News

Assault, Wilderness Festival, Steam Pump, Rain

Posted - Charles Miles
Bicyclist assaulted; deputies need help locating three suspects – A disturbing assault of a cyclist at the bottom of the mountain on October 1 – watch the video and contact the authorities if you have any information. Wild for Wilderness Festival at Sabino Canyon – This event will take place on Saturday, November 8, 2014, 9:00AM – 3:00PM to celebrate 50 years of the Wilderness Act! This poster/picture on Facebook has the best description I have seen and it notes that the festival will include: music, food, speakers, horse packing, guided walks, workshops and more! Note that entrance to Sabino Canyon is FREE for the event. Happenings at Steam Pump Ranch in Oro Valley – Second Saturdays are back at the Steam Pump Ranch, see the link for the details. In addition the Oro Valley Farmer’s Market will be at Steam Pump Ranch every Saturday from 8AM – noon. 3 inches of rain on Mount Lemmon! Arizona Daily Star – Checking the Pima County Regional Flood Control District ALERT System from the start of the day on 10/7 to the end of the day on 10/9 there was nearly 6″ of rain at the top of the mountain!

Redington Pass Closure, Shifting Ground, Guided Hikes, Fall Colors, Bighorn Sheep Update

Posted - Charles Miles

Redington Pass shooting area closure extended Cleanup work continues in the area – The Forest Service has extended the closure (details below) indefinitely to allow for clean up of several recreational shooting sites between Mileposts 5 and 7 on Redington Road .  The clean-up – which includes removal of soil with high lead concentrations – is currently expected to be completely mid-November. The press release also mentions that a Redington Pass Collaborative Management Plan is being developed that is “intended to increase visitor safety, enhance multiple uses and recreational experiences, and minimize user conflicts.” The Friends of Redington Pass is one group to explore if you are interested in this area.

Prohibited activities include parking a motorized vehicle between Mile Markers 5.0 and 7.0 along Pima County Road 371, and discharging a firearm, air rifle, paint ball gun, gas gun or archery equipment between Mile Markers 5.0 and 7.0, or within 0.6 miles of that segment of the road.

County testing for shifting ground under Catalina Highway; blame Aspen wildfire, KGUN9, Maggie Vespa – The article expands on the information available on the Pima County Website about construction on the Mount Lemmon Highway and talks specifically about the installation of monitors to detect ground movement. The county states that greater run-off after the fires is creating more stress on the highway infrastructure – but also says there is “no reason to worry”. (Expect construction above San Pedro Vista thru mid-November – delays are expected weekdays between the hours of 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. – possibly with a reduction to one lane and temporary closures to safely position heavy equipment.)

Guided Hikes in Catalina State Park in October – on the 12th, 19th and 26th there will be guided hikes in Catalina State Park – hopefully with nice cool temperatures as we move into Fall!

Autumn in Tucson: Lederhosen and leaves – Arizona Daily Star,  Ann Brown – A nice article mentioning a number of reasonably easy to access places on the mountains to see fall colors. The article also mentions the Oktoberfest at Mount Lemmon Ski Valley – Saturdays and Sundays 11:45 a.m.-5 p.m. thru October 12.

The Bighorn Sheep Restoration Project Status update for 9/15 to 9/28 is available (all updates are currently available here) – This updates includes information about Bighorn Sheep populations and translocation efforts that have taken place in other parts of Arizona to give some perspective/comparison to the project in the Santa Catalina Mountains – interesting reading! Also included in this update is another mention of the upcoming research/vegetation sampling and a call for volunteers:

If you’d like to get involved (and enjoy some pretty spectacular hiking along the way), please contact either Research Biologist Andrew Jones ([email protected]) or Larisa Harding ([email protected]) and let us know as we begin to organize this effort. Sampling will most likely occur from early January through the end of February 2015. Come join in the fun and contribute to the research efforts!

Construction, National Public Lands Day, Trail Dust Days

Posted - Charles Miles

Construction – Mt. Lemmon Highway at Mile Post 18.2 – Construction at milepost 18.2 will mean weekday delays accessing trailheads above San Pedro Vista – from the article:

Construction activities will be concluded on weekdays between the hours of 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. During these times, traffic control will be necessary. Travel will be reduced down to one lane of travel with flaggers directing traffic. Construction activities will cause temporary delays in traffic so that heavy equipment can be safely positioned. During non construction hours two lanes of traffic (one in each direction) will be restored.

Celebrate National Public Lands Day with fee free day and activities, KVOA.com, Anthony Victor Reyes – “In celebration of National Public Lands Day on Saturday, Sept. 27, Sabino Canyon and Mt. Lemmon will offer a variety of activities and waived Forest Service standard amenity fees.” – see the article for more details.

Tucson Rough Riders Trail Dust Days – The Tucson Rough Riders are a 4WD club founded in 1976. Trail Dust Days will be based in Catalina State Park from October 16-19 and feature games, food, a raffle and off-road runs. See the link for more details – registration is required.

Teenager rescued from Sabino Canyon, KGUN9, Shelby Payne – between Tram stops 8 and 9 – “The 16 year old girl slipped while attempting to jump into a pool of water from a cliff and got stuck onto a ledge approximately 10 feet down.”

Bighorn Sheep Restoration Project Status update for 9/1 to 9/14 was recently released and contained no new details.

Construction, Fire and Flowers

Updated - Posted - Charles Miles
1409 Middle Bear Canyon Picnic Area Construction
Restroom replacement – Middle Bear Picnic Area. September 2014.

Middle Bear Canyon picnic area is currently closed for construction – the restroom is being replaced – you can see in the picture above that the old restroom (at least the visible portion) has already been demolished.

1409 Prescribed Burn along the Highway
Smoke and small flames – a prescribed burn near the highway. September 2014.

I saw the first sign about the prescribed burns near the Box Camp Trailhead but it wasn’t until I passed the Upper Butterfly Trailhead and Sunset Trailhead that the smoke and small fires along the highway created a fascinating sight.

1409 Stevia
Flowers along the Meadow Trail. September 2014.

A short run – the Meadow and Mount Lemmon Trails to the Sutherland Trail junction from the Summit Trailhead – 3.6 miles, 640′ of elevation gain/loss – clouds kept the temperature wonderfully cool.

There are quite a few great flowers on the mountain right now – on the Meadow Trail I took a picture of the white flowers above. At home I consulted my favorite wild flower book for the Santa Catalina Mountains – Mountain Wildflowers of Southern Arizona by Frank S. Rose – but had trouble confidently identifying it, I think it is a Stevia/Candyleaf but I am not quite sure… However while searching online I did find Frank S. Rose, Flowers and More – a fascinating site by the author of Mountain Wildflowers of Southern Arizona!

Bighorns, Dogs, Asteroid, High Water, Rescues, Evening Rides

Posted - Charles Miles

Bighorn Sheep Restoration Project Status updates for 8/4 to 8/17 and 8/18 to 8/31 are available (all updates are currently available here) – there is not much of note in either document except for a very interesting call for volunteers to help with vegetation sampling in the Santa Catalina Mountains:

we’re still looking for more [volunteers] who like to hike and want to be part of this effort, so if you’d like to get involved (and enjoy some pretty spectacular hiking along the way), please contact either Research Biologist Andrew Jones ([email protected]) or Larisa Harding ([email protected]) and let us know as we begin to organize this effort. Sampling will most likely occur from early January through the end of February 2015. Come join in the fun and contribute to the research efforts!

Hikers stranded due to high water at Catalina State Park – Tucson News Now, Sonu Wasu – the incredible rains on Monday (which also temporarily closed the highway up the mountain and resulted in highwater in many areas) resulted in flooding across the road and Search and Rescue call-outs – including to Romero Pools.

Dogs pose a threat to bighorn sheep survival – Arizona Daily Star, Douglas Kreutz – Information about the year-round rules against dogs in the Bighorn Sheep Management Area.

Close-call asteroid passing Earth discovered from telescopes on Mt. Lemmon – Tucson News Now, Erin Jordan – House sized asteroid 2014 RC will pass close to earth – discovered “by the Catalina Sky Survey, working from a telescope on top of Mt. Lemmon”.

Labor Day weekend helping business in Summerhaven – Tucson News Now, Mauricio Marin – Ski Valley and Summerhaven have a busy Labor Day weekend.

Sabino Canyon evening rides – The Explorer – “During September-November and April-June, Sabino Canyon Tours offers evening rides three nights per month.”

62-year-old woman rescued at Romero Pools – KVOA.com, Alyssa Reilly – A Romero Pools rescue.