Lupine Wildflower — Image by kenne
Archive for the ‘Coronado National Forest’ Category
Lupine Wildflower Santa Catalina Mountains Leave a comment
Spring Wildflowers In The Sonoran Desert 2 comments
This book by Frank S. Rose is more like a bible for naturalists walking and hiking in southern Arizona.
The abundance of wildflowers varies from year to year, and this year is definitely one of the better years.
“I was lying on the ground in Molina Basin, camera at the ready, attempting to photograph a flower. I had no idea what it was, but I had a list of the plants in the Santa Catalina Mountains. How, I wondered, would I connect what I was seeing through my camera lens with a particular plant on the list? Then I heard a woman’s voice. ‘Ooh, another plant photography.” I looked up to see two women approaching. The person who spoke introduced herself as Joan Tedford, and, to my delight and amazement, she was the person who had made this list I was using . . . Joan invited us to join a group that takes a weekly nature walk in the Catalinas. Every week for the summer and into the fall I happily followed the leader, Bob Porter, as we explored many different trails, noting plants, birds, and anything else of interest along the way. So began a ten-year adventure, some of the happiest hours of my life, spent in the company of Joan Tedford, Bob Porter, and other Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists who helped us explore the extensive trail system in this Sky Island range.” — Frank S. Rose
(Click On Any Of The Tiled Photos To See A Larger Image.)
“The Sonoran Desert is nature’s giant watercolor.”
— unknown
Share this:
Taking A Hiking Break 2 comments
Taking A Hiking Break — Image by kenne
Time to rest the feet
Having hiked six mountain miles
Before starting back.
— kenne
Share this:
Three Cochise Stronghold Panoramas Leave a comment
Three Cochise Stronghold Panoramas by kenne
Cochise Stronghold is located west of Sunsites, Arizona, in the Dragoon Mountains at an elevation of 5,000 ft.
This beautiful woodland area lies in a protective rampart of granite domes and sheer cliffs, once the refuge
of the great Apache Chief, Cochise, and his people. Located within the Coronado National Forest, it is managed
by the Douglas Ranger District. — Source: https://cochisestronghold.com/
Share this:
Cold Mountain Leave a comment
Snow On The Mountain — Image by kenne
6
Men ask the way to Cold Mountain
Cold Mountain: there’s no through trail.
In summer, ice doesn’t melt
The rising sun blurs in swirling fog.
How did I make it?
My heart’s not the same as ypurs.
If your heart was like mine
You’d get it and be right here.
— from Riprap and Cold Mountain Poems by Gary Snyder
Share this:
Too Close To The Edge Leave a comment
Tucson Basin, August 31, 2022 — Panorama Image by kenne
Blue sky above
a winding highway
on a sunkissed morning.
Tourists in rental cars
stop at Windy Point vista
climbing boulders
for a better view —
children too close
to the edge.
— kenne
Share this:
Wilderness of Rocks Trail 3 comments
Wilderness of Rocks Trail In the Santa Catalina Mountains — Image by kenne
“One recognizes one’s course by discovering the paths that stray from it.”
– Albert Camus
Share this:
Tree On The Ridge 2 comments
Tree On The Ridge — Photo-Artistry by kenne
Tree Tops
In the yellow sunset
a blue haze glows
on the ridgetop
shadows binding
through juniper trees.
Hikers turning back —
Know what I mean?
— kenne
Share this:
A Recent Drive Up The Catalina Highway To Ski Valley 3 comments
Yesterday (08/05/20), I drove up the Catalina Highway to Mt. Lemmon. The highway was opened to the general public last Saturday morning for the first time since the Bighorn Fire began in early June. The mountain town of Summerheaven, successfully protected from the fire, is now open for business, although still having to follow HOVID-19 business regulations in Arizona.
Oracle Ridge and Mt. Lemmon Fire Station
Before entering Summerheaven, there are two ridges going north; Red Ridge and Oracle Ridge. Both ridges were severely burned during the 2003 Aspen Fire that destroyed almost all the homes in Summerheaven. Over the years since the Aspen Fire, the forest canopy has still not returned on these ridges. However, a lot of ground cover containing some bushes and small trees had returned. On June 17th, the two ridges were again burned. On June 19th, I posted two time-delay videos of the fire coming through the area pictured in the above photo. The fire station and most of the pines behind it were spared — not true of the storage building and new growth since the 2003 fire. It has now been 50 days since the fire occurred. Note how green the scared area has become with the return of ferns on the mountain slopes.
Except for the highway and Summerheaven, the public is not allowed to go anywhere in the National Forest. From what I was able to observe from the highway, most of the hiking trails with trailheads near the highway are ok, at least partially. Parts of Lower Butterfly Trail and Green Mountain Trail don’t look good from a distance.
My guess is that the trails in the forest around Summerheaven were burned like the two ridges north of Summerheaven. From a review of burn scar maps, the Marshall Gulch area to the north and west, which would include Carter Canyon, has been badly burned. For those of you who hike this area, It’s possible a lot of the Marshall and Mint Springs trails were destroyed. We may not know until November.
Since Sabino Creek originates along the Marshall Gulch Trail, the monsoon rains can result in a lot of potential flash flooding coming down through Sabino Canyon. So far, the rain amounts are very below average, but we are still in the monsoon season.
— kenne
Slideshow
Images Taken From Catalina Highway by kenne
Share this:
Wilderness of Rocks In Pusch Ridge Wilderness Leave a comment
Wilderness of Rocks In Pusch Ridge Wilderness — Images by kenne
Words by: Edward Abbey, Aldo Leopold, Ralph Waldo Emerson,
John Muir, and Wallace Stegner
Wilderness Floor
Share this:
Giant Two-tailed Swallowtail — Photo-Artistry 1 comment
Giant Two-tailed Swallowtail — Photo-Artistry by kenne
Share this:
Wildflowers In The Meadow Leave a comment
Wildflowers In The Meadow (Mt. Lemmon) — Image by kenne
Wildflower Meadow, Medawisla
The many-
oared asters
are coracles;
the goldenrod
pods, triremes.
They do not
plan their
voyages
to please us.
The tangle
of brambles
and drupes shifts
only slightly
when the wind
attempts to
part the knee-
or waist-high stalks
and thorns. What will
you do or
be in that state
you fear and look
forward to,
when none of
them needs
us, after
the last
seeds leave?
Share this:
Santa Catalina Prairie Clover Leave a comment
Bee On Santa Catalina Prairie Clover — Image by kenne
Share this:
Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly 3 comments
Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly On Thistle — Images by kenne
May the wings of the butterfly kiss the sun.
And find your shoulder to light on.
To bring you luck, happiness, and riches.
Today, tomorrow and beyond.
— An Irish Blessing
Share this:
Yellow-eyed Junco On The Forest Floor 1 comment
Yellow-eyed Junco (Coronado National Forest) — Image by kenne
Yellow-eyed Juncos shuffle through the leaf litter of pine and pine-oak forests with fire in their eyes—
a bright yellow-orange gleam that instantly sets them apart from the more widespread
Dark-eyed Junco. Otherwise, they share many of the markings of the “Red-backed”
form of Dark-eyed Junco, including a gray head, two-toned bill, reddish-brown back,
and white outer tail feathers that flash when they fly. This specialty of the southwestern U.S.
also occurs in mountain forests through Mexico to Guatemala. — Source: allaboutbirds.org
