Author: Charles Miles

Bighorn Pneumonia, No UFOs, LWCF, Weather – 10/6/2015

Posted - Charles Miles

On 9/21 the carcass of Bighorn ewe ID 37442 was found in the Santa Catalina Mountains – a field necropsy showed signs of pneumonia. This is the 5th recent death – none of which have been attributed to predators – 3 of which have been linked to pneumonia in laboratory tests. While earlier deaths prompted AZGF to take a “take a wait and see attitude” about a November release of Bighorn in the Santa Catalina Mountains (source) it now appears that the pneumonia has been assessed as  “limited” and the November release is still planned. AZGF is “looking at bringing animals from a herd with prior exposure to pneumonia.” The latest updates from the project are available here – also see Another bighorn dies in Catalinas — apparently of pneumonia – Arizona Daily Star.

Storms result in rescue, outages, closures, evacuation – Tucson News Now: The article mentions rocks on the highway up the mountain in the recent storms – note that in almost every wet storm some rocks – perhaps small – will be on the highway, they are usually cleared remarkably quickly but in wet weather some extra caution is advised.

Tucson’s UFO Mystery Revealed – Huffpost Weird News: The recent UFO Videos shot from the Sabino Canyon area have been debunked – the lights appear to have been from human activity on the mountain…

Hittin’ the Trails 4 You: National Public Lands Day on September 26th – KVOA.com: Every year National Public Lands Day often features waived fees and good opportunities to volunteer!

Congress must renew the Land & Water Conservation Fund – Arizona Daily Star: A letter about the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Established in 1965 and primarily funded by royalties on offshore oil and gas drilling the fund provides money for the acquisition of land for recreation and protection. Unfortunately this fund was not reauthorized (as of 10/6/2015) (The Land and Water Conservation Fund Coalition and Congress Lets Sun Set on Land and Water Conservation Fund) – while it is possible it will be reauthorized it seems like it will be more difficult now…

Cloud Road named for family with long Tucson history – Arizona Daily Star: Some great historic details about the Cloud Family who purchased property along Sabino Canyon in 1910.

Hittin’ the Trails 4 You: Mount Lemmon’s Wilderness of Rock Trail – KVOA.com: Video and commentary on the Wilderness of Rocks Trail.

Monsoon brings greenery, flowing streams, wildflowers – Arizona Daily Star: A great quote from Frank Rose – “This has been one of the best monsoons I have seen in 33 years of hiking the Catalinas — bringing a great variety and quantity of flowers, some into their second bloom of the year”.

Highway up Mt Lemmon back open following crash – Tucson News Now: A vehicle/motorcycle crash.

Canyon View Elementary placed on brief lockdown due to mountain lion sighting – KVOA.com: the school across from the Sabino Canyon Visitor Center has a mountain lion sighting.

Four figures in the fog — hiking Arizona’s Mt. Lemmon – The Spectrum: A nice write up of a hike on the Marshall Gulch Trail and Aspen Trail on a stormy day.

AZ Game and Fish: Reward offered in poaching of two javelinas – Tucson News Now: Two javelina were found in Tucson – NW of Grant and Swan and near Cloud and Sabino – both shot by an arrow. AZGF said: “There is no archery javelina hunt open at this time, so we are investigating these incidents as illegal take of wildlife.”

 

Rescues/Accidents/Incidents including information from the SARCI Newsletter:

Agua Caliente Hill Trail, Point 3321, Sunset and Night – 10/4/2015

Updated - Posted - Charles Miles
Sunset from the Agua Caliente Hill Trail. October 2015.
Sunset from the Agua Caliente Hill Trail. October 2015.
Tucson City Lights from Point 3321 off the Agua Caliente Hill Trail. October 2015.
Tucson City Lights from Point 3321 off the Agua Caliente Hill Trail. October 2015.
Mount Bigelow in the Stars - looking up from Point 3321 off the Agua Caliente Hill Trail. October 2015.
Mount Bigelow in the stars – looking up from Point 3321 off the Agua Caliente Hill Trail. October 2015.

Another Bighorn Death, Stars, Comets – 8/28/2015

Posted - Charles Miles

The latest update from the Santa Catalina Bighorn Sheep Reintroduction Project includes information on the recent death of ewe #37444. The update mentions samples being collected for disease testing – it will be interesting to find out if this death is attributed to Pneumonia since that was identified as a cause in the previous 3 mortalities – from the update:

The carcass of ewe #37444 was discovered by Department biologists on the afternoon of August 24 after they got a VHF mortality signal. The GPS component of her collar had not uploaded her location since August 21, and it did not send a mortality signal. However, Department staff had been monitoring her decreased movement patterns over the preceding days and surmised she was likely sick. Her carcass was found at her last known location from August 21, and there were no signs of predation. Samples were collected from the carcass for disease testing.


Ewe #37444 was captured in the Tonto National Forest in 2014. She had a lamb early this year, but it would have been independent by now.

The update also includes information from recent sightings verifying that 9 of the 16 lambs born in the Santa Catalina Mountains this year are still alive and mentions that the “typical lamb survival in desert bighorn sheep is about 25 percent”.

 

Adam Block – Beautiful shots creating star trails from the UA Sky Center: M11: Concentric Contemplation, Concentric Contemplation (video), Star trails captured from Mt. Lemmon SkyCenter – Tucson News Now.

The Catalina Comet! The credit for this 2013 discovery goes to R. A. Kowalski and the Catalina Sky Survey – this comet was featured as the NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day on August 18, 2015 – more information on the comet can be found here. Look up and see Comet Catalina, discovered right here in Arizona – Tucson News Now.

Man arrested after dog’s paws burned on hike – Arizona Daily Star: A man was “charged with felony cruelty to animals after volunteers from the Southern Arizona Rescue Association had to carry out his dog, Ranger, from three miles up the trail.”

A Short Hike Above Bear Canyon, Points 6702, 7135 and 6810 – 8/23/2015

Updated - Posted - Charles Miles
A Gopher Snake in a wash above Bear Canyon - after spotting us he disappeared into cracks below a small rock face. August 2015.
A Gopher Snake in a wash above Bear Canyon – after spotting us he disappeared into cracks below a small rock face. August 2015.

Points 6702, 7135 and 6810 east of Bear Canyon are, in many ways, ‘nothing special’ – but marks on a map are a great excuse to wander away from well trodden paths – and more often than not thru spots of subtle beauty, sometimes surrounded by sublimely devilish brush…

Summer rains filling Bear Canyon with beautiful running water. August 2015.
Summer rains filling Bear Canyon with beautiful running water. August 2015.
Juniper Berries. August 2015.
Juniper Berries. August 2015.
Wet mushrooms near the ridge east of Bear Canyon. August 2015.
Wet mushrooms near the ridge east of Bear Canyon. August 2015.
Looking across Bear Canyon from Point 6810 on the ridge east of Bear Canyon. August 2015.
Looking across Bear Canyon from Point 6810 on the ridge east of Bear Canyon. August 2015.

Lower Green Mountain Trailhead, Green Mountain Trail, off trail up onto the ridge, Point 6702, Point 7135, Point 6810, Bug Spring Trail, Lower Green Mountain Trailhead. 3.9 miles, +/- 2000′ of elevation gain/loss.