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/
Snow On The Mountain — Image by kenne
6
— from Riprap and Cold Mountain Poems by Gary Snyder
Tucson Basin, August 31, 2022 — Panorama Image by kenne
— kenne
Wilderness of Rocks Trail In the Santa Catalina Mountains — Image by kenne
– Albert Camus
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
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
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
Giant Two-tailed Swallowtail — Photo-Artistry by kenne
Wildflowers In The Meadow (Mt. Lemmon) — Image by kenne
Wildflower Meadow, Medawisla
Bee On Santa Catalina Prairie Clover — Image by kenne
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
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
View of the Santa Catalina Mountains from the Douglas Spring Trail in the Rincon Mountains — Panorama by kenne
Fly Amanita Mushroom — Image by kenne
Fly amanita is the most iconic toadstool species, with a white-gilled,
white-spotted, usually red mushroom, and is one of the most recognizable
and widely encountered in popular culture.
As the mushroom matures, the can becomes flatter
and recognizable in Victorian literature, including
Lewis Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland.”
Ladybug Convention — Image by kenne
Becoming is Superior to Being 