Aspen Trail Autumn Colors on Mt. Lemmon — Image by kenne
Archive for the ‘Aspen Trail’ Tag
Aspen Trail Autumn Colors On Mt. Lemmon 2 comments
Events drift in the lattice of time,
Shift the coordinates,
What you see in nature
Aspen Trail Leave a comment
Aspen Trail on Mt. Lemmon — Image by kenne
A trail of yellow leaves
threads the aspens—
a quiet path of sunlight
laid gently on the forest floor.
— kenne
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Leaves On Aspen Trail 2 comments
Aspen Trail On Mt. Lemmon — Image by kenne
Yellow is the hush before the wind,
the trembling song of what must change.
On the Aspen Trail,
each leaf a coin of sunlight spent wisely—
then let go.
— kenne
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Aspen Trail On Mt. Lemmon 2 comments
Aspen Trail In The Autumn on Mt. Lemmon — Image by kenne
“Just an hour north of Tucson, Mount Lemmon offers a refreshing fall escape in the Santa Catalina Mountains.
As travelers ascend the scenic Catalina Highway, the magical saguaros give way to towering pines and maples,
their leaves ablaze with red and orange hues. At 9,000 feet, Mount Lemmon provides a cool retreat from the desert,
perfect for hiking among the vibrant autumn colors. Outdoor lovers can explore the Aspen and Marshall Gulch trails,
surrounded by vivid fall foliage.”
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The Humble Back Of The Mountain Leave a comment
Aspen Trail on Mt. Lemmon — Image by kenne
Sun warms the lizard’s back
and the humble back of the mountain.
A raven croaks from the top of a thermal.
The valley oak above the barn,
dying a huge branch at a time,
stands in calm mortability, content
with the warm light that has fed its leaves,
the dark waters that have fed its roots,
its acorns that have fed the woodpeckers
for five hundred rainy seasons.
— Ursula K. Le Guin
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On Mt. Lemmon’s Aspen Trail Leave a comment
On Mt. Lemmon’s Aspen Trail — Image by kenne
To my poet friends, how many have had the following experience?
Reading a poem to and audience, years
after its having been published
or even revisited, I discovered a word
that should have been another, an edit
that was so obvious to me—the apt word
stealthily entering my consciousness—
I stumbled over it, embarrassingly
losing my train of thought, nervously
shifting my weight, pussyfooting—
my feet doing a little dance, behind
the speaker’s stand, my mind
in a state of reorganizational panic
as when the face of a former lover, emerges
from memory and lightly touches something
strangely new, something ethereal . . .
— from The Edit by David M. Parsons
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Aspen Trail On Mt. Lemmon Leave a comment
Aspen Trail On Mt. Lemmon — Image by kenne
“Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower”
– Albert Camus
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Aspen Loop One Year Out After The Big Horn Fire 7 comments
SCVN Friday hikes on Mt. Lemmon have
Begun with more excitement than usual,
Last year’s hikes being a casualty of the
Big Horn Fire and the pandemic.
Marshall Gulch Parking Area
Leaving behind morning temperatures
In the mid-eights, we gathered at Marshall Gulch
To hike the Aspen Loop, combining the Aspen
And Marshall Gulch trails for a 4.3-mile hike.
Marshall Gulch survived the fire, as did
Most of the trail. But the Aspen Trail
Wasn’t so lucky with parts that burned
From the 1993 Aspen Fire burning again.
Aspen Trail (June 15, 2015)
Over the years, I watch aspens and pines
And many other native plants return
Among the charred remains of the Aspen Fire
Only now to experience that same fate.
Last year’s fires were followed by the driest year
On record, delaying the reclamation process
And trail clearing to provide for safe hiking
On the grayest powder covering the trails.
The mountain ferns were among the plants
To return only weeks after containing the fire,
Providing hope to those grieving over the lose
Of so much beauty found on these mountain trails.
Now so exposed, the trail seems longer
Each step requiring a watchful eye
For this out of shape hiker, navigating
The loose gravel and ankle turning rocks.
Just beyond the ridge, a line of trees
Was missed by the very erratic wildfire
As if it turned on a dime, redirecting
The firefighting crew from Montana.
Soon the trail turns away from the freshly
Scared land rambling among tall ponderosas
Shadows formed by the whole clear
Cloudless sky moving across the trail.
Images by kenne
I’ve hiked the trails on Mt. Lemmon
Now ten summers, where troubles cease,
untangled silent knowledge contemplating
A void in a world that exceeds stillness.
— kenne
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Hiking with Old Buddies 1 comment
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.
— from “Four Quartets” by T. S. Eliot
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Colors On The Mountain — No Words 2 comments
Mt. Lemmon Fall Colors — Images by kenne
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Hiking Through An Aspen Grove On Aspen Trail 4 comments
In June of 2003 for the Aspen Fire destroyed 85,000 acres on Mt. Lemmon,
located in the Santa Catalina Mountains.
Last Friday, we hiked the Aspen Trail,
part of which goes through some of the burned areas.
The aspens were among some of the first vegetation to return,
making these trees now about 15 years old.
Our hike was almost too late in the fall
since many of the aspens have already lost their leaves.
Quaking Aspens On Aspen Trail, Mt. Lemmon — Images by kenne
Swirling leaves,
Like erratic wings of butterflies,
shimmered, shook, slapped,
Simultaneously clapping as we passed.
Grace in the grove, the ticking,
whispering clatter of the breeze
Passing back and forth between worlds,
Spirit and sound merged together.
— from “Riding Through a Grove of Aspens” by Emily Dickinson
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Late Blooming Wildflower On Mt. Lemmon Leave a comment
Late Blooming Wildflower On Mt. Lemmon — Image by kenne
While on Mt. Lemmon photographing fall colors over the weekend,
I spotted this beautiful blooming plant.
— kenne
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Hiking The Aspen and Marshall Gulch Loop On Mt. Lemmon Photo Essay 1 comment
(Click on any of the images to see larger view in a slideshow format.)
Hiking The Aspen and Marshall Gulch Loop (SCVN Friday Hike, July 15, 2016) — Images of hikers and guests by kenne
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Aspen Trail Through Young Aspens 2 comments
Aspen Trail Through New Growth of Aspens since the 2003 Forest Fire (Mt. Lemmon) — Image by kenne
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SCVN Leads Its Last Summer Friday Hike Leave a comment
Ed On Marshell Gulch Trail
Marshall Gulch Trail
Marshall Gulch Trail
Sunset Trail
Wilderness Rock Trail
Sunset Trail
Sunset Trail
Sunset Trail
Sunset Trail
Images by kenne (CLICK ON ANY OF THE IMAGES FOR LARGER VIEW IN A SLIDESHOW FORMAT.)
This past Friday (August 29, 2014), the SCVN guided summer hikes on Mt. Lemmon lead its last hike — a 7.5 mile hike on the Sunset, Marshall Gulch and Aspen trails. The fall Friday guided hikes will begin October 3rd.
