All traces of the smoke had disappeared when they reached the Umpqua River and Bill climbed to the nine thousand foot level. The mountains to the south stood out distinctly in the sky. Directly in their path were Mount Thielsen, ninety-one hundred feet, and Mount Bailey, eighty-three hundred feet high. Mountains with their tops above the seven thousand foot level were numerous. To the east the visibility was almost unlimited and one range after another sloped off from the Oregon High Desert further to the east.
Before reaching Mount Thielsen, they passed over Diamond Lake. It was located in a valley between Thielsen and Bailey. Just why lakes should nestle in the valleys along the crest of this high mountain range, Bill could never understand. In California there is a long chain of lakes which extends from the middle of the state to the Oregon line. These lakes are also located amidst the highest peaks of the Sierras. It is a topsy-turvy condition of topographical features that allows water to be plentiful among the mountain peaks where it should run off, and have extremely arid land down in the plains.
Bill’s thoughts were far afield from his engine as he cruised along over Diamond Lake. He had about ninety-five hundred feet altitude and everything was running smoothly. There was no reason why he should think of his plane. Also there was no reason for looking for forest fires, as they had not seen any for the last twenty or thirty minutes of the flight. Bill was brought back to the business at hand with a jerk. His engine started an intermittent miss.
He looked under the plane for a possible landing field. There was none. The lake was out of the question as the timber came right down to the water line. He had no idea of the nature of the country ahead of him and reasoned that it might be even worse than that which he had already passed over. He had no option, he must turn back.
With the start of the turn, the missing increased alarmingly. The engine was now giving just enough power to keep the plane in level flight. Bill tried to retain the altitude that he had, for, seemingly, he had a long distance to go before he could find any kind of a place to land his plane. He remembered having flown over a burnt-over area some distance back and headed in that direction. The area was covered with snags and second growth timber, but it was better to take a chance in that then in the towering trees which covered the ground under him.