Six more weeks of winter and Ruidoso, NM

Well, shadows were seen by the various official weather predicting groundhogs and the verdict came back – six more weeks of winter.  I’m not sure that Texas, especially south Texas follows the same rules.  Perhaps we need our own special spring predicting animal, maybe the armadillo?

 

Light snow cover in the White Mountain Wilderness

 

Anyhow, in the spirit of experiencing a little more winter, David and I went out to Odessa to visit family for a week and then up to my parent’s cabin in Ruidoso, New Mexico.  David’s brother, Jim, drove down from Ft. Worth to join us. 

Ruidoso has been a special place for David and I since we were first married and we have spent many a vacation in the cool mountains to escape the San Antonio summer heat.  Right before beginning our RV journey back in June 2012 we spent a week in Ruidoso hiking and enjoying the mountains. 

As it turned out, we were so glad we made that trip.  A week later a lightning strike started a fire in the nearby White Mountain Wilderness that quickly got out of control.  The Ruidoso/Little Bear Fire continued to burn for two more months and before the fire was out 44,330 acres of our beloved forest were badly burned.  Fortunately, the town of Ruidoso and much of the surrounding forest were spared.

Burn area about midway up ski run road

Near top of road ski run road

The first thing we noticed upon arriving in town was just how little snow was on the mountains.  Usually by February there is a decent snow pack at the higher elevations although snow falls have been trending downward in recent years.  Recovery from the fire will be more difficult unless there is more snow very soon or a wet summer.

As much as we dreaded it, we felt we had to take a drive and some short walks into the forest to see what remained.  We found that most of the White Mountain Wilderness had some fire damage.  From the ski area looking west and north, it was devastating.  The mountain tops were completely burned as far as we could see - though there were a few patches of green in the valleys and in small places here and there.

Burned peaks as far as you can see...

 

The more we drove and stopped and looked and walked, the sadder we became.  Fire is part of nature’s plan but we still mourn the loss of those beautiful old-growth firs, spruce and pines.  It will take a couple of hundred years before there will be old-growth stands in the White Mountains again.

 

 

But along with the devastation, signs of recovery were already showing.  On a section of the Crest Trail we saw cinquefoil and lupine growing low and close to the ground.  The clump grasses and bear grass, though dormant now, were alive and ready to start growing in the spring.  I am sure many seeds are ‘banked’ in the ground and ready to grow with warmth and moisture.

Near the end of our sad excursion into the forest we arrived at the Argentina/Bonito Trailhead, one of our favorite places to hike.  What a joyful sight it was to see that part of the valley and trailhead almost untouched by fire.  Tears were in our eyes.  The trails in this valley head up into the high country where some of the most severe fire damage occured and the forest service has put up caution signs warning hikers to expect downed trees and trail damage. So not everything escaped the fire.  But it was such a relief to see that at least a few of our ‘sacred’ places had not been completely burned away…

A bright spot - No fire here!