One of the most popular hikes in the Sabino Canyon Recreation Area is the trail to Seven Falls in Bear Canyon. The trail to the falls crosses the Bear Canyon creek seven times (seven crossing to seven falls). Usually there is water in the creek, adding to the hiking adventure.
Last Thursday, Ed Rawl, Jan Labiner and I hiked the trail from the Bear Canyon road entrance to the Sabino Canyon Recreation Area. Even after 19 inches of rain during the monsoon season (July, August, September), the creek is dry. There is some water at the falls, but it disappears underground once down in the canyon.
The now over eleven-year drought continues to impact the Sonoran Desert ecology. As pointed out in previous posting, invasive plants are competing for water in these drought conditions, i.e., fountain grass and buffelgrass. You can learn more about these and other invasive species at “Invaders“, a project of the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.
One Of The Bear Canyon Creek Crossings With Water Flowing, April, 2013 — Image by kenne
Hiking the Seven Falls Trail, October, 2013, No Water In The Creek (Click On Any Of The Tiled Photos For Larger Slideshow Image) — Images by kenne
Nature changes —
fall,
winter,
spring,
summer:
it’s not sudden
making goodbyes
intrinsic.
— kenne
Related articles
- Sacred Holy Tree In Bear Canyon Creek (kenneturner.com)
- Sabino Canyon reopens (azstarnet.com)
And the joy of welcoming pervasive.:)
-Jennifer
Yes, thanks for stopping by.
Awesome photos. Such an amazing region, beautiful!