In 2021, the backbone fire ripped through parts of Coconino National Forest, including Fossil Creek. Fossil Creek is home to the waterfall trail which was destroyed. Wildfires are devastating. They destroy beautiful landscapes that take years, sometimes generations, to recover.
The waterfall trail is a short, easy hike that ends at a gorgeous… waterfall (didn’t see that one coming, huh? 🤣)
After wildfires, areas like Fossil Creek are more at risk for flash floods. The area is closed and will remain so until at least the end of 2021. It may even stay closed through the fall of 2022.
I was only able to visit the trail once and who knows when, or if, the trail will ever be the same again.
This is a devastating loss.
