Dark pictures, but a happy start to 2017 – what a joy to be outside watching clouds hide and reveal the peaks in the Santa Catalina Mountains – eventually the flat grey of the rain is all around us and, with a smile, we make the short hike out.
Thank you to everyone who visited this site in 2016 – I hope you found it inspiring, useful and informative – I am looking forward to adding more posts and content in 2017!!!
Up canyon from the entrance to the Gordon Hirabayashi Recreation Site the Bug Spring Route follows, roughly, the path of old pipes that lead up to Bug Spring – at one time these pipes were part of the infrastructure that provided water for the Prison Camp – the original source of labor for the highway up the mountain.
Following the old route is not really the point I think – the line on the map is a good excuse, but there are better ‘trails’ on the mountain – better to just think of this as a good excuse to explore a rather interesting area – the canyon usually has at least some water, it is interesting to think about the history of the area and the Bug Spring area is a nice spot for a break…
I often avoid Windy Point – sometimes because it is too crowded, and sometimes because the changes to the area over the last decade not my favorite – but I have to admit that when I have stopped here to photograph the sunset it has been absolutely spectacular!
I would be surprised if the Control Road came up in discussions about ‘Best Hiking Destinations in the Santa Catalina Mountains’ – and with good reason, there are so many great trails on the mountain that a long hike on a frequently driven high-clearance dirt road is a hard sell… But in winter, with sections of the road closed to vehicles, especially with the road blanketed in snow, the top of the road becomes an incredible hike! The wide road is easy to follow (even in enough snow to obscure many other trails), there are great views, tall trees, no vehicles and you can connect to the Crystal Spring Trail – well worth considering!
Snow!!! The snow on the mountain was spectacular today – we took photos from Golder Ranch Road and then hiked a few miles up the snowy Oracle Ridge Trail from the Lower Oracle Ridge Trailhead. By the time we turned around the snow was already disappearing – the forecast for the next few days is in the 60s and 70s, higher on the mountain there will be snow to enjoy – but lower on the mountain it is quickly disappearing…
