Phoneline Trail In December — Image by kenne
Phoneline Trail runs along the eastern slope of Sabino Canyon. Created to carry supplies up to Summerhaven on Mt. Lemmon.
Later, the first phone line from Tucson to Mt. Lemmon ran along the trail. If you look carefully at the higher elevations,
you can find broken lines and insulators on the ground.
— kenne
Yesterday (08/05/20), I drove up the Catalina Highway to Mt. Lemmon. The highway was opened to the general public last Saturday morning for the first time since the Bighorn Fire began in early June. The mountain town of Summerheaven, successfully protected from the fire, is now open for business, although still having to follow HOVID-19 business regulations in Arizona.
Oracle Ridge and Mt. Lemmon Fire Station
Before entering Summerheaven, there are two ridges going north; Red Ridge and Oracle Ridge. Both ridges were severely burned during the 2003 Aspen Fire that destroyed almost all the homes in Summerheaven. Over the years since the Aspen Fire, the forest canopy has still not returned on these ridges. However, a lot of ground cover containing some bushes and small trees had returned. On June 17th, the two ridges were again burned. On June 19th, I posted two time-delay videos of the fire coming through the area pictured in the above photo. The fire station and most of the pines behind it were spared — not true of the storage building and new growth since the 2003 fire. It has now been 50 days since the fire occurred. Note how green the scared area has become with the return of ferns on the mountain slopes.
Except for the highway and Summerheaven, the public is not allowed to go anywhere in the National Forest. From what I was able to observe from the highway, most of the hiking trails with trailheads near the highway are ok, at least partially. Parts of Lower Butterfly Trail and Green Mountain Trail don’t look good from a distance.
My guess is that the trails in the forest around Summerheaven were burned like the two ridges north of Summerheaven. From a review of burn scar maps, the Marshall Gulch area to the north and west, which would include Carter Canyon, has been badly burned. For those of you who hike this area, It’s possible a lot of the Marshall and Mint Springs trails were destroyed. We may not know until November.
Since Sabino Creek originates along the Marshall Gulch Trail, the monsoon rains can result in a lot of potential flash flooding coming down through Sabino Canyon. So far, the rain amounts are very below average, but we are still in the monsoon season.
— kenne
Slideshow
Images Taken From Catalina Highway by kenne
Summerhaven, Mt. Lemmon — Computer Painting by kenne
Cabin in the woods
a place to be alone
imposing my philosophy
on no one else, writing
words once forgotten
now for future thought.
Once erect, now bent
I stand with a head high
walking the nearby trails
where I stop a hiker
hoping I might share my
knowledge of the mountain.
Catalinas, Catalinas,
beautiful mountains
with your many biomes —
the queen of diversity
soon to be memories
in a time lost in my mind.
— kenne
Hikers in a New Aspen Grove Up from Marshall Gulch On Mt. Lemmon — Image by kenne
In 2003 the Aspen Fire destroyed many homes in Summerheaven and thousands of acres on Mt. Lemmon. Last Friday the Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists led hike was on the Aspen Loop that goes through some of the areas destroyed, now recovered by new aspen and pine groves.
A precursor to the Aspen Fire was the Bollock Fire, 2002 in the eastern part of the Catalinas. Parts of the area burned in 2002 is now experiencing the Burro Fire that started Friday and has now consumed 9,000 acres. The Burro Fire is one of a half-dozen wildfires in the Coronado National Forest. Did I say it is hot and very dry in southeastern Arizona?
— kenne
Slideshow images by kenne
South View from Sunset Rock off of Sunset Trail on Mt. Lemmon in the Santa Catalina Mountains (August 12, 2016)
— Images by kenne
Standing on Sunset Rock, Paul Kriegshauser, who has a cabin in the Mt. Lemmon community of Summerhaven,
shares some of his knowledge of Mt. Lemmon with Tom Skinner, Ricki Mensching (partially blocked by Tom),
Alice Bird and Phil Bentley.
— Frank Lloyd Wright
Friday morning, July 1st, a little before 8:00am we stood in the McDonald’s parking lot
looking up at the dark clouds over the Santa Catalina mountains.
This is our regular meeting place before driving the 25 miles up to
Mt. Lemmon for the SCVN (Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists) summer guided hikes.
Only, this Friday morning there were just the three guides, Maribeth, Maureen and myself.
Others who may have been planning to hike on Mt. Lemmon, probably
took one look out the window deciding it was not a good day for hiking.
This Friday’s scheduled hike was to be a six mile hike starting at the Ski Valley parking lot,
hiking a loop of Aspen Drew, Lemmon and Meadow trails starting at 9:00am.
After a brief discussion, we decided to cancel the hike. However,
since all the SCVN summer hikes are posted in the Arizona Daily Star,
as the lead guide, I would need to drive to Ski Valley letting those who may
still be planning on hiking know that the hike had been cancelled.
As somewhat expected, the weather conditions got worse as I drove up Catalina Highway.
The conditions kept changing rapidly from mist, thick fog, to rain.
When I arrived at the Ski Valley parking lot, there were five vehicles
with about twelve people preparing to hike. At closer look,
I didn’t recognize anyone, so I ask if they were there to do the SCVN led hike —
no, they were members of the Southern Arizona Hiking Club.
The conversation ended quickly as we were beginning to experience a heavy downpour.
The rain lasted long enough for the hiking club members to call off their hike.
It didn’t help that the temperature was 55 wet degrees.
Ironically, the Southern Arizona Hiking Club had been planning on doing
the same combination of trails as SCVN had scheduled.
Now that my task was completed, I started my drive back, stopping at the Summerhaven public restrooms.
I was hoping to get a cup of coffee in Summerhaven, but that would have to wait till getting back down the mountain.
In the summertime, the monsoon weather can change quickly, bringing plenty of lightening, wind, hail and rain.
For the return drive, the fog had lifted and the thick clouds had begun to breakup.
Since I had plenty of time, what better used of it than to stop now and then takeing photos.
In the distance beyond the last ridge is the Tucson basin. Arriving home after 10:30am, I could see very dark clouds moving into the Tucson area. By mid-day we had received 1.8 inches of rain. What a great way to begin July and the monsoon season in the desert.
— kenne
Golden Columbine
Golden Columbine
Santa Catalina Indian Paintbrush
Not Sure?
Penstemon
Macromeria
Cow Parsnip
Curly Cup Gumweed
Mount Lemmon Wildflowers Before The Summer Rains (Early In The Season, They Are There If You Look Hard.) — Images by kenne
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
Catalina Highway Underpass near Summerhaven — Image by kenne
Painted Lady Butterfly on Western Sneezeweed on The Lemmon Meadow Trail, Mount Lemmon, AZ. — Images by kenne
Photos Along The Lemmon Trail On Mount Lemmon — Images by kenne
Wildflowers Along The Oracle Trail On The Backside Of Mount Lemmon — Image by kenne
Images by kenne
“Rock Falls” — Image by kenne
Image captured along Crystal Springs Trail on the backside of Mount Lemmon.
kenne
After the 2003 Aspen Fire much of the burned area was seeded with a mix of native plant species designed to prevent non-native invasive plants from becoming established in areas affected by the fire. The result over the years since is a very thick ground cover that at times make it difficult to follow the trail. (See photo below.) I did some research trying to name the above flower, but will now have to depend on some of my naturalists friends to help name the wildflower. As you can see, it was getting some light through the thick foliage
One of the many trails through the area seeded is the Crystal Springs Trail, which we hiked yesterday. The trail is on the north side of Mount Lemmon, often referred to by Summerheaven residents as the “backside”. There are two ways to reach the trail, one from an intersection of the Butterfly Trail, the other from the Control road, which was named that since it was the only access to Summerhaven before the Santa Catalina Highway was built. We hiked the trail down to a small springs, which like a lot of the area was difficult to find because of all the overgrowth where still some of the giant walnut trees remain.
kenne
Images by kenne
