Words and photos by Addison Herron-Wheeler
Those who missed Fire in the Mountains this year missed a chance to connect with nature in a way not offered by most music fests. The gorgeous Heart 6 Ranch became temporary home to hundreds of metalheads drinking, camping, and enjoying good music as well as a much-needed escape from the roar of city life.
“We have to be promoting leave-no-trace ethos and treating the land as though we were never on it,” says Jeremy Walker, founder of the fest. “We shared plenty of info about how to camp in a grizzly bear habitat, and had signs reminding people to put the food in the food service trucks and clean up after themselves. I can’t express how important that is, because it’s serious, and it’s also metal as shit. The reason we do this is to create a community for everyone. That’s our goal.”
That goal was reached this year, as the fest successfully churned out two days and a pre-party worth of awesome, epic metal accompanied by rainstorms, a gorgeous rainbow, and some of the most breathtaking mountain views out there.
Don’t get me wrong; this festival was also not for the faint of heart. But while there was some griping about the bugs, the heat, and the long hike up the hill to get to the campsite, it was a small price to pay for the epic connection to nature felt at the fest. Here’s to another amazing year next year with more brutal, black metal goodness.
