It is a life, death and disaster hike. Yet it is also a stroll in the park.
The route in question is the Redwood Loop Trail, part of Big Basin Redwoods State Park in the Santa Cruz Mountains, in the US state of California.
Take one lap around the 1km (0.62-mile) loop and you will see, amid the fading ravages of fire, what a vast difference four years can make in the natural world.
The state park, California’s oldest, is also the largest stand of ancient coast redwoods south of San Francisco. It was 97 per cent burned in 2020, when fire erupted in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Tens of thousands of trees were incinerated, and most of the park remains closed, its infrastructure – including 150 campsites – destroyed.
Yet after four years of regrowth – which included drought conditions, followed by atmospheric river storms in 2023 – visitors can walk amid countless rising stalks, many reaching six metres (20 feet) high.