Sugarloaf
Since 1984 I’ve hiked through Sugarloaf Ridge State Park many, many times. I pedal the park occasionally, but not as often as hiking it, because few trails are designated for bikes, and they tend to be too steep. Today, however, Sugarloaf deserved a visit on two wheels.
10 response to "Sugarloaf"
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Really interesting coverage on the fire on Sugar Loaf. I guess the fire could have done even more damage in the park, but it looks like it was devastating enough. Great shot of your ace support crew, too. Glad she didn’t pummel you to death or we would never have gotten to see your pictures.
Thanks. I’ll try to ride that same route in the spring to snap some “then and now” photos.
Just three questions: 1) Was the Ace Support Crew’s hair intentionally colored to match her bandana? 2) Were those birds that kept an eye on you magpies? (non-Australian of course) 3) As a rogue Catholic, what is the origin of the name “Nun’s Fire?”
I used to climb a Sugarloaf Mountain in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula several times a year for the excellent view of Lake Superior.
https://nordwulf.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/sugarloaf-mountain-marquette-michigan-5.jpg
1) Was the Ace Support Crew’s hair intentionally colored to match her bandana? She only laughed when I asked.
2) Were those birds that kept an eye on you magpies? (non-Australian of course) Fortunately, no swooping!
3) As a rogue Catholic, what is the origin of the name “Nun’s Fire?” In theory, CalFire issues official names based on a landmark of some kind in proximity to the point where a blaze erupts, but it’s always very puzzling. Not sure if any nuns were hanging around where that one started.
Your UP Sugarloaf looks like a great place to hike!
Great photos!
That would have been quite a sight, and terrifying, to see the fires burning below the rocky outcrop.
I wondered how they would set the power poles in that topography — no way a truck is getting in there.
There are some crazy trail cam videos from Sugarloaf that show fleeing wildlife (bears and mountain lions up there, but not sure if they show up on any fire videos) plus flames blazing right up to the motion-activated cameras. As to the power poles, I couldn’t determine for sure but I think the new ones might be metal, not wood.
Well, at least it looks like a mosaic burn with different intensities and not all crown fire. I assume the scrub oak comes back pretty quickly – not 75-100 years like the CO lodgepole forests?
I don’t understand enough about fire behavior to really know for sure, but I could see some places where trees are nothing more than blackened matchsticks, some places where trees are only partly burned, and some places where the grass burned under trees but the leaves look intact. Plus, I think some of the blackened grass along Meadow Trail is the result of back fire intentionally set along the bulldozer line. Supposedly damage is worse on the back side of the park, where the historic old barn burned to the ground, but that area remains closed. I’ll try to get “then and now” photos in the spring.
Burnt earth can be quite photogenic,
I agree. I kept stopping to study different kinds of burn scars. The reporter asked me how I felt about pedaling through the scorched area. I told him I prefer the park fresh and verdant, but forests must inevitably burn sooner or later, so I try to accept and enjoy the aftermath of fire as prelude to regeneration.