Oracle Ridge Trail, View South Toward Mount Lemmon (Since I Was Leading This Year’s Hike,This Is An Image From Last Year) — Image by kenne
Oracle Ridge Trail #1
Once a trail
through the Mount Lemmon Forest,
shaded by tall ponderosas
until the trail reached the ridge
where the only shade
was from large alligator junipers.
This picture made it a favorite
of many southern Arizona hikers,
till ten years ago
the ridge was charred
by the Aspen Wildfire,
leaving only minds eye images.
Now, ten years out
many blacken trees remain
as new aspen, pine seedlings
and New Mexico locust
bring back the green
to the ridge.
Always a moderately
difficult trail on the return,
the loss of shade
has made it less inviting
to those looking for
a cool retreat from
the desert heat below —
still #1 for some.
kenne
Short iPhone Video Clip At Dan’s Saddle Where We Rested Under Sparse Shade Before Starting Our Return Up The Ridge.
Phil Bentley Playing The Harp
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Becoming is Superior to Being 