Images by kenne
Slideshow of Monday Morning Milers Hiking The Bug Springs Trail (Elevation — 5,000 to 6,500 ft) — Images by kenne
Related articles
- Hiking Green Mountain Trail To Guthrie Peak (kenneturner.com)
Archive for the ‘Recreation’ Tag
Hiking The Bug Springs Trail 2 comments
Early Signs Of Fall On Mt. Lemmon 4 comments
Images by kenne (Click on any image for larger view and slideshow.)
Oh, to be alive
when fall miracles
flourish for hiking
in the mountain’s
crisp morning air —
trail rocks
turning underfoot,
wildflower’s color vanishing
as nature’s
baton is passed
to towering trees
now showing their
kaleidoscopic colors
gently waving
beneath the blue sky
with joyful
interpretation by all
disregarding her
gesture of farewell.
— kenne
(Overnight temps near freezing are beginning to bring on the mountains fall colors — much more to come.)
Related articles
- My Dear Mountains — A Poem (tanuri.wordpress.com)
- See the Catalinas now, but take toilet paper (azstarnet.com)
Share this:
A Mexican Garter Snake Having Breakfast 11 comments
Mexican Garter Snake & Arizona Striped Whiptail Lizard — Images by kenne
This morning while hiking the Crystal Springs trail on Mount Lemmon we saw this Mexican Garter snake having just caught an Arizona Striped Whiptail lizard. The snake was in a hurry to het away from us so he could have breakfast.
Regular hikers on Mount Lemmon should take note, even after all the rain on the mountains, the springs are no more. Maybe it’s time to rename the trail.
Also, the Control Road to the trailhead is in real bad shape from all the mountain rains — lot’s of deep ruts, making for a long 2 1/2 mile drive to the trailhead.
kenne
Share this:
Hiking The Aspen Draw, Mt. Lemmon Trail And The Meadow Trail 5 comments
SCVN Friday Hike on Mt. Lemmon — Images by kenne (Click on any of the images to see slide show.)
Yesterday’s SCVN Friday Hike started at the Ski Valley parking lot where we took the Aspen Draw trail up to the top of the ski runs, then the Mt. Lemmon trail, looping back on the Meadow Trail. Combining these three trails gave us a six-mile hike with an elevation change of 1,200 feet. The hike included a stop of the Lemmon Rock Lookout.
The weather was great, so I was able to get a lot of photos, which I will be sharing, starting with the previous post and some others after this posting.
The SCVN summer hikes on Mt. Lemmon will conclude after the two remaining hikes (August 23 & 30). The SCVN lead hikes are part of our Public Interpretation program, which includes Walks, Hikes, and Demos, designed to help participants learn about and experience the wonders of Sabino Canyon, the Santa Catalina Mountains, and the Sonoran Desert.
kenne
Related articles
- Capturing The Moment – Butterflies Are Few (kenneturner.com)
- Lemmon Rock Lookout As Soon From The WIlderness Rocks Trail (kenneturner.com)
- Hiking The Aspen Trail Ten Years Out (kenneturner.com)
- SCVN Friday Hike On The Box Camp Trail (kenneturner.com)
- Capturing Many Moments On The Aspen Loop (kenneturner.com)
- A Visit To The Lemmon Rock Lookout In The Catalina Mountains (kenneturner.com)
Share this:
View From The Box Camp Trail On Mt. Lemmon 4 comments
View of Tucson from the Box Camp Trail on Mt. Lemmon (Click here to see more hiking the Box Camp Trail photos.) — Images by kenne
The ground we walk on,
the plants and creatures,
the clouds above
constantly dissolving
into new formations –
each gift of nature
possessing its own
radiant energy,
bound together by
cosmic harmony.
— Ruth Bernhard
Related articles
- SCVN Friday Hike On The Box Camp Trail (kenneturner.com)
- Mount Lemmon Ski Valley Skyride (fiveseasonsinthesun.com)
- Saving The Season By Capturing The Moment (kenneturner.com)
Share this:
Window To The Sky, A Magical Mystery World 1 comment
Rock Creek Trail To A Series Of Little Lakes In Sierra Nevada– Image by kenne
Chasing Life’s Horizons
Ain’t nothing better
than hiking through
a window in the sky —
the air is fresh,
the sky is blue,
a magical mystery
in a world of horizons
far as the eye can see.
Chased by every hiker,
a vision soon
left behind
only to be replaced
by another
magical mystery.
— kenne
Share this:
Hiking To Rose Canyon Lake In The Santa Catalina Mountains 1 comment
Rose Canyon Lake in the Santa Catalina Mountains is the only lake in the mountain, located about 25 miles from Tucson, Arizona. The lake is only seven acres, but is surrounded by cabins and campgrounds in the mountain forest. Images by kenne
Related articles
- The Sky Above, The Earth Below – An Abundance Of Beauty Between (kenneturner.com)
Share this:
Water Adds To Both Life and Death Leave a comment
Hiking down the trail before the rain
Caught in the rain on the way back up the trail, the colors jump at me. Water adds to both life and death. — Image by kenne
being in the forest
nurtured by water
drops
maintains life
adding to
nature’s beauty
a fallen dead tree
blocking the trail
cut
opening the path
leaving behind
an artifact
kenne
Related articles
- Hiking In The Rain Builds Hat Character (kenneturner.com)
- Capturing The Moment – Real Mushroom Or Artifact? – A Follow-up (kenneturner.com)
- Hiking In The Flow – Another Friday Hike In The Rain (kenneturner.com)
- SCVN Friday Hike On The Box Camp Trail (kenneturner.com)
- Hiking: The Bridge to Nowhere (lifeasalocal.com)
- I want to go to Magnolia Mountain (dontthinktwiceitsalrite.wordpress.com)
Share this:
“I’m Just Falling To Pieces!” 2 comments
“I’m Just Falling To Pieces!” — Image by kenne
Organized to fall
Elements in fixed placement
Tomorrow’s pieces.
kenne
Share this:
Hiking In The Flow — Another Friday Hike In The Rain 1 comment
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
kenne
iPhone image by Jeff
Related articles
- Hiking In The Rain Builds Hat Character (kenneturner.com)
- Hiking The Aspen Trail Ten Years Out (kenneturner.com)
- SCVN Friday Hike On The Box Camp Trail (kenneturner.com)
- Lemmon Rock Lookout As Soon From The WIlderness Rocks Trail (kenneturner.com)
- Tucson-area rain totals through 10 a.m. (azstarnet.com)
Share this:
Hiking In The Rain Builds Hat Character 3 comments
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!
kenne
Related articles
- Lemmon Rock Lookout As Soon From The WIlderness Rocks Trail (kenneturner.com)
- SCVN Friday Hike On The Oracle Ridge Trail #1(June 14, 2013) (kenneturner.com)
- SCVN Friday Hike On The Box Camp Trail (kenneturner.com)
- Fire burning on Mount Lemmon (azstarnet.com)
- Wildfire In The Santa Catalina Mountains (Prison Fire) (kenneturner.com)
- Saving The Season By Capturing The Moment (kenneturner.com)
- It Is Dry, Dry, Dry (kenneturner.com)
Share this:
SCVN Friday Hike On The Box Camp Trail Leave a comment
SCVN Friday Hike On The Box Camp Trail (06-28-13) — Images by kenne (Click here to see complete set of photos on Flickr)
Next week’s SCVN Friday hike will be on the Wilderness Rocks Trail on Mount Lemmon. I will be leading this hike, so I may not be taking any photos, but you can click here to see a posting on last year’s hike — it’s a great hike!
kenne
Related articles
- Saving The Season By Capturing The Moment (kenneturner.com)
- SCVN Friday Hike On The Oracle Ridge Trail #1(June 14, 2013) (kenneturner.com)
- If Nature Is One Of Your Passions, Consider Becoming A Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalist (kenneturner.com)
- Yahoo Integrates Flickr Into Yahoo Mail For Easy Sharing (hngn.com)
Share this:
SCVN Friday Hike On The Oracle Ridge Trail #1(June 14, 2013) 4 comments
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
Related articles
- It Is Dry, Dry, Dry (kenneturner.com)
- New shade of green (azstarnet.com)
- If Nature Is One Of Your Passions, Consider Becoming A Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalist (kenneturner.com)
Share this:
Hiking The Italian Springs Trail In Reddington Pass Leave a comment
These images represent the last of several postings containing photos taken during the March 18th,
Monday Morning Milers hike on Italian Springs trail inReddington Pass. Images by kenne
Share this:
Capturing The Moment — Much Needed Rain Moving Into The Desert 6 comments
Hiking The Douglas Springs Trail In the Rincon Mountains with Views Toward The Catalina Mountains As Storms Move Through The Tucson Area. — Images by kenne
