The Burn Scar Graveyard and Ranger Bill

Another amazing hike in Central Oregon. Black Crater was my 3rd peak in the Central Oregon Challenge. Round trip I recorded 7.3 miles and 2,420 feet in elevation gain.

From the start the burn scars from previous fires just overwhelm the scenery for most of the hike. I wondered how long it had been like this. IT was obvious that with the new growth coming in, it had been some time. In fact, as I ran into Ranger Bill (who did check for my permit) he confirmed the fires were at least 10 years ago. Yet it was still eerie walk through the scar. There had been some recent blowdowns on trail, but again, the Central Oregon Trail Maintenance Crews were all over it. I counted at least a dozen and a half fresh cut blowdowns, not to mention the dozens that had been cut in previous years. Thank you, Crews, for what you do.

It was refreshing to climb out of the burn scar right around the 2.6 mile mark.

The sign at the trailhead read 4 miles to the summit. Alltrails recorded it at 3.53 miles. And my Garmin recorded 3.67 miles. So, I’ll stick with my Garmin’s recording.