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| Hiking | 10.41 Miles |
1,225 AEG |
| | Hiking | 10.41 Miles | 4 Hrs 54 Mns | | 2.29 mph |
| 1,225 ft AEG | 21 Mns Break | | | |
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| partners | | With the re-opening of the western side of the Superstition Wilderness, I was anxious to see how bad the Siphon Fire roasted up the area. I asked Wally if he was interested in checking it out and was.
We met at the First Water TH at 630am and started off to do the loop clockwise. Right away, there was fire damage around the trailhead and the trail. Some of it appeared to be backburning, but as we made it past the Second Water/Dutchman junction, it was clear where the fire was.
Second Water trail had significant damages along the trail, but it was intermittent when the topography was rugged. Some areas were roasted, other survived unscathed. As we climbed up to Garden Valley, the full impact of this fire became evident. Garden Valley was burnt up as far as we could see. Big parts of this area was damaged by the Superstition Fire a few year ago. The grass that grew back burnt again. I am guessing we will see the complete replacement of native plants with grasses if the fires continue.
Hiking up Black Mesa Trail, the beautiful saguaro forest along the eastern side of the trail was roasted as well as the western side. There were a few patches of green left that escaped, but I'd guess 75%-80% was affected. Pretty sad site for sure. As we made it up to the plateau of the trail, the fire damage was total. It was moonscape with nothing surviving in some places. This was another area that was partially damaged by the Superstition Fire and all of that waist high grass I saw the last time up here earlier in the year did what grass does when fires come. I am guessing this area will also be transformed into a grassland, if it hasn't already. Hiking down the Black Mesa Trail towards the Dutchman there was significant damage as well. But, since the landscape is more rugged, some parts didn't get burnt at all. Yellow peak escape the fire on the western facing side. The drainage below was roasted. The fire seemed to follow drainages up. Along the trail itself, the damage was crazy bad.
The first look at the Dutchman trail coming down was depressing. Burnt trees and black ash was all that was left in some spots. The fire seemed to burn in the flat areas or drainages and didn't creep up the sides of the hills in some spots. Palomino was roasted on the north side and the trail between Black Top Mesa and Palomino was really roasted. I was curious to see if the amazing crested saguaro in this area survived and was relieved to see it had.
Hiking back towards Parker Pass, there were areas that were total burn outs and then areas with nothing. The fire damage was bad going up towards O'Grady Canyon. Parker Pass had bad damage in some areas as well. The fire missed a portion of the trail going north from the pass, but some sections were really burnt up. The many of the lush areas along First Water Creek were roasted to the ground. Closer to the junction with Second Water trail, the fire didn't damage the trail at all.
I knew I would be depressed hiking out here, and I was (am). But, I had to see how bad it was. And, it was bad. This place will heal and recover, eventually. Rains, new growth and time will bring it back. But, the 10000's of native plants burnt and damaged will probably not be part of that renewal going forward. I need to accept the Superstitions are becoming a grassland now. And grass burns frequently. I would guess we will see more and more fires as the grass becomes the dominant flora in the area. Another depressing thought. |
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"Jobs fill your pockets, adventures fill your soul."
instagram: @andydilling |
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