DESERT FIRE
Location: Superstition Wilderness, Tonto National Forest
Date: 2/27/2026 - 3/1/2026
Wildfire is devastating and purifying, a release of years of accumulated sunlight back into charcoal and dirt. Forest fire has become a familiar presence across the west. So has a greater understanding of fire’s role in the health of woodlands. Wildfire’s increasing frequency in the Sonoran Desert is trickier, less clear cut. Invasive grasses and changing rain patterns are increasing fire frequency. But this desert is a relatively young biome, and it’s not clear what this landscape will become. This trip is an opportunity to walk within a desert in continual transformation, holding grief and curiosity open handedly, together.
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The hike moves through the area burned in the 2024 Siphon Fire to witness how growth is returning. The second half of the trip follows unburned drainages in verdant spring bloom. All the while, we circle the iconic Weaver’s Needle formation, a prominent stone watchtower holding geological time in the center of an otherwise incomprehensibly rapid transition.
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