Yesterday, I lead the SCVN Friday hike on Mt. Lemmon. The hike was one I had recommended when the summer schedule was being built, which involved hiking several trails from the parking lot near the mountain top. Since the hike would begin at the top and go down to Marshall Gulch, it was necessary to do a car shuttle by first leaving a car at Marshall Gulch, then driving on up the Sky Valley road to the mountain top.
Looking back up at Lemmon Rock Lookout
The hike began on a path next to the Trico electrical station, leading us to the Mt. Lemmon Trail, which we followed to the road leading to the Lemmon Rock Lookout. Just below the lookout is the Lemmon Rock trailhead. The trail is steep, dropping almost 2,00 feet over a distance of 2.3 miles, ending at the Wilderness Rock Trail.
View back up the mountain as we headed down the Lemmon Rock Trail
We began the hike from the top of the mountain in mostly sunny weather. By the time we reached the Wilderness Rock Trail, which is where we stopped for a snack, a few more clouds were gathering above the mountain. It was at this point on the Wilderness Rock Tail last year that we were caught in a storm as we headed back to Marshall Gulch. Then, as it was yesterday, the first half of the hike had only a few scattered clouds.
Ann, Jeff, Joyce and Barb
As we set around having a snack and sharing conversation, those of us who were also on the Wilderness Rock hike last year began to noticed that the weather conditions were beginning to look quite similar to last year, so we decided to continue our hike on to Marshall Gulch. Just a last year, not long after continuing, we began to hear thunder with a few drops of rain falling.
Joyce, Barb and Tim
The clouds got darker, followed by more thunder, lightening and rain, all of which continued for the remainder of the hike. I couldn’t help experiencing déjà vu thoughts and wondering if in some way I have been cursed by the mountain gods.
Most people don’t come to the desert to see snow, they come here to get away from it. But when you are a five-year-old boy living on the Texas gulf coast and have never been in snow, why not.
So, on the first day of Jill;s and James’ visit, we headed up Catalina highway to Mt. Lemmon.
At seven thousand feet, James kept asking, “Where’s the snow?” “I don’t see any snow!” We had stopped at Windy Point Vista for James to get his “mountain-feet.” A short distance beyond Windy Point Vista we started to see snow in shady along the highway and signs that James just might become a believer — Yes, James, there is snow on Mt. Lemmon.
This all being a new experience, James carefully picks up pieces of snow near the Ski Valley parking lot to toss.
It didn’t take James long to get the gist of it.
After spending some time at Ski Valley, we headed over the Marshall Gulch and walked down the snow-packed road.
By now the snowball fighting had taken on a new level of seriousness.
Photos of James, Mom, and Grandma by kenne
A short video clip playing in the snow at Ski Valley on M.t Lemmon.
L-R: Dan Collins, Louise Kaufman, Bill Kaufman, Tim Ralph, Maribeth Morehart, Dan Granger, Susan Ferguson, B.J. Martin, Jim Martin, and Kenne Turner
June through August each year, some of the Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists (SCVN) guide hikes for the public on Mt. Lemmon — SCVN Summer Friday hikes. (The U.S. Forest Service maintains over 150 miles of trails in the Santa Catalina Mountains.) Last Friday, some of us gathered on Mt. Lemmon to hike Aspen Draw trail together and celebrate the end of the SCVN summer hiking season, followed by a potluck lunch at Marshall Gulch.
Before going on the Aspen Draw trail hike, we stopped by the Mt. Lemmon Visiter’s Center and Maribeth ask fellow SCVN naturalist, Paul Kriegshauser, (Paul also volunteers at the Center information desk each Friday) to have lunch with us.
Paul brought along a very special treat, Mt. Lemmon apples, which Maribeth cut into slices for everyone — Yes, apples do grow on Mt. Lemmon!
kenne
(Click on any of the thumbnail images to see a slideshow.)
Images by kenne
“In 1880, the American pioneer botanists John Gill Lemmon and Sara Plummer were married in Oakland, California. Sara, born in Maine and college-eduated in Massachusetts as an artist and a teacher, had moved to California for health reasons. John was an established California botanist, and Sara’s love of plants quickly drew her, too, into the professional botanical field. Shortly after their marriage, the Lemmons decided to honeymoon in Tucson: they called it their “two-year botanical wedding trip.” They to the new train to Arizona, and soon found themselves drawn to a huge mountain range north of town — the Santa Catalinas.”
— from “A Natural History of the Santa Catalina Mountains, Arizona.” by Richard C. Brusca and Wendy Moore
Returning to Marshall Gulch for cover — Images by kenne
This week’s hike was from the Sunset trailhead to Marshall Gulch, up to Marshall saddle and back to the Sunset trailhead. Because of heavy rain and unnerving lightning, we turned back before reaching the saddle. Since one of our cars was at the Marshall Gulch trailhead, all the drivers were taken back to the Sunset trailhead, returning to rescue the remaining wet hikers.
This is my fourth or fifth time hiking Sunset trail, which I prefer to call Sunrise, since the hikes are always in the morning, but I’ve never hiked the trail in the sun — it’s always been cloudy with at least a misty rain. Yesterday was the first time for the rain to be heavy on this hike.
It’s nice to get the much-needed rain on the mountains, only if we could get some of it in the valley. At least the rain on the mountains is flowing down to Sabino Canyon and the dam area — the latest report is that the Sonoran Desert Toads are breast-stroking and piggy-back riding around the pools croaking contentedly. There’s a 30 % chance of rain again today.
As with the mountain streams, hiking and life is all about the flow — “being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. The ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz. Your whole being is involved, and you’re using your skills to the utmost.”
“The fact that you were completely immersed in what you were doing, that the concentration was very high, that you knew what you had to do moment by moment, that you had very quick and precise feedback as to how well you were doing, and that you felt that your abilities were stretched but not overwhelmed by the opportunities for action. In other words, the challenges were in balance with the skills. And when those conditions were present, you began to forget all the things that bothered you in everyday life, forget the self as an entity separate from what was going on — you felt you were a part of something greater and you were just moving along with the logic of the activity.” — Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
The Aspen Loop trail starts and ends in Marshall Gulch on Mount Lemmon. Part of this trail contains recovering forest from the Aspen Wildfire, which burned parts of Mount Lemmon ten years ago.
Before the fire, much of Mount Lemmon was a thick forest.
After the fire, aspen and New Mexico locust were quick to take over the forest.
When removing a fallen pine from the trail, one creative volunteer cut a seat for resting in the shade.
As the burned forest ages, each year the tall pines succumb to nature.
Volunteers are busy removing trail obstructions, which will include trees like this one
Hiking up the Aspen Trail.
Plenty of room to shelter.
Now ten years out, the slow-growing pines are becoming more established.
The signs of recovery are all around.
Images by kenne
“In climbing a mountain,
if we persevere, we reach the summit;
we get, you might say, to the point. Once on the mountaintop
there is nothing to do but come down again. . .
Descending the mountain
we enter by degrees into a friendlier,
more comfortable, more human environment —
forest, rushing streams, sunny meadows —
and soon hear the cowbells,
see the villages and the roads,
all that is familiar and reassuring.”
— Edward Abbey, Desert Solitaire: A Season In The Wilderness
Clouds begin to move into the Wilderness Rock area.
Kenne at Marshall Saddle with Wilderness Rock trail behind me as the rain continued.
One of my favorite hiking trails on Mount Lemmon is the Wilderness Rock trail, which is reached by taking Marshall Gulch #3 to Marshall Saddle, where you take Wilderness Rock tail to Lemmon Rock trail — the combination of which is my “Wilderness Rocks Hike.” Yesterday, this hike was really rocking!
I was the lead for the weekly SCVN Friday hike, with Edi Moore and Dan Collins assisting. We guided seven hikers on this six-mile, 850′ elevation change hike through a beautiful part of Mount Lemmon. Because I was the lead, I was only carrying my point and shoot camera, which turned out to be a great decision not take my Nikon D800. Even though I was carrying a plastic bag for the camera and a poncho to help stay dry, the rain and the length of time in it resulted in everything getting wet.
Edi was the tail guide, Dan in the middle and I in the lead. Even though we had checked our two-way radios at the trail head, I was having trouble communicating with Edi, who was falling back with a slow hiker (Dave). At a point just past the Marshall Saddle, they turned back. Dan was able to get part of Edi’s message about having lunch before returning to Marshall Gulch.
Meanwhile, we continued on to Lemmon Rock trail, stopping for a snack. Before starting out return, I took the above photo as clouds began to move in. Shortly after staring the return hike, it began to rain. The rain was steady with plenty lightning and some small hail. When the lightning sounded closer, we sought cover next to some of the large boulders near the trail.
One of the things you learn about mountain trails is they become streams in heavy rain. Mount Lemmon recorded about 2″ of rain.
As we continued our return the rain and lightning was creating more of a sense of urgency with the faster hikers, so I picked up the pace. Dan was setting a slower pace with Bonnie, who was doing fine, but was six months out from knee surgery. Dan and I were able to maintain communication with our radios.
It was still raining when we returned to Marshall Gulch, where we were expecting to see Edi and Dave waiting at the trail head — but no sign of them. Knowing that it was not like Edi to leave without letting us know, Dan and I were concerned. As it turned out, Edi had tried to communicate via the problem radio that she would be returning to Tucson with Dave. Since we were all soaking wet, leaving a note was not possible.
After returning to Tucson, which had not received any rain at the base of Catalina Highway, I called Edi. Her returned with Dave was stranger that fiction. Dave has a two-seater convertible. Apparently, he had a problem locking down the top, so they drove the 29 mile return down the Catalina Highway, with the top off, in rain and hail — yes hail. I don’t know how much hail was falling on them, but I do know that on our return (approximately 30 minutes later), there were areas along the highway where there was so much hail on the ground it looked snow-covered. Water was falling in currents off the rocks, washing large pieces of the nearby cliffs — it was freaky! Edi will have to tell her story.
Some may conclude that this was a “hike from hell,” but not for me. The resulting challenges brought back youthful memories — it was invigorating!
Azure butterflies, which a brilliant blue color when the wings are open.
Arizona Sister
Arizona Sister In Stealth Position (Note the body shadow through the wing.)
Azure Butterflies
These butterflies were among the many alone the mountain stream trail going up from Marshall Gulch on Mount Lemmon, conducted by the Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists (SCVN) yesterday.
I can imagine, in some otherworld Primeval-dumb, far back In that most awful stillness, that only gasped and hummed, Humming-birds raced down the avenues.
Before anything had a soul,
While life was a heave of matter, half inanimate,
This little bit chipped off in brilliance
And went whizzing through the slow, vast, succulent stems.
I believe there were no flowers then,
In the world where the humming-bird flashed ahead of creation.
I believe he pierced the slow vegetable veins with his long beak.
Probably he was big
As mosses, and little lizards, they say, were once big.
Probably he was a jabbing, terrifying monster.
We look at him through the wrong end of the telescope of Time,
Luckily for us.
Along The Wilderness of Rocks Trail — Images by kenne
To get to the Wilderness of Rocks Trail, the hiker takes Marshall Gulch Trail #3 to the Marshall Saddle. One of the trail options at the saddle is the Wilderness of Rocks. Click here for more information on trails out of Marshall Gulch.
Hiking Wilderness Rocks Trail On Mt. Lemmon The Santa Catalinas — Images by kenne
(Click on any of the thumbnails to view the gallery.)
This hike begins in Marshall Gulch taking the Aspen Loop to the saddle, which is the beginning of the Wilderness Rocks Trail. This is a fun hike with plenty of great views. Each hiker can determine their own distance before turning back to Marshall Gulch.
Looking back up at Lemmon Rock Lookout
View back up the mountain as we headed down the Lemmon Rock Trail
Ann, Jeff, Joyce and Barb
Joyce, Barb and Tim
Kenne, Barb and Tim
Hiking Sunset trial on Mt. Lemmon to Marshall Gulch and back. A great activity for beating the desert heat. — Images by kenne
Most people don’t come to the desert to see snow, they come here to get away from it. But when you are a five-year-old boy living on the Texas gulf coast and have never been in snow, why not.
This all being a new experience, James carefully picks up pieces of snow near the Ski Valley parking lot to toss.
It didn’t take James long to get the gist of it.
After spending some time at Ski Valley, we headed over the Marshall Gulch and walked down the snow-packed road.
By now the snowball fighting had taken on a new level of seriousness.
Photos of James, Mom, and Grandma by kenne
Images by kenne
Returning to Marshall Gulch for cover — Images by kenne
iPhone image by Jeff
The Aspen Loop trail starts and ends in Marshall Gulch on Mount Lemmon. Part of this trail contains recovering forest from the Aspen Wildfire, which burned parts of Mount Lemmon ten years ago.
Before the fire, much of Mount Lemmon was a thick forest.
After the fire, aspen and New Mexico locust were quick to take over the forest.
When removing a fallen pine from the trail, one creative volunteer cut a seat for resting in the shade.
As the burned forest ages, each year the tall pines succumb to nature.
Volunteers are busy removing trail obstructions, which will include trees like this one
Hiking up the Aspen Trail.
Plenty of room to shelter.
The signs of recovery are all around.
Images by kenne
. . . only if they are pictographs! — Image by kenne
Clouds begin to move into the Wilderness Rock area.
Kenne at Marshall Saddle with Wilderness Rock trail behind me as the rain continued.
