Clouds Over The Santa Catalina Mountains — Image by kenne
Archive for the ‘Hiking’ Category
Clouds Over The Catalinas Leave a comment
Those Were The Days 3 comments
August 2014
“And those were the days of roses, of poetry and prose”
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On The Trail 1 comment
Sutherland Trail — Image by kenne
Beautiful flowers
Line the hiking trails in spring
So much to observe.
— kenne
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Taking A Breather Leave a comment
Hiking the Italian Springs Trail (April, 2012) — Image by kenne
bushed
a trail cursed
and charmed
taking a breather
in solitude
and shade
alligator junipers
mountain pines
overlooking a
big sky pass
scrambling time
and seasons
whence we came
where we went
Redington road
to the plateau
beneath Mica
mountain summit
till you get there yourself
it remains our paradise
sharing our wanderlust
in this virtual world
— kenne
(This hike was one of many I did with my old hiking buddy, Tom Markey, who passed awayAugust 17, 2022.)
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Panther and Sombrero Peaks Leave a comment
Panther and Sombrero Peaks West of Tucson — HDR Image Taken from Wasson Peak Trail by kenne
Panther Peak sits in the northernmost reaches of the western unit of Saguaro National Park in the Tucson Mountains northeast of Tucson, Arizona. Sitting just west of Safford Peak (locally known as “Sombrero Peak”), Panther Peak is a rustic little desert mountain providing views of the northeastern Tucson suburbs and mountains beyond. — Source: Summitpost.org
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Blackett’s Ridge Trail Leave a comment
Hiking Blackett’s Ridge — Image by kenne
We were hiking on Blackett’s Ridge
When the view called me over
For a moment of meditation —
The existence of a beautiful view
Is to take time to stop.
— kenne
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Poppies Are Popping Leave a comment
Poppies are Popping In The Santa Catalina Mountains — Image by kenne
I dream of a quiet man
who explains nothing and defends
nothing, but only knows
where the rarest wildflowers
are blooming, and who goes,
and finds that he is smiling
not by his own will.
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Shadows In The Canyon Leave a comment
Shadows In The Canyon — Image by kenne
The sun hit the sides of the rock, creating shadows that swallowed the canyon trail as we hiked the canyon.
Looking left and right, we took a deep breath to appreciate where we are.
There are certain places that have the energetic power to serve as a teacher.
The canyons of the Santa Catalina Mountains are exactly that.
It’s a place that requires no words but can provide untold lessons.
It’s a place that will challenge your perspective without asking anything from you.
— kenne
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A Fall Hike On Mt. Lemmon Leave a comment
A Fall Hike On Mt. Lemmon — Image by kenne
A POEM IS A MOUNTAIN
a poem is a mountain
high above the city,
a place of contrasts,
filled with periods of
rain, snow and drought.
a poem is a mountain
filled with expressions of time,
filled with seasons
filled with life and death.
a poem is a mountain
growing old without pity
where God touches earth
bringing forth new life
changing earth’s colors.
a poem is a mountain
where rocks mark places,
silence bringing on sound,
directing the eye
to things not seen —
only then does the
mountain become a poem
— kenne
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Hiking to Manning Camp Leave a comment
Moonrise Over The Black Mountains — Photo-Artistry by kenne
We reached Mica Mountain as the sun was setting and set up camp two hours out from Manning Camp; our expected goal where we would get water and spend the evening. However, we did not have enough water to spend two nights in the mountains, so we decided we would turn back in the morning. Before setting up camp we watched the sunset and the moonrise.
Cold out! Feels like winter as we crawl into our sleeping bags. It must be the altitude. The full moon provided light, no warmth. The night was long. The tarp above us was attached at only three corners since Tom wanted one loose to flop in the wind, making noise that would keep the bears away.
After a long night of wind-driven noise and cold temperatures, we broke camp early to arrive back at the trailhead before the expected temperatures in the mid-nineties. As we reached a lower elevation, we could contact Tom’s wife, Pat, to give her our expected arrival time at the trailhead. Once we got our stuff in the car, all we could think of was going to Risky Business for a cold beer and French fries with mayo.
— kenne
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Sleepy Orange & Dainty Sulphur Butterflies Leave a comment
Sombrero Peak In Saguaro National Park Leave a comment
Hiking Sombrero Peak, located in Saguaro National Park–West, is a 3.3-mile out-and-back hike
with 1500 cumulative feet of elevation gain. — Panorama by kenne
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Mighty Saguaro 2 comments
Mighty Saguaro — Image by kenne
The Mighty Saguaro
The mighty saguaro,
so majestic and tall,
holds its lifelong secrets
surprising one and all.
The seedling saguaro
begins small and afraid,
hoping it will survive
beneath the nurse plant’s shade.
The tiny saguaro
grows a little each year,
searching for the water
which is precious and dear.
The struggling saguaro
pushes upward for days,
glad it keeps avoiding
a new herbivore’s gaze.
The lucky saguaro
survives the desert heat,
outliving the nurse plant
not knowing of its feat.
The patient saguaro
looks skyward at all hours,
until at age fifty
it produces first flowers.
The giving saguaro
shares its bounty with all
who wait for months on end
for tasty fruits to fall.
The youthful saguaro
knows at seventy-five
that its newly formed arms
keeps desert friends alive.
The aging saguaro
has been a willing friend
to desert’s small creatures
dependent to the end.
The mighty saguaro
grows to fifty feet high,
waiting two hundred years
to almost touch the sky.
— Debbie Emery
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Italian Springs Trail Panorama Leave a comment
Italian Springs Trail Leading To The Base Of Mica Mountain In The Rincon Mountains East Of Tucson (March 18, 2013) — Panorama by kenne
set camp at the top
needing a restful night’s sleep
watching the sunset
— kenne
Sunset from Mica Mountain — Image by kenne
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Standing At Nature’s Alter 2 comments
Standing At Nature’s Alter — Image by kenne (Monday Morning Milers — August 29, 2011)
Standing at Nature’s Alter
When we stand at the
altar of nature,
we stand with the greats;
Ralph Waldo Emerson,
Henry David Thoreau,
and John Muir,
each having helped define
our relationship
with nature and language —
“Every natural fact is a symbol
of some spiritual fact,
. . . words are signs of natural facts.”
Nature’s beauty becomes
a source of spiritual energy
connecting all things
into a universal whole
with the power of our
thoughts and will.
We stand at nature’s altar
not separate from her,
seeing us in the flowers,
insects, animals, mountains,
creating a unified landscape
of our inward and outward senses.
Like all relationships,
the experience depends
on the degree of harmony
between us and nature,
therefore becoming a gift
granted while walking with nature
as she is embraced in our minds –
Enlighten, she shares her secrets,
making the universe more “transparent.”
Yet, the gift may only offer a glimpse,
to be shared in images and words,
charming all living things.
— kenne
Sleepy Orange & Dainty Sulphur Butterflies On Narrow-leaf Aster Wildflowers (Santa Catalina Mountains) — Image by kenne
“And anyway, what is the difference between self-knowledge and self-obsession?
One encourages a defeat of the ego, the other encourages a feeding of the ego.
One a deeper experience of connection to ourselves, which enables a more
nourishing connection to others. The other, disdain for the deeper needs of the self,
which leads to disdain of others.”
— from On Connection by Kae Tempest
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