The Sugar Pine Walk in Bago State Forest has been remembered in a photography competition after it was lost to the Dunns Road bushfire in January.
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The sugar pines were so badly burnt they couldn't be saved, but this special place has been captured in photos taken by some of those who visited it.
Michael Harris spent months in 2014 preparing to take his photo 'Winterlong', which yesterday was announced the winner of the NSW Forestry Corporation's contest.
"I was watching the weather for months," Mr Harris said.
"There needed be two or three days of solid snowfall and then it needed to clear overnight, to be a really crystal clear morning so you could get the sun coming up."
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Mr Harris said he drove the five hours from his home in Nowra, arrived at 2am and waited to capture the sunlight at the perfect moment.
"I'm just really happy that my image resonated with so many people," he said.
"Hopefully it brings back a lot of good memories for everyone."
NSW Forestry Corporation Snowy Valleys regional manager Dean Anderson said looking back at the beauty of the sugar pines was bittersweet.
He said salvaging burnt timber in the area was going well, with about 25,000 truckloads moved so far.
The replanting of the region's plantation forest is also "well and truly under way", with about 4500 hectares completed.
Most of which is pinus radiata and will be ready for harvest in 30 years' time.
The sugar pines, however, will need about 40 years to return to "a good size".
Until then, the forest will remain only as a memory