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Annadel Trees, June 2018
Scouting more trees: A Photographic Log
6 June 2018, 16 miles
Over at Cycle365, the Challenge of the Month for June involves photographing tree(s) and bicycle. Trees? Quite a lot of those at Annadel State Park, adjacent to Spring Lake (where I was a couple of days ago) and just a few miles from home.About half of Annadel was severely burned during the October wildfires that devastated this area, and parts of the park remain closed. I've conducted several forays up into the burn zone (see some of my other rides) where the charred trees—some fallen, some still standing—are hard to miss. Today I decided to pedal on the fire roads along the edge of the burn, which is where the fire crews finally managed to make a stand and prevent the blazes from consuming the entire park. While not quite as raw and blackened as it looked when that area reopened, plenty of signs of the firestorm remain. I tried to strike a balance among photographing burned areas, regenerating areas, and areas that survived unscathed.
Once again, the ride was short on miles and long on photos.
Heading up into Annadel on Canyon Trail.
Canyon Trail is actually a fire road that already existed and served its purpose well in October.
All around are charred signs of the fire...
...and signs of regeneration.
Photobombed from the right.
Photobombed from the left.
Charred hillside.
Please excuse my artsy-fartsy pretensions.
Charred hillside.
This one died a natural death.
Along the trail.
The blaze burned right up to Canyon Trail, the fire road which suddenly became a critical line for holding back the conflagration and preventing it from racing across the park and reaching the adjacent neighborhoods of Santa Rosa. The northern side of Santa Rosa was already incinerated.
Charcoal everywhere.
And little flowers.
The fire transformed many trees into blackened telephone poles.
This warning seems a little more serious after the mountain biker was killed by a cougar in Washington.
At least one cougar has been spotted in Annadel lately. Not sure I could put up much of a defense with my pump and Swiss Army knife.
Along the trail.
Another deceased tree.
Photobombed again.
Lots of riders on the trail for the middle of the day in the middle of the week.
Looking toward Lake Ilsanjo and, in the distance, Mount St Helena.
Lake Ilsanjo.
Lake Ilsanjo.
Along the shore of Lake Ilsanjo.
Who's that in the tall grass?
Back home after the fire, and completely unconcerned about the goofy bicyclist with a camera.
Along the lake.
Yes, I have snapped about a million photos of the Ogre parked on the Lake Ilsanjo dam.
Probably my favorite spot in all of Annadel.
Channeling Claude Monet.
I try hard, even if I don't always get a passing grade.
Does this look like Giverny?
I wish.
Light, shadow, and texture.
Sun and trees as abstract design.
Annadel trees looking delicate and ethereal.
But, just a few feet away, we're at the edge of the burn zone.
Charred trees all around.
Some trees survived. Some didn't.
A row of scorched stalks.
Fuel for the firestorm.
Mute reminder that we almost lost the entire park.
More charcoal.
They didn't burn, but they shriveled and died from the heat.
Farther along the trail, an area that escaped the inferno.
Zooming back.
Zooming back.
Zooming back.
In this direction, most of the park escaped devastation, but the edge of the burn zone is visible on the hillside.
A few burned trees between me and Lake Ilsanjo.
Still standing.
All along the trail.
But these are also all along the trail
Heading down from Annadel on Warren Richardson Trail.
Summary
Date: 6 June 2018
Time: 12:00 - 3:00
Weather: 65-75° F, sunny, breezy
Route: Annadel
Distance: 16 miles
Bike: Surly Ogre
Riders: Solo
Comments? Questions? Suggestions? I'd like to hear from you.
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