FISHING Arnold’s White Pines Lake was a pleasant place to fish for trout on Labor Day weekend, though multiple California wildfires were on editor Chris Cocoles’ mind. (CHRIS COCOLES)
BIG TREES, BAD FIRES A SIERRA FISHING GETAWAY BRINGS BACK MEMORIES AMID DEVASTATING CALIFORNIA BLAZES By Chris Cocoles
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RNOLD—What I’ll remember most about here are the trees. Huge trees. Trees at the lake I fished. Trees above the spectacular middle fork of the Stanislaus River we hiked. We even stayed in the shadows of Calaveras Big Trees State Park!
And when my sisters, brother-inlaw and our dogs relaxed on the deck of our cabin tucked away on a quiet street in the quaint community of Dorrington, the trees were always on our mind – partly because of the pine cones that kept falling and crashing down around us. But despite not getting any cell
phone service throughout this peaceful and socially distanced Labor Day weekend, the Wi-Fi at our rental allowed a chance to follow what had become a statewide tragedy. Starting with freak August lightning storms, then an early September heatwave, the Golden State’s fire year became historically bad: 3.7 million acres
calsportsmanmag.com | OCTOBER 2020 California Sportsman
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