Standing (left to right): Gary Baker, Leon Mosse, Laurie Rosenbloom, Jim Gillespie, Julian Bindler, Barbara Kripps, Dave Schuldt, Ruth Bindler (Hike Leader), Linda Schmillen, Dave Wolf, Pam Marshall and Tom Wick; Kneeling: Nadine Eder, Eileen Lords-Mosse and Hike Coordinator Joe Clarkson; Doug Jamiolkowski was the photographer.
Ruth Bindler
Tuesday March 19, dawned in the mid-50s as a beautiful, sunny day with very little wind, a welcome respite from some cold, rainy and windy weather in the previous week. It was a perfect day for a group of 16 PebbleCreek hikers to head for Yarnell. Although a few hiking groups from the club had previously completed the 7+ mile, 1500+ feet Granite Mountain Hotshots Trail, a group of “D” hikers (who commonly plan up to five miles and 500 feet of elevation gain) set a goal to complete the trail. Joe Clarkson, hike leader, carefully planned the event and prepared the hikers. With a 5-8% grade and an elevation of 5.460 feet at the summit, the trail is a challenging tribute to the honored firefighters.
The Granite Mountain Hotshots Trail opened on November 30, 2016, to honor the 19 brave firemen who died on June 30, 2013 while working a wildfire in the area. They were members of the Prescott Fire Department and were sent to control a fire that had been started by lightening on June 28, near Yarnell. On June 30, drought conditions and 22 mph winds combined to rapidly increase the fire from 300 to 2000 acres. The Hotshots were caught in the burn-over and unable to escape. It was the largest loss of lives by firefighters in a wildfire since 1933. Only one Hotshot who had been assigned as a lookout that day, survived the fire. The events of the day were dramatically portrayed in the 2017 film Only the Brave.
Each of the firefighters is honored along the trail by a plaque set into rock that describes the man and includes a picture. A memorial wall at the summit is a moving tribute and provides a view down to the fatality site nearly a mile below. After taking the time to stop at and read each plaque, the PebbleCreek hikers achieved the summit. Most of the hikers then continued down the last mile to the fatality site, which is circled by 19 gabions (cages filled with rocks) united by chains that represent the hotshot team. Steel markers inside this enclosure show the location of each firefighter’s body. Our hikers were honored to be able to complete the hike and found the experience very moving. We are grateful to all of the persons and organizations that joined to create this first Arizona Memorial State Park.