BlueRiverGlades Burn- Day II

I arrived at Rocky Point with my mother. I thought we were late, but we were not the last to arrive and the group had not even assembled to review any kind of a plan. John (jackson co.) needed a coupla hands to help his crew at Blue River Glades-

We had burned the 2nd and third glades yesterday- they went smokey and slower in most wooded spots. Today we were to complete the system by burning Glade # 1- the glade you pop up onto when you take the trail from Blue river rd.

It was warm and the humidity was lower than what it was when we started yesterday.

We started to burn about 2/3 onto the glades segment -along the back fire line at the crest of the hill. We striped the back line several times before my side (the side up against the draw between 2nd and 1st glades) wrapped around to ignite a head fire. We lit the base of the wooded hill and burnt the leaf-litter before we created a second, hotter, faster head fire from the main trail. The radiant heat was intense- at times unbearable! My goggles protected most of my face. I covered my lips, chin, and as much of my cheeks as I could with my left hand when I crouched to take a few pics. It was only a split second before the tiny spots of exposed skin grew too hot to let cook. I whipped my face around and found extreme relief when my front side faced from the huge flames. The back of my legs roasted where the jeans touched me. I turned and snapped another seconds worth of photos before I again turned away and rest the lens of the camera of my chin. The metal rim of the filter scorched my chin. I cant believe what I put that camera through!

Spiders swarmed on the ground in a massive spider-migration to flee the heat and smoke. A green stink-bug or moth could be seen in the air at anytime. A small bark-beetle crawled from a decaying log.

John gave me a torch and the opportunity to sling flames during a short mop-up above the bluffs. I think I would have had more fun if I was -maybe- 10yrs? younger. I had a blast as it was and learned some new things too.
We moved below the bluffs where smoke was already billowing from. I was sent back for a bladder pack. Forgot how heavy they are!

John immediately traded me a rake for the pack upon my return and we made our way along the underside of the first glade. Spent an hour or so putting out the heavier fuels from above the creek and below the bluffs before we called it quits. Everybody looked pretty exhausted- two days of that 'll wear you out!