain that the worst was behind me .
In a true geographic sense , the US national parks are at all four corners of our country ; southwest , southeast , northeast , and northwest ; the direction of the path I had planned .
After making my way to the northeast most national park , Olympic National Park , I was heading south and to completion of the visiting several more parks , including those in my home state of California that I had yet to visit ; Lassen , Yosemite , Channel Islands , Pinnacle , Redwood , Kings Canyon , and Sequoia . The furthest north was Lassen National Park which is unique in its volcanic formation as the stereotype of California is often home to only beaches and palm trees .
Being summer , the fire season was upon us , and I had heard rumblings of various fires dotted across the west coast and Canada . As I continued my ride , I could see the smoke , in all directions , surrounding me . A quick assessment yielded the fact that I was literally trapped by fire , and I was re-rerouted several times by state , federal and local police to attempt to work around the fires . It was challenging to breathe as I re-routed my , hopefully , last detour to take me out of danger . The firefighters and first responders were moving in a rapid succession of cars , fire trucks , and airplanes to battle the furious fires that dotted and engulfed the landscape . The sky was apocalyptic in colour of reds and oranges but I assumed the danger was at bay due to the firefighting traffic moving in the opposite direction .
As I approached the entry gate to Lassen National Park , I heard the words that worried me during the entire trip , “ Sorry , the park is closed .” I was gutted , I was literally a few days from completion and now the carpet was being pulled from under my feet and my world record attempt was over .
The park had been closed and the police were exiting all campers and day visitors ahead of the impending fire ravaging the southern part of the park and moving north ; the campers were coming out like rats off a ship .
Only a handful of parks left , and my journey was over is all that I could think . I sat outside with my maps trying to develop a workaround . I found some logging trails that were geographically inside the park . I approached the ranger and pleaded to just let me in for a few minutes so I could visit before all visitors were exited and he allowed it ; thanks to his generosity and understanding of my mission , I was back on track . After I left the park , I entered the logging trails that were out
TRAVERSE 175