one thing i continually noticed when exploring burn areas within the park - there are pockets of pine trees that burned in the fire such as this one. the ends of the branches burned off and it appears the fire burned the bark off of the branches near the trunk. yet, the trunk maintained its bark. when the light hits the trees in a certain way, i noticed the harsh contrasts of the light reflecting off the newly exposed wood of the branches, contrasting with the darkness of the trunk of the trees.

i noticed this phenomenon in a number of areas, but nowhere was it more apparent than this particular spot within the park. although i’d hiked past this location a couple of times, i made an additional six-mile hike, specifically for this image as the sun rose above the ridge to begin shining on the exposed branches.