Passing wind strands Pacific Trail hikers

MCKENZIE PASS: An unexpected Spring thaw opened up a lot of territory to outdoor enthusiasts this week. Unfortunately some hikers who ventured up to a section of the Pacific Crest Trail had to be rescued.

At 12:01 p.m. on Friday, a youth group from San Jose used a satellite phone to contact the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office. They reported seven members of their twelve person group were suffering from respiratory impairments and circulatory problems. Some were unable to walk.

A dispatcher familiar with the area then contacted visiting scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) who have been inventorying gas emissions at many of the almost 70 active volcanoes in the United States.

Joseph Todd, one of the USGS scientists told the dispatcher tat “we now know that the ‘smoke’ from volcanoes, once attributed by poets to be from Vulcan’s forge, is actually volcanic gas, and an important agent of global change.”

Todd told police to be sure everyone on the

Continued on 4/1/2023