A rainbow from the slopes below Oracle Hill. December 2017.
With the first good winter storm dropping snow on the top of the mountain I thought there might be interesting views from the San Pedro Valley so I drove north from Benson along the river – the fall color in the river bed was beautiful – but views of the snow on the Santa Catalina Mountains were obscured by a grey wall of clouds – no photos from the valley today, but the drive was still beautiful.
In Oracle I parked at the Callas Drive Gap Road Parking and walked up the road. At the FR4487 and FR736 (which makes a rough 4WD journey across Charouleau Gap down to the west side of the mountain) junction I continue on FR4487 and take the small road that winds up the slopes of Oracle Hill.
Mine entrance near the end of the road up Oracle Hill. December 2017.
From the end of the road I wander up to the top of Oracle Hill and then across the connected ridges and hillsides on cow paths and cross-country admiring the storm above, enjoying the constant wind and occasional rain before wandering back…
First significant storm – and snow – of the winter over Mount Lemmon. December 2017.Ridges and sunlight. December 2017.
In the modest distance between Redington Road and Buehman Canyon the SunZia transmission line project will add ten 135 foot tall steel lattice towers, two tension pads and 5 new access roads – only a fraction of the additions the project will make to the San Pedro River Valley. It appears that the only remaining barrier in Arizona to SunZia’s plan is a single lawsuit.
Hiking in the SunZia corridor north from Redington Road. December 2017.
The San Pedro River Valley east of the Santa Catalina Mountains is far from pristine wilderness – farms, ranches, homes, utility lines, cattle, a gas pipeline and dirt roads cutting thru the desert… But that list obscures the truth that this area is something special, a part of Arizona that should be preserved as a welcome and important contrast to (and relief from) the dense development on the south and west side of the mountain. Giant steel towers looming over the valley and power lines imprisoning the sky don’t belong here.
Terrain and sky in the SunZia corridor. December 2017.
I walk north and imagine the towers and lines – the subtle rolling hills won’t give them any place to hide, every time I look up I can see where they will create new shapes on skyline blocking the open sky – and every time I look down the variety of rocks and plants is amazing.
In the SunZia corridor near Buehman Canyon. December 2017.Rocks in the SunZia corridor. December 2017.Cactus in the SunZia Right of Way. December 2017.Color in Buehman Canyon. December 2017.
The terrain is steeper near Buehman Canyon and there is still fall color in the bottom of the canyon – beautiful to see this late in the season. The SunZia line will cross high above the canyon.
On a hillside east of the line the sunset comes into view – I wonder if this shot will be interrupted by towers and lines in the future…
Sunset over the Santa Catalina Mountains. December 2017.
The Cascabel Working Group’s SunZia Page has a long history of the project and the group’s work “Helping the SunZia transmission line project to understand that the environmentally unique San Pedro River Valley is NOT a viable location for a major powerline corridor.”
A tree over Cargodera Canyon. November 2017.Map showing Cargodera Spring. November 2017.
Thanksgiving – I am standing in the spot marked as Cargodera Spring – a tree hangs over the canyon, there are deer tracks in the sand and a hazy white stain reveals where a bird perched above the canyon floor – we have already worked up and down canyon from this spot, there are water stains everywhere, but nowhere surface water or signs of Cargodera Spring.
It is really no surprise that we don’t find the spring – topo maps are always best considered beautiful works of historical fiction, often correct, current, and recognizable enough that it is easy to forget that they are frozen in time while the details of the real world constantly change – any blue marking on a map of the Santa Catalina Mountains is suspicious at best…
We watch a single Coati work up canyon standing still until his tall tail disappears – after one last glance for the spring we hike back to the Sutherland Trail and enjoy the sunset on the way out.
Water marks in Cargodera Canyon near where Cargodera Spring is marked on the map. November 2017.Another sunny and clear Thanksgiving in Tucson! November 2017.Sunset near the Sutherland Trail. November 2017.
Flowers in Sabino Canyon lingering boldly into November – it is hard at the moment to imagine the top of the Santa Catalina Mountains turning a winter white, and while I know winter will come part of me feels like this this warm always-summer season will roll right into next year…
November flowers in Sabino Canyon!! November 2017.Sunset and Saguaro in Sabino Canyon. November 2017.Saguaro and sliver moon in Sabino Canyon. November 2017.
Looking down on the West Fork of Sabino Canyon with Rattlesnake Peak above and Thimble and Rincon Peaks in the background. September 2017.
Down, down, down… Doing an out-and-back on the Mt. Lemmon Trail, the #5, doesn’t have the same allure to most hikers as the many loops at the top of the mountain – but it has different benefits… Not long after passing the junction with the Wilderness of Rock Trail the #5 takes on a slightly different character – far from obscure, but narrower and distinctly less used. Sections of the trail remind me of the upper CDO, somehow more wild than the well trodden loops at the top. As you wind down the mountain the interior of the Santa Catalina Mountains comes into view.
Admittedly the end of the #5 at Romero Pass is, I think, a bit of an anti-climax – the best views are on the trail above, but at least the pass is usually peaceful, a nice place for break before the long climb back up…
Oak Galls at Romero Pass. September 2017.Near the junction of the Wilderness of Rock and Mt. Lemmon Trails. September 2017.Fallen across the trail. September 2017.A Jerusalem Cricket on the Mt. Lemmon Trail. September 2017.
