Ponderosa Pine

— One of the most rewarding things when hiking in a national park is when you are on a trail and there is no one else around. As most people will agree, all it takes for that to happen is to go a little beyond the beaten path. Crowds only tend to go to short trails — and by that I mean half a mile or so. Countless times we have hiked trails where we are the only people around. Sometimes we may pass another couple. That was the case with the Widforss Trail at the Grand Canyon NP North Rim. Besides the gorgeous canyon views along the first couple of miles on this trail, we also ran into beautiful Ponderosa pine trees. These pines have a thick bark that makes them resistant to most forest fires. In fact, throughout their lifetime, a Ponderosa pine may survive several fires. This particular Ponderosa was the largest found along the Widforss Trail. It had a circumference of 13 ft (4 m).