Deadman Valley lives up to its name....now.

 ...because it looks dead, thanks to last summer's wildfires.

Over the weekend of May 14th, we took a trip with friends for our first outing of the year. We booked a few sites at Juniper Beach Provincial Park, and although the weather did not cooperate for the first two days, things cleared up a bit on Saturday so we took advantage of it.

The wind was our biggest adversary, as we made the 13 km jaunt from Juniper Beach to the Deadman Valley turnoff. Once in the valley itself, things calmed down a bit. 
Here is the junction of Deadman and Backvalley roads, with hoodoos to the right.

About a kilometre before Mowich lake, the damage became apparent. The devastation was incredible....the landscape didn't even look familiar anymore. We had been coming to this area for several years and it was barely recognizable. 
This is the south end of Mowich lake.

People are in the process of rebuilding what they've lost, but it will take decades for this area to regain its natural beauty again.
The East side of Mowich lake and a bit of a view north....

We pressed on...awestruck by the immensity of the damage...huge tracts of land that are simply devoid of any greenery or vegetation. The northern end of the valley seemed to avoid any damage....
Vidette Lake from high above...looking south.

I stopped to take some more pictures on the return trip. Standing, burnt trees have been cleared from the roadsides and the entire area has been reduced to a moonscape....heart-breaking.
To their credit, the Ministry has done a great job of repairing the road, and in many places it is even better than the original.

This is what the area looks like now....

As compared to an earlier trip, a few years ago....not the exact-same spot, but you get the idea of how lush and thick the forest was.

The southern end of the valley was largely untouched...

Here is an old structure along the way, as it looked in 2011...

...and how it is today.

This trek was a sobering look at the after-effects of an out-of-control wildfire. I know this sort of thing has been happening for as long as earth has stood, but the overall devastation is truly awe-inspiring, as well as tragic.
As if the fires weren't enough....the November rains also wreaked havoc on the road and several bridges along this route. 


If only we'd had those rains at the same time as the fire......