3. The Slaughter Canyon Trail
Much of this canyon was burnt out in May of 2010, a fire started by lightning:
Linked here is a news story with a photo (duplicated here) concerning that burn:
The fire was 'managed' (kept from spreading) on the lower north side and in the lower center and south sides, near the cave area and toward the entrance. It was allowed to burn into the steep sides of the canyon to the south and west:
"The fire is currently burning in steep, rocky terrain where it poses no immediate threats to life or property and is benefiting this fire-adapted landscape. . . . Naturally occurring fires have helped shape the landscape over time and maintain the diversity of species. They also stimulate new plant growth and create a mosaic of burned and unburned vegetation which can help limit or slow the intensity and limit the spread of large wildfires in the future." (see this link for the complete story, a news release by the National Park Service posted on the "Incident Information System" used by all federal land management agencies.)
So, we can expect, as we go up the canyon only 10 months later, to see some considerable fire damage. That is discouraging, but it is also an opportunity to visit the survivors and maybe even some of that expected new life?
As I was walking along in the burnt out area there was one place where, just in the corner of my eye, I thought I saw just a tiny flicker of color. It was here:
And this is what produced that color!
What a hopeful little flower that is!
I thanked it for brightening my day, of course.
You say for me to lower the expectation for new life? That 10 months isn't enough time to start anything? OK, you are right, this bright little flower was unique in all the ground I scanned.
BUT, the Summer of 2010 was a marvelously wet summer, here, so if there were any seeds in the ground, they ought to have produced very well later that year (explaining all that now yellow grass, which was probably green in the late summer last year just a few months after the fire).
This year? Still too dry to tell, really.
So let's go up the canyon (go to 3A, B, C. . . etc.).
3. A. Following the flow channels on the north side
3. B. Finding the trail again coming from the south side
3. C. Life in the burnt out area
3. D. More life in the burnt out area
3. E. Looking out from the ridge
3. F. Coming back using the trail
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