Carr Peak (first time since the June 2011 wildfire)

Carr Peak was reopened to the public on Friday, so instead of walking up the road I was able to drive up to the last parking area and hike the peak trail for the first time since last June. I was thus able to see the fire damage for myself. I took my time hiking to the peak, looking at flora and taking almost 500 pictures. I hadn't been up here since the forest was closed last June, so seeing the fire damage today was both suspenseful and scary. I had no idea what I'd find.

The morning started out cool and overcast; perfect weather for a peak. Sadie and I got to the trailhead at 10:09am. We were the first ones in the parking lot. I was expecting many more people, since this area had been closed off since early June of last year.

The trees at the upper campsite were mostly still there, as were the manzanitas along the first ridge. Even the oldest strand of pines were intact. But less than a mile on the trail and I could see the extensive damage all around me: Reef Townsite took a heavy toll and entire sections of the trail are now hot and exposed. The first mile had been exposed for years so this was nothing new, but after that first mile there are entire sections of burned trees.

What surprised me the most, though, was the lack of flowers. I only spotted three different flowers on the trail and two of them were alpine species. Pink penstemons that normally bloom this time of year were none. Yellow Columbine, which had clustered around the cool trunks of aspen, were also absent although I saw young leaves emerge from the soil. The entire horizon was a dead hue of brown, with an isolated green tree here and there. But I've gotten over my grief.

Upon looking at trees more closely, though, one notices that many of what look like dead trees are still alive. Many have green canopies, or are burned on only one side. When I arrived at the aspen groves it was much of the same thing, with the lower aspen grove actually just now showing buds. The upper aspen grove is more damaged than the lower grove, with many of the trees burned at the trunks.

The lower aspen grove also had some snow left from the March 19 storm. This was great for Sadie. I stopped whenever she needed water. There was also trickling water at the one overhang, and we stopped here as well.

The higher and closer I got to Carr Peak, the more damage I saw. Oaks, elms, aspens, pines standing burned in all directions. Upper Miller Canyon looked especially ravaged. This area had already had so many dead trees from the last fire in 1997, and now there are newer, blacker trees to add to the wasteland.

On a hot and clear day this would be one very hot hike now. Some shady areas still remain, and of course the amount of shade varies with the time of day. The sky didn't begin to clear up until I hit the peak at 11:58. Sadie and I sat here for 45 minutes, having lunch, looking around and just enjoying the solitude. Carr Peak looks like the last burned peak as everything north still looks fine.

We didn't come across anyone until we began our descent. A couple spending the weekend in the mountains approached me just off the creek. Further down a man and his two white retrievers hiked up, and a mile from the end I met five army dudes bushwhacking up from Miller Canyon. I also saw a lone USBP agent behind some dark trees in the campground. (I met another five men 2.5 miles down the road walking the road up; they wanted to hit the peak). Why do people start hikes so late in the day when it's at its hottest?

I was in the mountains for five hours. It was nice to be on Carr again, although there wasn't much as far as wildlife goes. I saw a group of ravens fly around Carr and Miller. Were they the same Ravens Ellen and I spotted last week? I saw three species of butterflies, bluejays, one meadowlark and several hawks, but the forest was void of the usual songbirds.

When I hiked up this trail I didn't think the damage from last summer's fire was ~that~ bad, but looking at photos later on this evening, I do realize I may be too optimistic. Some of the mountainsides are now void of the usual flora. All I can do now is see this part of the mountains as a beginning, and watch life come back, slowly, as the years pass. I hope to live long enough to see a new forest emerge.