Red Maples, West Fork. The fall colors were probably just a bit past their prime by the time I was able to get into the West Fork (of Oak Creek Canyon) this year (late October, 2022) – but they were still putting on a masterful performance. This patch of maple saplings is growing alongside a charred ponderosa trunk in an area scorched by the Slide Fire in 2014. They’re doing their part to show us how an alpine forest heals itself after a burn, and they’re doing it in...
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Red Maples, West Fork. The fall colors were probably just a bit past their prime by the time I was able to get into the West Fork (of Oak Creek Canyon) this year (late October, 2022) – but they were still putting on a masterful performance. This patch of maple saplings is growing alongside a charred ponderosa trunk in an area scorched by the Slide Fire in 2014. They’re doing their part to show us how an alpine forest heals itself after a burn, and they’re doing it in style, ably assisted by their yellow and orange siblings in the background plus an exquisitely targeted beam of morning sunlight that just happened to break over the canyon rim while I was admiring them.

Tech info: Nikon D850 camera with Nikon 28-300mm lens at 122mm, 1/320 sec. at f/8, ISO 1000.

Image ©2022 James D. Peterson
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