Spring Flowers Along The Trail — Image by kenne
— Wendell Berry
7 Falls Trail In Bear Canyon (03-20-15) — Image by kenne
Trails Near Sabino Creek — Panorama by kenne
Looking Forward to Hiking Soon In The Catalina Mountains
Affective September 21, 2020 some of the trails are now open in the
Santa Catalina Mountains after closure after the Bighorn Fire.
These trails remain closed at the burn scar boundary due to hazards that can cause injuries.
Oracle Ridge Trail #1 (3.2 miles)
Brush Corral Trail #19 (1.75 miles)
Mint Spring Trail #20 (0.3 mile)
Box Camp Trail #22 (3.5 miles)
Sabino West Fork Trail #24 (1 mile)
Esperero Trail #25 (3.3 miles)
Finger Rock Trail #42 (1.5 miles)
Pima Canyon Trail #62 (2.4 miles)
Ventana Trail #98 (2 miles)
Pontatoc Trail #410 (2 miles)
Guthrie trail #704A (0.5 mile)
Arizona Trail (32.5 miles)
— kenne
One of the things I love about living in the Tucson area is its biodiversity. Being in a desert surrounded by mountains (Sky Islands) with different forest biomes.
In the summer we spend time hiking in nearby mountain forests. However, this summer has been a little different because of the pandemic and forest fires.
Sabbaths 1999, VII
Again I resume the long
lesson: how small a thing
can be pleasing, how little
in this hard world it takes
to satisfy the mind
and bring it to its rest.
With the ongoing havoc
the woods this morning is
almost unnaturally still.
Through stalled air, unshadowed
light, a few leaves fall
of their own weight.
The sky
is gray. It begins in mist
almost at the ground
and rises forever. The trees
rise in silence almost
natural, but not quite,
almost eternal, but
not quite.
What more did I
think I wanted? Here is
what has always been.
Here is what will always
be. Even in me,
the Maker of all this
returns in rest, even
to the slightest of His works,
a yellow leaf slowly
falling, and is pleased.
— Wendell Berry
Since I write and share poetry nature, I was not surprised to receive a Wendell Berry poem from one of my hiking buggies, Deborah. She wanted to know if I had posted it in the past, having not it gave me good reason to do so along with the video, “The Women Who Planted Trees,” by Emily Barker.
On The Trail In Sabino Canyon — Image by kenne
Box Camp Trail, June 2016
Because of several physical issues,
I have not been able to hike with my friends since April.
Hope to be back on the trail by the fall. — kenne
Sabino Creek Near Hutch’s Pool — Panorama by kenne
Art by kenne
“Things of Poetry” — Computer Art by kenne
Poppies
line the canyon trail,
brightening
each hiker’s way.
Passing greetings
share the joy
as the morning sun
intensifies
the canyon colors
brilliantly reflected
by each poppy,
the things
of O’Keeffe —
real poetry.
— kenne
Death On the Trail — Image by kenne
This towering Saguaro, close to forty feet, fail across a trail near the Sabino Creek Dam. This big fellow had no arms even though it had to be well over 100 years old. There were no signs of disease so it may have just gotten too big for its root system.
kenne
The Hiker — Image by kenne
Further on down the trail
the hiker moves on knowing
life carries him from unknown
to unknown yet a master of destiny.
The hiker prevents the routine
from concealing nature’s secrets
even when the trail’s challenges
come face to face with suffering.
For the hiker, easy and difficult
hikes can all have the same face
until environmental factors cross
the path creating new challenges.
— kenne
Pusch Ridge Wilderness — Image by kenne
BAD DAY ON LEMMON ROCK
The wilderness area of the Santa Catalina Mountains
provides many beautiful vistas, massive majestic
rock formations and several challenging hiking trails.
For the start of the fall hiking season,
the naturalists scheduled a hike starting
at the highest point atop Mount Lemmon.
In a prologue to frost and early fall colors,
we arranged a shuttle car at Marshall Gulch
so not to double back the six and a half-mile hike.
Having led this hike two months ago,
it combines four trails leading down into and out
of the Pusch Ridge Wilderness to Marshall Gulch.
Beginning on the Mount Lemmon trail,
we follow a forest service road through
upper mountain meadows to the Lemmon Rock trail.
The two rocky trails provide a steep 1,800-foot drop
through tall pines on rocky slopes lined with thorny shrubs
with an occasional cairn marking the many switchbacks.
However, cairns are of little help if I misread
a marker and attempts to create my own trail
down an even steeper rocky slope.
Taking a wrong turn at a trail marker,
which was about an hour into the hike,
was the beginning of my bad day on Lemmon Rock.
It quickly became apparent my pace was too fast
for the rocky slope, I was proceeding down, planting
my right foot, so to begin a slide, only to twist my ankle.
The pain told me this was not a slight twist of the ankle —
Oh, SHIT! SHIT! SHIT! Holding back additional profanity,
I quickly started getting up, checking out the damage.
Anyone who hikes with me knows I usually
have my four-pound camera/lens on
the left shoulder, which I balance with the left hand.
Not this time, since I was wearing
a center-body camera harness —
for the first time, not focusing on saving my camera.
In pain, I did a four-point crawl up to the trail
after answering some ankle movement questions
from a fellow hiker, a retired foot doctor.
Continuing to walk on the rocky trail was difficult —
generating expressions of concern from everyone,
some checking their backpacks for an ankle wraps.
Someone had a velcro Ace bandage,
without which I would not have been able
to continue the remaining five miles to the gulch.
The ankle wrap was a blessing, but having now
given the experience, more thought, although a steep climb,
the shorted hike would have been back up to the top.
We live and learn, or do we?
Would I hike five miles again on a sprained ankle?
I hope I never have to face the question.
How here I sit with my wrapped
black and blue swollen ankle iced down —
I guess I won’t be hiking again soon.
— kenne “Wrong-turn” Turner
Sprained Ankle — Image by Jeff
Monday Morning Milers Hiking Mount Bigelow In The Santa Catalina Mountains — Images by kenne
While vacationing with family on the Outer Banks (OBX) of North Carolina, we took in some of nature’s best. Since most of our time was spent on the shore side, we made a special effort to explore the sound side. (OK, I know everyone was being nice and trying to appeasing me.)
In Nags Head there is Jockey’s Ridge State Park, which contains the tallest natural sand dune system in the Eastern United States attracting hand gliders and wind surfers from up and down the east coast. 
There are plenty of self-guided hiking trails, however we learned of a guided nature walk Wednesday morning that proved to be very information — at least for me. Our guide was a retired high school teacher/administrator that spends his summers as a park docent.
As it turned out, we had a our own personal guided nature walk, since our family were the only people on the walk. There were a lot of people in the park, however, most were on the high dunes watching the gliders. The maritime thicket of live oaks, persimmons, red cedar, wax myrtle, bayberry, sweet gum, red oaks, and pines grows best in areas protected by the large dune.
A lot of the older pine trees died a few year back then a large storm pushed saltwater in the low areas of the park.
Shifting winds are constantly reshaping the dunes. Because the Ridge is always changing, it is often called “The Living Dune.”
Looking out over Roanoke Sound.
The edges of the maritime forest contain a lot of marshy areas attractive to birds.
While on the nature walk, the docent told us about the Nags Head Woods Preserve, so after completing the walk, Joy and I decided to go for a short hike in the preserve.
The preserve is a nature conservancy containing the largest maritime forest on the east coast. The trails wind through marshy woods and wooded dunes.
The Nags Head Woods Preserve Center — Images by kenne
kenne
Becoming is Superior to Being 