The forest is open again

The Coronado National Forest opened most of its trails this past Saturday. Today, after the heat of the day had subsided, I took all three dogs to Hunter Canyon to enjoy our first walk in the foothills since the forest was closed on 9 June. I wanted to see how bad the damage was.

The dogs were ecstatic. They acted like they hadn't forgotten the place, running up and down and sniffing all the burned spots. Although the old wooden Coronado National Forest sign has been replaced with a yellow Burned Area sign warning of flash floods and fallen debris, there wasn't much damage to cause a hindrance.

I must admit the damage wasn't as bad as expected. There were already many dead trees in Hunter Canyon before the fire that are still standing. Most of the damage in the lower canyon seem to be from flash floods. Water flashed across areas I wouldn't have expected to flood, such as across where rednecks go to shoot at trees near the spring, and the wash that the illegals use at night to evade the Border Patrol.

Two older women walking a Yellow Lab further up West Hunter Canyon Trail told me they came from Stump Canyon and wanted to see the damage here. To them Hunter Canyon was beautiful. They had come across an illegal trail I didn't realize went into Stump Canyon. I knew there was a trail there, but because of the private property around it, never bothered to walk that way. After the two women were out of sight, I followed them into Stump Canyon.

The women were right: As soon as you enter Stump Canyon from Hunter Canyon, you can see the extensive damage the fire had done there. There are grasses growing now, but most of the oaks and manzanitas are dead. This is where the fire burned the longest, and one can see far to the west where the burn area extends.

I walked past an abandoned mine I never knew was there. In fact, the entire area seemed new to me although I had driven into Stump Canyon twice in July to get a cursory view of the damage.

All around me was black sprinkled with lush green. I saw a few birds but there still seems to be few of those. Yet I still worried about snakes. I could see burned homes below me and up the canyon. The smell of wet campfire still lingered here. One homeowner was diligently rebuilding his home near the former Catholic shrine area, but there seems to be more burned homes than intact homes. Walking past the ruins was a bittersweet experience as it brought back that nightmare from mid June.

A distant thunderstorm rumbled from the south, so I cut across the mining road to Hunter Canyon Road back to the truck. I'm not sure how far we walked, perhaps three miles at most at a decent pace. It was just enough for the two older dogs, although Sadie would have loved to go on.

Next Saturday I am leading a hike up Huachuca Peak in lieu of Carr Peak. Carr Peak and the higher trails won't open until October. That is where most of the damage is, in the high ridges.