Page 18 - winter 2019

18 Friends oF red rock canyon

The stream reminded me of the clear, rushing
creeks up in the mountains of North Carolina. It
was unlike anything else we’d seen in Red Rock
– or anywhere nearby. I couldn’t believe this was
here, in the desert. We started to hike up the creek,
mesmerized by what we had found. About a quar-
ter of a mile upstream, the water flattened out and
became much wider, covering the roots of trees, so
that many
of them
looked
like they
were
growing
up out of
the water.
Article and photos by Dana Raborn The kids

played
he first few times my family and I hiked the there for
T Pine Creek Canyon trail, the only water we a while,
saw was in the cattail-lined deep, green pool near stepping gingerly from rock to rock, and walk-
the metal picnic table off the Fire Ecology trail. ing across the trunk of a fallen tree. When we left
And then one February afternoon as the weather Pine Creek that day, I felt like we had discovered
started to gold. I was so happy to find that one of the things
warm, I took I missed the most about the east coast was actually
the kids and here after all.
dog out to
Volunteers dedicated to the preservation of Red Rock Canyon
Pine Creek The next February we returned: once with
after school. just my son and dog (and stayed for three hours
As we hiked while he filmed a “short” about a magic pebble
along the in a creek), twice with neighbors to walk along
trail heading the creek, once after it snowed, and then again in
toward the old March, when it started to hail.
homestead, This summer while back east, I got a text from
I noticed an a friend that Pine Creek was burning. I worried
unidentifiable about the trees that lined our favorite creek, but
loud whoosh- then I remembered the Ecology Fire trail loop
ing sound. At (where the BLM conducted a prescribed burn in
first I thought it must a strong wind approaching 1992 to clear the flammable brush that could oth-
from our left. But the wind never arrived. Then erwise have enabled tree-destroying wildfires), and
I realized that the sound wasn’t getting louder or wondered if it wasn’t such a bad thing.
quieter, but seemed to follow us as we headed
through the pines, toward the canyon. We won- I’ve been out to the trail since the fire, and saw
dered if it could be water - it almost sounded like that most of the fire damage is farther away (vis-
a waterfall. The kids and I decided to investigate ible to the right, as once approaches the home-
and began to make our way through the trees to- stead). Apparently the June 22 fire was closer to
ward the sound. And then suddenly there it was: a Dale’s trail, just north of Pine Creek. It’s good to
rushing torrent of water, racing over the rocks and know the pine trees are still there. I can’t wait ‘til
weeds, through the bushes and trees. February.

the Rock - Volume 9 Issue 2