Hiking Ventana Canyon — December 13, 2019 — Photo-Essay by Kenne
Ventana Canyon is one of several narrow canyons in the southern front range of the Santa Catalina Mountains north of Tucson, Arizona. This hike is usually scheduled each fall and spring by the Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists, which involves crossing water over a dozen times.
He wasn’t sure he was going to do this SCVN Friday Hike. It had been two years since he last hiked to Hutch’s Pool,
a combined eight miles up and back.
This eight-mile hike usually starts at Stop 9 on the Shuttle route, So hiking would provide his first opportunity to ride the new all-electric Suttle.
Here the Sabino Canyon Trail intersects with the Phoneline Trail.
The Sabino Canyon Trail winds along the east canyon ridge before
Opening into beautiful views of the upper canyon.
Although it was a great day for a hike to Hutch’s Pool, he began to fall behind the hiking group.
Frustrated by reoccurring joint issues, he decided to turn his back on the upper canyon,
starting the hike back to Shuttle Stop 9, then walking the remaining four miles on the Shuttle Road back to the Visitors Center.
In the end, he still did a combined hike/walk over eight miles on a beautiful sunny day in the Santa Catalina Mountains.
November 8, 2019, SCVN hike in Pima Canyon — Images by kenne
Pima Canyon is one of several canyons in the Pusch Ridge Wilderness area of the Santa Catalina Mountains in northwest Tucson.
Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists (SCVN) are devoted to helping people of all ages
appreciate the natural wonder of Sabino Canyon and the Coronado National Forest,
managed by the U.S. Forest Service.
The SCVN led hike started at 8:30 am with 20 people at the trailhead (2900 feet
elevation) hiking to the lower dam a one-way distance of 3.2 miles (3750 feet elevation).
Once at the natural dam the hikers took a brief rest and had a snack before returning to the trailhead.
(The SCVN Guides were Kenne Turner, Jeff Orenstein, and Jane Gellman.)
The SCVN Friday Nature Hike was Aspen Trail, Marshall Gulch Trail loop,
which would provide an opportunity to see the beautiful fall colors on Mt. Lemmon.
The Aspen Trail has a grove of aspens, which I blogged in a previous posting.
After hiking through the aspen grove, I began to get out in front of the nature hikers.
With less fall color on the remaining part of the Aspen Trail I decided to pick-up my pace.
I knew from past experience there would be plenty of fall color on the Marshall Gulch Trail.
I was aware that my buddies, Jim Thompson and Tom Markey, were hiking the trail;
hence, I might be able to catch up with them.
I first began hiking with Jim and Tom nine years ago. They were part of the Monday Morning Milers (MMM),
the first hiking group with which I started hiking.
Most of the MMM were lifetime hikers in southeast Arizona, many of whom were in their 80’s.
Jim recently celebrated his 90th birthday.
While Tom is a youngster like me, he’s 79.
Images by kenne
It seems, as one becomes older, That the past has another pattern, And ceases to be a mere sequence — Or even development: the latter a partial fallacy Encouraged by superficial notions of evolution, Which becomes, in the popular mind, A means of disowning the past. The moments of happiness — not the sense of well-being, Fruition, fulfillment, security or affection, Or even a very good dinner, but the sudden illumination — We had the experience but missed the meaning, And approach to the meaning restores the experience In a different form, beyond any meaning We can assign to happiness.
1st SCVN Fall Hike, Sycamore Canyon/Reservoir Trail — iPhone Images by kenne
Today, we led a small group of ten hikers on the first Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists (SCVN) fall Friday Hike. This hike is annually done in the fall and spring. The hike is about 5.5 miles, starting in the old Prison Camp (Gordon Hirabayashi Campgrounds) the trail leads to the reservoir that supplied water to the Prison Camp. Click here for more historical information on the Campgrounds.
“In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks.”
— John Muir
Yesterday’s SCVN Friday hike took place on the Sunset Trail,
a popular summertime hike on Mt. Lemmon connecting hikers
to Marshall Gulch without having to drive all the way up through Summerhaven.
Helen and Ellen ready for the hike.
Ricki and Ellen, out guides make a backup copy of the SCVN Sign-in Sheet.
Ricki goes over the Safety Rules with the hikers.
Barbara and Jeff on the trail.
A view from Sunset Rock of the hikers on the trail.
Tosh and Liz examining rocks.
Ellen and Ricki have a snake before hiking back to the trailhead. –– Images by kenne
The July 5th SCVN Friday Hikes began at the Sky Valley parking lot
where led guide Phil Bentley greeted everyone and covered the SCVN Safety Rules.
This was a six-mile loop connecting three trails, (Aspen Draw, Mt. Lemmon Trail,
and the Meadow Trail) with an elevation gain of 1,200 feet.
One of the interest points on this hike was the Lemmon Rock Lookout staffed by the Forest Service personnel.
The original tower was erected in 1928.
On this day we were able to get a tour of the Lookout
since Phil called ahead and talked to the Forest Ranger on duty at the Lookout this summer.
The Osborne Fire Finder.
View down into the Tucson Basin and the Santa Rita Mountains.
After the tour, we took a snack break before continuing the hike.
A little music from our leader.
Always a fun time hiking in the Santa Catalina Mountains. — Images by kenne
The SCVN Friday Hikes began this past Friday (June 7th) with a short hike up to the old ski run. Ricki Mensching loves leading this hike each year
and the opportunity to share some the history of the original ski run on Mt. Lemmon.
As the hikers gathered at the base of the ski run they noticed smoke coming from a camp fire on up the ski slop. Campers had left the camp fire without making sure the fire was out. Sadly, this kind of happening is not unusual. We call 911 and the nearby Summer Haven fire department came and extinguished the fire.
On this same day a very large uncontained forest fire began burning in the Tonto National Forest northeast of Phoenix. This marks the beginning of the fire season in Arizona, most all of which are man-made.
After getting the fire under control, Ricky continued her narration on the old ski run,
before continuing the hike to the top of the ski run.
This post first appeared seven years ago. Since the SCVN summer hiking schedule on Mt. Lemmon remains pretty much the same year after year, I’m revising the post in recognition of our new hiking season.
“Upward and Onward” — Image by kenne
The Sabino Canyon Volunteer Nationalists (SCVN) lead the first Friday summer hike on Mount Lemmon yesterday. The schedule will every Friday through August 31st. You can get the complete schedule by going to http://sabinonaturalists
Yesterday’s hike on Butterfly #16 and Incinerator #18A to Leopold Point. This hike is one of my favorites and one of the few that Joy and I have hikes together. If you click here to see my blog posting on our hike a year ago. If you watch the video, you can see why Joy doesn’t hike with me anymore.
There were about 18 people in yesterday’s SCVN hike. While yesterday’s temperature hit a record 107 degrees, the temperature on the mountain was in the upper 70’s, which is way we spend the summer hiking on Mount Lemmon. A slideshow of my photographs can also be seen on my Flickr account;
Each Friday, Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists (SCVN) lead two hikes for the public. One is is a slower-paced nature hike allowing time to identify and discuss desert plants.
Yesterday’s hike was a four-mile hike in Kings Canyon in the Tucson Mountains, which this time of year has a lot of wildflowers. So, I chose to assist in guiding the hike so I could be a part of the wildflower discussion; providing an opportunity to photograph spring flowers.
The majority of hikers on our SCVN hikes are retirees; yesterday’s hike included a young mother and her 2-year-old daughter — they both love hiking.
Hiking The Southerland Trail in Catalina State Park (Click on any of the tiled images for a larger view in a slideshow format.) — Images by kenne
This trail is usually an excellent wildflower trail, not this year. The primary reason is very little rain this winter. Some recent rains will help for propagating next year’s wildflowers — no “Fields of Poppies” this year.
Two of My Fellow SCVN Hiking Guides, Ricki and Tosh (August 2013) — Image by kenne
This Sunday we are experiencing some rain, the first since early August (already several inches of snow on Mt. Lemmon), so I’ve been going through some of my old photos and ran across one of two my favorite people.
This photo is on the Aspen Loop on Mt. Lemmon, this part of the trail, which was burned during the 2003 Aspen Wildfire.
Hiking Ventana Canyon — December 13, 2019 — Photo-Essay by Kenne
November 8, 2019, SCVN hike in Pima Canyon — Images by kenne
After hiking through the aspen grove, I began to get out in front of the nature hikers.
I was aware that my buddies, Jim Thompson and Tom Markey, were hiking the trail;
I first began hiking with Jim and Tom nine years ago. They were part of the Monday Morning Milers (MMM),
Most of the MMM were lifetime hikers in southeast Arizona, many of whom were in their 80’s.
Jim recently celebrated his 90th birthday.
While Tom is a youngster like me, he’s 79.
Images by kenne
1st SCVN Fall Hike, Sycamore Canyon/Reservoir Trail — iPhone Images by kenne
Yesterday’s SCVN Friday hike took place on the Sunset Trail,
Helen and Ellen ready for the hike.
Ricki and Ellen, out guides make a backup copy of the SCVN Sign-in Sheet.
Ricki goes over the Safety Rules with the hikers.
Barbara and Jeff on the trail.
A view from Sunset Rock of the hikers on the trail.
Tosh and Liz examining rocks.
Ellen and Ricki have a snake before hiking back to the trailhead.
The July 5th SCVN Friday Hikes began at the Sky Valley parking lot
One of the interest points on this hike was the Lemmon Rock Lookout staffed by the Forest Service personnel.
The original tower was erected in 1928.
On this day we were able to get a tour of the Lookout
The Osborne Fire Finder.
View down into the Tucson Basin and the Santa Rita Mountains.
After the tour, we took a snack break before continuing the hike.
A little music from our leader.
Always a fun time hiking in the Santa Catalina Mountains. — Images by kenne
The SCVN Friday Hikes began this past Friday (June 7th) with a short hike up to the old ski run. 
As the hikers gathered at the base of the ski run they noticed smoke coming from a camp fire on up the ski slop. 
After getting the fire under control, Ricky continued her narration on the old ski run,
Images by kenne
“Upward and Onward” — Image by kenne
Images by kenne
Jeff and Phil lead others to the base of the ridge — Images by kenne
Images by kenne
Image by kenne
Hikers On Southerland Trail, March 2, 2018
Two of My Fellow SCVN Hiking Guides, Ricki and Tosh (August 2013) — Image by kenne
Becoming is Superior to Being 