June 2nd, Wood Canyon was accidentally sent ablaze (by a teenage boy, I believe, who later confessed). A sense of sadness came over me when I heard the news. Fire. It’s such a bizarre thing. It can save you and it can kill you. And the whole fire versus wilderness thing, well, that’s all part of nature. The cycle of nature burning and then re-growing is also a part of the natural cycle. So, I think the sadness was mostly due to the fact that a big change was coming for a place that I know intimately. I bet that I could travel all of Wood Canyon blind folded. So, my sadness was over saying good-bye to the way it was, which I loved, really loved. I’ve seen fires come through before, in several different areas. It all comes back – it just comes back differently.
Eight days later, on June 10, I took a hike during the early evening into Wood Canyon. And yes, it had changed. Entering from the Canyon View Park location, I didn’t see any indication of the fire for about the first mile and a half. I did see other signs however. Signs like big heavy machinery tire-tracks left on the trail and in the creek crossings. Signs like branches and brush strewn about on the trail, and trail signs smashed in the dirt.
I could finally see the first parts of the burned portion in Wood Canyon about a quarter mile out from it. The charred area begins near The Old Corral right beneath Soka University. I immediately noticed tiny bits of ash blowing about in the breezy evening air. It smelled of burnt wood everywhere. And the whole canyon seemed to open up and widen with the trees and brush no longer there.
From Soka University the burnt area continues down Wood Canyon until just before Cave Rock (which I visited to break away from the viewing). Dripping Cave is completely closed to the public due to the fire. The burnt area also continues into Mathis Canyon – just past Nature Loop trail. The Nature Loop Trail is closed, and all of Coyote Run (south of RockIt).
Total Miles: 7.93 / Elevation Gain: 665’
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