Harpers Corner Trail Stop 3

Piñons are an important food source for porcupines.

NPS Photo/Conrad Provan

Quick Facts

Amenities

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Scenic View/Photo Spot

What killed the big tree at the last stop? There are several possibilities: insects, disease, old age, a lightning strike, or maybe even a porcupine. Look for the yellow or gray scars on many of the tree trunks along the trail, signs of porcupine gnawings. In winter, when other food is scarce, porcupines relish the tender inner
bark of piñons. Stripping only a little bark, porcupines usually do not harm the
tree. If the animal chews all the way around the trunk (known as girdling), the tree’s food and water transport systems will be cut off and it will soon die.