I just “found” this photo from back in July 2006, when some friends and I hiked a circumnavigational route around Wetterhorn Peak, a 14er in the Uncompahgre Wilderness of the San Juans in southwest Colorado. For a portion of this day, smoke from a nearby forest fire filled the high alpine basin, obscuring the view of Wetterhorn in a blue haze.
I think I was visiting then from West Virginia. It was the beginning of July and from Ouray to near Silverton, everything was clear. But near Silverton things got hazy. Stopping in Silverton, it got so smoky I could really smell and see the smoke. From Silverton to Durango, I couldn’t see the mountains at all!
I love the flowers in your photo, especially the rosy paintbrush.
Carol