Indian Paintbrush Wildflowers On Green Mountain Trail — HDR Image by kenne
Indian paintbrush
Red flowers on Green Mountain
Beautiful moments
— kenne
Archive for the ‘Green Mountain Trail’ Tag
Indian Paintbrush Wildflowers On Green Mountain Trail 1 comment
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
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Green Mountain Trail Panorama Leave a comment
View From The Green Mountain Trail In The Santa Catalina Mountains — Panorama by kenne
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Mexican Jay 1 comment
Mexican Jay On The Green Mountain Trail, Santa Catalina Mountains (May 17, 2019) — Image by kenne
Mountain clouds moved on
Jays calling one another
The wind settles down.
— kenne
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“Ooh, It Makes Me Wonder” 4 comments
If There’s A Heaven . . . — Image by kenne
A detour off the trail
Slower hikers miss the turn,
A stairway to heaven.
“Ooh, it makes me wonder,
Ooh, it makes me wonder.”
— kenne
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Biomes Of The Santa Catalina Mountains 5 comments
October 7th, SCVN naturalist David Dean conducted an advanced training tour of the Biomes of the Santa Catalina Mountains.
We began the tour by meeting at the McDonald’s at Catalina Highway where David provided an overview of the biomes of the Catalinas. Before starting the car caravan up Catalina Highway, David covered the lower biomes, the Saguaro-Palo Verde (100′ – 4,000′), which includes the dominant cacti and legume trees; the Desert Grassland (3,800″ – 5,000′) with grasses, succulents & shrubs being dominant.
At about the 5.5-mile marker, we pulled off at Molino Basin where David lead a discussion on the Oak – Grassland biome (4,000′ – 5,600′) and Oak Woodland (5,000′ – 6,000′) biome. Here he used posters and the natural taurine to cover; Trees: Emory Oak, Mexican Blue Oak, Silverleaf Oak, Arizona White Oak, Alligator Juniper, Western Soapberry, Border Pinyon Pine: Shrubs: Mountain Yucca, Soap-Tree Yucca, Shindagger Agave, Sotol, Golden-flowered Agave, Beargrass; Grasses: AZ Panic Grass, Blue Grama, Sideoats Grama, Cane beard grass, Spidergrass, Bush Muhly, Bull Grass, Lehmann Lovegrass; Oak – Grassland: Oaks & Junipers, Chihuahua Pine, Buckbrush, Golden-flowered Agave, Mt. Yucca.
Our next stop was along the highway near Bear Creek to discuss the Riparian Corridor (Not a biome) where we found AZ Sycamore, AZ Walnut, Gooding Willow, Fremont Cottonwood, Velvet Ash, AZ Cypress, AZ Alder.
At the approximately the 5,400″ elevation we stopped at the Middle Bear Picnic/Green Mountain Trail Head to learn about Pine-Oak Woodland biome where the dominant plants are AZ Pine, Chihuahua Pine Silverleaf Oak, AZ White Oak, Emory Oak, Black Cherry, Alligator Juniper.
Next, we stopped at Windy Point Vesta(6,500′), a popular place for tourists driving up the scenic Catalina Highway. At this location, David talked about the Chaparral biome, which includes Silver Oak, AZ Madrone, Border Pinyon Pine, Alligator Juniper, Manzanita, Golden-flowered Agave, Beargrass, and Buckbrush.
At the 19.3-mile highway marker (7,825′), David leads a discussion on the Pine Forest biome where the dominant plants are AZ Pine, SW White Pine, Ponderosa Pine and occasional Douglas-Fir.
As you can see, David used live plant specimens on his posters.
Ever wonder how Mt. Lemmon got its name? The highest point in the Santa Catalina Mountains (9,152′) was named after Sara Plummer Lemmon, a respected botanist from New Gloucester, Maine, who arrived in Arizona after living in coastal California. Her Arizona fate was sealed when she attended a botany lecture in 1876 led by her future husband, John Gill Lemmon, and the whirlwind romance was on. After four years of courtship, the two wed and worked together cataloging the flora of the West, which would lead them to the Coronado National Forest in the southern section of what was then the Arizona Territory.
A discussion on the last biome in our tour, Mixed Conifer Forest (Above 8,000′) took place at Bear Wallow (8,100). Here David illustrated the common plants in the Mixed Conifer Forest: Ponderosa Pine, AZ Pine, SW White Pine, Douglas-Fir, White Fir, Quaking Aspen; Silverleaf, Netleaf, and Gambel Oaks; Rocky Mountain, Big Tooth, and Box Elder Maples.
In hindsight, I wish I had done both photography and video of the biomes tour. Near the end of the tour, I did think about doing a video clip, which is what follows.
Note: Much of the copy in this posting is from David Dean’s handout, Biomes of the Santa Catalina Mountains
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Green Mountain Trail Vista 4 comments
Green Mountain Trail Vista — Image by kenne
Desert-mystic-sound
Echoing off mountain rocks —
Big boulders by name.
Where ancient drums beat
To the rhythm of the hiker’s heart —
Magic in each step.
Singin’ to yourself
On the pathway to glory —
Downhill all the way.
— kenne
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Green Mountain Vista 2 comments
Green Mountain Vista, Santa Catalina Mountains — Image by kenne
Fir trees frame vistas
We reach to touch the sky
Feeling heavenly.
— kenne
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Apache Plume Blossom On The Green Mountain Trail 1 comment
Apache Plume Blossom On The Green Mountain Trail — Image by kenne
It’s been a very dry autumn in the Santa Catalina Mountains, and there are not a lot of wildflowers still in bloom, so I was pleased to see some Apache plume blooming near the Green Mountain trailhead October 20th.
— kenne
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Green Mountain Blues 5 comments
San Pedro River Valley from Green Mountain (April 19, 2013) — Image by kenne
Green Mountain Blues
Today I heard the Burro Fire
is burning near the
Green Mountain Trail,
one of many beautiful trails
in the Santa Catalina Mountains.
The trail begins in a
lush and green forest
ponderosa pines,
Douglas firs and sloping
rock formations leading
to the top of Green Mountain.
Soon the forest changes
to oaks and manzanitas
allowing for spectacular
panoramic views of the
San Pedro River Valley
to the northeast.
(The direction of the Burro Fire.)
Unless your feet carry you
it’s not likely most people
will every see these
Sky Island vistas hidden
from the mainstream of people
driving Catalina Highway.
Today I sit at my computer
going through blog posting
of hiking the Green Mountain trail
hoping firefighters will contain
the Burro Fire before it
destroys Green Mountain.
In each of the many photos
I have taken I feel the mountain
and listen to myself
trying to put feeling into words,
which I say without listening
then I hear it without saying.
The images I possess
have recorded what was
in time will recapture
new vistas open for view
through nature’s door
hinged in the air.
— kenne
Other Posting:
https://kenneturner.com/2013/04/23/hiking-green-mountain-trail-to-guthrie-peak/
https://kenneturner.com/2013/05/25/rock-along-the-green-mountain-trail/
https://kenneturner.com/2015/10/17/hiking-green-mountain-trail-to-guthrie-peak-2/
https://kenneturner.com/2016/04/25/green-mountain-trail-to-guthrie-peak-photo-essay/
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I Freely Go Lost In The Unknown Leave a comment
View from the Green Mountain Trail with Thimble Peak & the Tucson Basin in the Background.
With Thimble Peak over my shoulder,
Here where fond climates and sweet singers suddenly
Come in the morning where I wandered and listened . . .
In the thistledown fall, I sing towards anguish
And freely go lost in the unknown,
Famous light of great and fabulous, dear God.
— Adapted from “Poem of October” by Dylan Thomas
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New Mexico Groundsel Leave a comment
New Mexico Groundsel (Green Mountain Trail, Santa Catalina Mountains, April 22, 2016) — Image by kenne
Just living is not enough…
one must have sunshine, freedom,
and a little flower.
— Hans Christian Andersen
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A Haiku Recipe for Big Rocks and Dead Wood 3 comments
Big Rocks and Dead Wood On the Green Mountain Trail — Image by kenne
Big Rocks and Dead Wood Recipe
Rolled in place through time
adding passing morning clouds
garnished with dead wood.
— kenne
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Silverleaf Oak Gall Leave a comment
Silverleaf Oak Gall Near the Green Mountain Trail at 6,000 ft. in the Santa Catalina Mountains — Image by kenne
“Oak galls are caused by a group of small insects known as gall makers. Galls are a part of the insect’s reproductive cycle and provide a protected enclosure for development of offspring (larvae). The gall is formed by the tree in reaction to insect-released chemicals or other stimuli, which incite plant hormones to form the gall. The inside of the gall is rich with protein and provides a source of concentrated food for the developing larvae.” — Tony Bratsch
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Hiking Green Mountain Trail To Guthrie Peak 4 comments
A Panoramic View of the San Pedro Valley from the Green Mountain Trail in the Santa Catalina Mountain (north).
View from the Green Mountain Trail south toward Tucson with Thimble Peak in the crosshairs. Thimble Peak is the Highest Point in Sabino Canyon. — Images by kenne
Click here to see a slideshow of photos taken on this SCVN lead hike last week.
Related articles
- Panorama Views In The Sabino Canyon Recreation Area (kenneturner.com)
- Sabino Canyon and Mt Lemmon – Tucson, AZ (travelpod.com)
- Tucson’s top 10 places to hike Arizona desert (bring two sets of boots) (oregonlive.com)
Becoming is Superior to Being 