News

Exhaustion, Injury, Rain and the Road

Posted - Charles Miles

Two hikers rescued from Mt.Lemmon – Arizona Daily Star – A mother and son set out on the Lemmon Trail to hike from the top of the mountain to Catalina State Park and needed a rescue due to dehydration and exhaustion.

Woman injured in fall on Mt. Lemmon – Arizona Daily Star – A woman falls in the Rose Canyon Lake area on a walk from her campsite.

Heights of Catalinas looking like a rain forest – Arizona Daily Star – Nice pictures and information on the flowers, ferns and moisture on the higher elevation trails – by Doug Kreutz.

 

Street Smarts: Road named for old prison camp – Arizona Daily Star – This article pulls together a number of interesting facts about the highway and the Prison Camp – interesting reading and certainly don’t miss the pictures there were several great pictures that I had not seen!

David Leighton includes his Sources for the information in the Street Smarts article – one very interesting source that I was not aware of is Peter Taylor’s Master’s Thesis “If you build it, they will come: The story of the Catalina Highway.” So far I have only read select sections carefully but I am already completely fascinated – the sections I have read are filled with fascinating details! (And even some of the material I have seen before is pulled together nicely and fun to revisit.) This Thesis is available to read online without charge from the University of Arizona. One of my favorite details so far:

Unfortunately for the escapees, the most viable route of escape was to follow Soldier Creek as it headed down toward the Tucson basin. The drainage quickly becomes a closed-in, steep canyon that funnels a hiker through an ever-narrowing chute. As the canyon reaches the desert floor, it begins to widen out where it crosses the Catalina Highway. The guards would simply wait at the road for the prisoners to arrive. The escapees, by then tired out from their over night hike and often pin cushioned by cactus thorns, were then apprehended and sent to a regular prison (7’C 29 November 1993).

 

Bighorn Update, Bullock Fire Case, Helicopters

Posted - Charles Miles

The Bighorn Sheep Reintroduction Project Update Status update for 7/21 to 8/3 is now available (all updates are currently available here). Interesting details:

  • This is the first mention I have seen in awhile of the August release plans: “We are currently putting plans in place for a possible second release this autumn, including the addition of rams. A year from now, it may be possible for people to once again experience the thunderous crack of bighorn sheep rams butting heads together in the Santa Catalina Mountains.”
  • The single remaining ram: “Last week, the ram was observed exhibiting breeding behavior.”
  • As with some previous reports a number of maps are included showing recorded locations and ranges for different individuals and groups of sheep – the southwest corner of the Pusch Ridge Wilderness appears to be heavily used.

Controversy brews over plan for helicopters in wilderness – Arizona Daily Star – A great article by Douglas Kreutz that nicely covers the various for/against views on Arizona Game and Fish’s  request to use helicopters in the Pusch Ridge Wilderness to help manage the recently introduced bighorn sheep.

Photos: Mt. Lemmon Air Force Station – Arizona Daily Star – A set of interesting old pictures of the Mount Lemmon Air Force Station.

Buildings weren’t burned by Forest Service, judge rules – Arizona Daily Star – A lawsuit where landowners were suing the Forest Service for compensation for property burned in the Bullock Fire is decided in favor of the Forest Service.

Human Remains, Helicopters, Motorcycles, Lizards

Posted - Charles Miles

Hikers stumble upon badly decomposed body on Mount Lemmon (KGUN9.com) and Hikers Find Human Remains on Mount Lemmon (PCSD) – Human remains were found by hikers a quarter mile from the Marshall Gulch Trailhead – the initial investigation did not reveal any “evidence of foul play or suspicious circumstances”.

Gen Hitchcock Hwy on Mt Lemmon closed at MP 17.4, just above the Rose Canyon turnoff, for about an hour (PCSD), Male Injured Falling Off a Cliff on Mount Lemmon (PCSD), Road to Mt. Lemmon has reopened to traffic (TucsonNewsNow) and Man rescued after falling over retaining wall on Mt. Lemmon (KVOA.com)- a brief road closure for the rescue of a man who fell from a retaining wall in the San Pedro Vista area.

Mt. Lemmon a motorcyclist’s playground (KVOA.com) – A report on motorcyclists on the mountain, as usual with any user group there are a variety of opinions and levels of responsibility. Probably the most fascinating part of the article where these stats from 2013: 11 tickets – 12 crashes – 1 fatal – lower than I would have guessed.

Helicopter Use by AZ Game and Fish Dept within Pusch Ridge Wilderness – While the official comment period is apparently over (ended July 30) comments still be accepted and the documents related to this proposal are interesting reading. I share the concern expressed in a recently in an Action Alert from the Arizona Trail Assocation:

The Arizona Trail Association is concerned that increased helicopter traffic in the Santa Catalina Mountains near Tucson would significantly impact the experience of trail users along Passages 11 and 12 of the Arizona National Scenic Trail, especially within a federally designated wilderness area.

Sabino Canyon Lizard Walks – Lead by the Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists Lizard walks will take place at 8am on the 2nd Saturday of the month in August, September and October! 2014 Summer Activities.

Heavy Rains and Bighorn Sheep Reintroduction Project Update

Posted - Charles Miles

The Bighorn Sheep Reintroduction Project Update Status update for 7/7 to 7/20 is now available (all updates are currently available here). Interesting details:

  • 13 of the remaining 14 collared sheep are known to be alive; one of the collars maybe malfunctioning.
  • The lambs were last observed 4-6 weeks ago and are assumed to be doing well.
  • Researchers are planning to use the Cox proportional hazards (PH) model to help them examine the influence of different factors on sheep mortality. Horizontal visibility is mentioned as an important factor in mountain lion predation and a variable that the researchers would like to collect data on – possibly using volunteers.

 

From the latest update: “While the methods for measuring [horizontal visibility] are pretty straightforward, the challenge for our research team will be reaching all the necessary locations, so we may be calling for volunteers to help us in the near future! So if you like to hike in the Catalinas and want to follow in the footsteps of a bighorn sheep or two, there may soon be an opportunity to be involved in our ongoing research!”

 

A number of articles about the summer storm and heavy rains yesterday:

News – Fire Restrictions Lifted, Bighorn Update

Posted - Charles Miles

Coronado National Forest to Lift Fire Restrictions Fires to be Permitted Friday, Visitors Reminded to use Caution, Coronado National Forest and Coronado National Forest lifts all fire restrictions, KVOA – Fire restrictions have been lifted due to rain/moisture levels! KVOA reports that “Arizona has still had nearly 1,000 wildfires this year scorching over 150,000 acres” and, of course, the Coronado National Forest Press Release urges caution.

Bighorn status update for 6/23 to 7/7 (all updates are currently available here) – no mortalities and the 5 lambs reportedly continue to appear healthy. The maps in this report are fascinating – the sheep in these maps are in the very southwest corner of the range with movement in nearly all directions from there – they are certainly crossing a number of popular trails!