It’s a difficult, arduous hike. Two trails, totaling 7 miles round trip. The Hotshots Trail is beautifully engineered, switchbacking 1200′ up through granite rocks and low-growth vegetation for almost 3 miles to an observation deck and Tribute Wall.
It’s an emotional tribute honoring the 19 firefighters who were overcome by fire while fighting the Yarnell Hill Wildfire in June 2013. Every 600′ a plaque introduces an individual hotshot with a photo and short eulogy.
It’s a complete and utter tragedy, for the families, the community and more. They were mostly young men on the cusp of adulthood, all loving what they do within a brotherhood. At the Observation Deck, almost 3 miles in, for the first time one can look down 400′ to ‘The Fatality Site’, and beyond to the hamlet of Yarnell. A ranch, which remained occupied during the fire, and ultimately undamaged, was was a mere 600 yards distante from the Fatality Site.
It’s a pilgrimage. The ‘Fatality Site’ itself felt reverent, spiritual. The trail from the Observation Deck to the site is called the Journey Trail, as this was their final journey, down the hill, where they became trapped. The memorial here is moving.
What a tribute! I can relate to that feeling of reverence for the loss of life – the Thirtymile Fire memorial at the end of the Chewuch River Rd has the same feeling