| |
|
| | |
|
| Hiking | 7.00 Miles |
1,579 AEG |
| | Hiking | 7.00 Miles | 4 Hrs 17 Mns | | 1.63 mph |
| 1,579 ft AEG | | | | |
|
|
| |
| Linked |
|
none
[ show ]
| no linked trail guides |
| Partners |
|
[ show ]
| partners | | I had hiked the same trail almost to the day last year so wanting to get out of the heat of the easy valley we decided to make it a camp and hike. But when it got down to it, more than escaping the heat, I wanted to see how much change there would be one year after a pretty intense fire.
[LAST YEAR]
We hiked this trail last year without realizing there had been a fire until we came over a rise and found everything charcoal gray, almost turning back. But with such an eerie "gray-scale" look I couldn't help but want to take pictures of the scenery. Still, there were more than a few times I wondered about that decision. Hiking in Teva's through an environment where there were numerous camouflaged hot-spots. With the ground predominantly gray to white ash, one moment you'd be walking on solid ground, the next you'd be shin-deep in significantly warm ash. Thankfully not quite hot enough to cause burns or melt my sandals, but then I pulled my foot out pretty fast each time. Although I became more vigilant in my attempts to avoid these heat traps, some still caught me unawares. My hiking buddy had no such problem by following my footsteps while avoiding the spots where I dropped in. Although I hike in Teva's the majority of my hikes, due to the ash this was the dirtiest my feet ever got while hiking. Be sure to check out the filthy feet photos in the 2009 link below.
[THIS YEAR]
Not much to offer as far as adventures on the trail this time, but it WAS more pleasant this year. Not only was it cooler, there wasn't as much ash to tread through and no hot spots. Some areas looked almost no different than last year while others had recovered reasonably well.
Photos of the hike are here:
http://www.changephoenix.com/10/2010-06-26EastMtnPinal.html
Compare with photos from one year ago (less than 2 weeks after the fire):
http://www.changephoenix.com/09/2009-06-27EastMtn.html |
| _____________________
| | |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Route Editor
Route Scout
