The SCVN Friday Nature Hike was Aspen Trail, Marshall Gulch Trail loop,
which would provide an opportunity to see the beautiful fall colors on Mt. Lemmon.
The Aspen Trail has a grove of aspens, which I blogged in a previous posting.
After hiking through the aspen grove, I began to get out in front of the nature hikers.
With less fall color on the remaining part of the Aspen Trail I decided to pick-up my pace.
I knew from past experience there would be plenty of fall color on the Marshall Gulch Trail.
I was aware that my buddies, Jim Thompson and Tom Markey, were hiking the trail;
hence, I might be able to catch up with them.
I first began hiking with Jim and Tom nine years ago. They were part of the Monday Morning Milers (MMM),
the first hiking group with which I started hiking.
Most of the MMM were lifetime hikers in southeast Arizona, many of whom were in their 80’s.
Jim recently celebrated his 90th birthday.
While Tom is a youngster like me, he’s 79.
Images by kenne
It seems, as one becomes older, That the past has another pattern, And ceases to be a mere sequence — Or even development: the latter a partial fallacy Encouraged by superficial notions of evolution, Which becomes, in the popular mind, A means of disowning the past. The moments of happiness — not the sense of well-being, Fruition, fulfillment, security or affection, Or even a very good dinner, but the sudden illumination — We had the experience but missed the meaning, And approach to the meaning restores the experience In a different form, beyond any meaning We can assign to happiness.
Hikers in a New Aspen Grove Up from Marshall Gulch On Mt. Lemmon — Image by kenne
In 2003 the Aspen Fire destroyed many homes in Summerheaven and thousands of acres on Mt. Lemmon. Last Friday the Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists led hike was on the Aspen Loop that goes through some of the areas destroyed, now recovered by new aspen and pine groves.
A precursor to the Aspen Fire was the Bollock Fire, 2002 in the eastern part of the Catalinas. Parts of the area burned in 2002 is now experiencing the Burro Fire that started Friday and has now consumed 9,000 acres. The Burro Fire is one of a half-dozen wildfires in the Coronado National Forest. Did I say it is hot and very dry in southeastern Arizona?
I was pleased to be one of five Sabino Canyon Volunteer Nationalists (SCVN) to take 12-17 year old youth, who are participating in Goodwill Industries GoodGuides mentoring program, hiking on Mt. Lemmon last week.
Funded by a two-year grant to Goodwill Industries International from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the Goodwill GoodGuides program is run by 56 independent Goodwill agencies around the country.
The goal of the GoodGuides program is to help youth build career plans and skills, and prepare for school completion, post-secondary training, and productive work.
This is the second year SCVN has provided a guided hike on Mt. Lemmon for students in the GoodGuides program, most of which have never been hiking in the Santa Catalina mountains.
— kenne
Now, more than ever, we need nature as a balancing agent.
— Richard Louv author of Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder
After hiking through the aspen grove, I began to get out in front of the nature hikers.
I was aware that my buddies, Jim Thompson and Tom Markey, were hiking the trail;
I first began hiking with Jim and Tom nine years ago. They were part of the Monday Morning Milers (MMM),
Most of the MMM were lifetime hikers in southeast Arizona, many of whom were in their 80’s.
Jim recently celebrated his 90th birthday.
While Tom is a youngster like me, he’s 79.
Images by kenne
Hikers in a New Aspen Grove Up from Marshall Gulch On Mt. Lemmon — Image by kenne
Forest View on Mt. Lemmon — Image by kenne
Becoming is Superior to Being 