afternoon at rucker canyon   6 comments

Posted at 8:13 pm in Uncategorized

The approach to Rucker Canyon along Rucker Canyon Road on the west side of the Chiricahua Mountains.

Last week, I took Sage and Sabrina and headed up to Rucker Canyon, which lies on the west side of the Chiricahua Mountains. For those who are unfamiliar with the Chiricahua range, here’s a link to a map.

That morning, I set out with some trepidation about what we might find when we arrived at our destination. All winter, I’ve been asking friends around town whether they’ve been over to Rucker since last summer’s catastrophic Horseshoe 2 fire that burnt up over 222,000 acres of the Chiricahua Mountain forests. I had read some of the fire reports and was quite sure that there must be at least some of the canyon that remained undamaged, but no one seemed to know for sure. Rucker Canyon is among my favourite places in Cochise County and I looked forward to a vist, but I didn’t really want to drive all the way there only to be disappointed.

During the approach along Rucker Canyon Road, it was difficult to know whether the mountaintops had been burnt off by the Horseshoe 2 Fire, or by the Rattlesnake Fire of 1994. The earlier fire resulted in major destruction in the canyon, causing silting that destroyed Rucker Lake and a nearby campground. I turned off into the Cypress Park campground which is shaded by a number of massive Arizona Cypress and a few Ponderosa Pines. It remains relatively undamaged as the older trees are somewhat impervious to fire damage if it passes through quickly. However, small trees and underbrush in the area had been burnt out, so the site wasn’t quite as I remembered it from my last visit.

one of the campsites at the Rucker Forest Campground

Arriving at the Rucker Forest Campground, I breathed a sigh of relief as I found it relatively unscathed, although once again, smaller trees around the periphery were damaged. It’s a small campground consisting of about 15 sites nestled against the canyon wall and Rucker Creek. The sites feature that classic style of stonework characteristic of campgrounds built by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the 1930s.

a glimpse of the rocky crags of a nearby peak, framed by tall Ponderosa Pines

On this day, a stiff breeze blew through the canyon, chilling the air and whistling through the branches of the towering Ponderosas and Arizona Cypress. I parked and found a sunny spot at a picnic table and lunched on homemade chickpea and cauliflower salad and halved avocados with lime juice. Then it was time for a hike up the trail along Rucker Creek.

Setting out from the campground, the trail is wide and level, closely following the creek. A few elegant, pale-skinned Sycamores joined the pines and cypress. In places, ornate rock formations give the landscape a feel akin to that of a Japanese garden.

Occasionally, the trail crosses the creek which, at this time of the year, rushes through between the boulders. During the summer rains, I can well imagine that one might get more than wet feet.

fire-blackened bark on the trunk of a large Ponderosa Pine

Further along, the trail begins to rise and occasionally narrows to barely shoulder wide as it skirts areas where there have been rock slides down the steep talus slopes. In those sections, it’s wise to keep your eyes on the ground and not do too much sightseeing as a trip or slip could send you tumbling to the boulder strewn stream bank beneath.

As mentioned above, smaller trees were often badly burnt to the point where recovery was unlikely or impossible. The character of the forest is changed by lack of understory, but new vegetation could be seen here and there.

The above poor young Ponderosa Pines put me in mind of Dr. Seuss’s truffula trees. Somehow, I doubt that they will ever grow to tower above Rucker Creek.

Written by bev wigney on March 8th, 2012

6 Responses to 'afternoon at rucker canyon'

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  1. Ok. Now I want the pictures AND your camera. (grin) What kind do you use? I may have asked before but not on the blog. You are right about the Seuss trees. They are almost cute. What a shame about the fire and I do hope they make it. You would think the younger trees would have an edge over the older ones, but it seems not to be so. Amazing how resilient nature can be if given half a chance. Not too long after Mt. St. Helena in Washington St. blew, there were plants peeking through the ashes.

    Joan

    8 Mar 12 at 10:43 pm

  2. Great to read your perspective, Bev! And I’m glad the fires didn’t destroy everything; I suspect nature will triumph over the long run. It’s looking increasingly unlikely that I will get through Bisbee before you head back to Annapolis Royal. Maybe next year. Safe travels!

    John

    8 Mar 12 at 9:43 pm

  3. John – Not to worry if you don’t make it to Bisbee this season. It seems very likely that, barring some unforeseen catastrophe, I’ll be back here next winter.

    bev wigney

    9 Mar 12 at 12:11 am

  4. glad you had a successful hike and play day!

    Sky

    9 Mar 12 at 1:35 am

  5. Such a lively post, bev!

    Just occurred to me how much the approach to Rucker Canyon looks like a scene from Kung Fu!

    Although I get out and walk in all seasons here in the Pacific Northwest, I do look forward to the times when it isn’t raining and yearn for the blue skies and dry ground you have all winter in Arizona.

    Was thinking that you have the best of both worlds by spending part of the year in Bisbee and the other part in Canada. No extreme cold or extreme heat with that pattern. Maybe that’s why the Pacific Northwest works so well for me. There is a lot of rain here but much of it is just misty rain, not stormy rain. There are no long periods of either cold or hot weather here. It is a good place for walking.

    am

    11 Mar 12 at 8:53 pm

  6. I’m not jealous of your Arizona spring this year, Bev, because we’re having nearly the same here south of Ottawa! It’s sunny and 23C this afternoon, with light breeze, and the Red Maples north of Brockville are in red popcorn flower, those up here soon to follow! The Chorus Frogs are grrrricking in spots as well, so we’ll have to hit the road on the Chorus Frog survey in the next couple of days. We’re boiling down our maple sap today – abrupt end to the sugaring season….

    aleta Karstad

    18 Mar 12 at 12:57 pm

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