Black Hills Mine Road – 7/7/2016

Past San Manuel the road takes a hard left as it heads down to the San Pedro River – only a year or two ago the road turned to dirt near the turn, but now an unbroken path of pavement takes you towards the river. At the turn an unsigned dirt road leaves to the right – Black Hills Mine Road – FR4450. 

Cloud shadows on the hills between Black Hills Mine Road and the Santa Catalina Mountains. July 2016.
Cloud shadows on the hills between Black Hills Mine Road and the Santa Catalina Mountains. July 2016.

Black Hills Mine Road is wide and smooth at the start as it cuts straight lines thru the desert to the edge of Alder Canyon. At Alder Canyon the road climbs to the ridge between Alder Canyon and Geesaman Wash and passes the Ventana Tank.

Ventana Tank - reflections of Point 5817 between Alder and Edgar Canyons and the clouds above. July 2016.
Ventana Tank – reflections of Point 5817 between Alder and Edgar Canyons and the clouds above. July 2016.

Near Bat Well the road, now rougher and narrower, crosses over to Geesaman wash and winds towards a junction with the Control Road.

The Bat Well area off of Black Hills Mine Road. July 2016.
The Bat Well area off of Black Hills Mine Road. July 2016.

Black Hills Mine Road is best enjoyed in a high clearance vehicle with a detailed map – there are a number of dirt roads in the area and generally no signs to rely on – if exploring from the road it is helpful to have a map showing land ownership boundaries, the road passes thru a mixture of State Trust, USFS and private land. (Use of State Trust Land requires a permit.) 

Golder Ranch Sunrise – 7/7/2016

Sunset - looking up at Samaniego Ridge. July 2016.
Sunset – looking up at Samaniego Ridge. July 2016.

Taking a break on the way north to watch the sunrise from dirt roads near the Golder Ranch Parking Area.

Charouleau Gap from the Golder Ranch area. July 2016.
Charouleau Gap from the Golder Ranch area. July 2016.
Sunset light on Golder Dome. July 2016.
Sunset light on Golder Dome. July 2016.

Ray Spring Hill and Ray Spring – 6/3/2016

Looking towards the Mountains with American Flag Hill, Rice Peak and Apache Peak (left to right) visible. June 2016.
Looking towards the Santa Catalina Mountains from Ray Spring Hill with American Flag Hill, Rice Peak and Apache Peak (left to right) visible – trash in the foreground. June 2016.

Thru Oracle, onto Mount Lemmon Road, past Oracle State Park and the C.O.D. Ranch is a rough dirt road that leads to the top of Ray Spring Hill. ‘Hill’ is good description, it is neither particularly high nor steep – but it does have a nice view of the San Pedro River Valley and the Santa Catalina Mountains. Unfortunately the short drive from the highway has probably contributed to the state of the hill – moderately trashed: beer cans, liquor bottles, the odd shell casing, broken glass, a few last pieces of trash cleared out of the back of a truck. The trash takes some of the joy out of visiting this little hill – it needs some love…

Ray Spring Hill, Ray Spring Wash and Ray Spring south of the Kannally  Ranch in Oracle State Park and East of the C.O.D. Ranch on Mount Lemmon Road. June 2016.
Ray Spring Hill, Ray Spring Wash and Ray Spring south of the Kannally Ranch in Oracle State Park and East of the C.O.D. Ranch on Mount Lemmon Road. June 2016.

Ray Spring Wash is below the hill to the north – less used than the hill my short walk in the bottom of the wash is a much nicer experience – Fried Eggs, Cholla, Cottonwoods and small path of dry sand eventually lead to what I assume is Ray Spring – a dry but interesting landmark at the head of the wash. Be respectful of land ownership boundaries while exploring in this area – only a small part of Ray Spring Wash is on Forest Service land – private land, State Park Land and State Trust Land all claim parts of the wash…

Fried Egg in Ray Spring Wash near Ray Spring. June 2016.
Fried Egg in Ray Spring Wash near Ray Spring. June 2016.
Ray Spring. June 2016.
Ray Spring. June 2016.

Storm, Sky Island Traverse, AZTR 300/750 – 5/4/2016

Looking over Peck Basin and Point 5817 and across the San Pedro River Valley to the Galiuro Mountains. April 2016.
Looking over Peck Basin, Point 5817 and the San Pedro River Valley to the Galiuro Mountains from near the San Pedro Vista. April 2016.

The summer will bring plenty of cloudy days, but for now they remain infrequent and good clouds are more than enough of a reason to drive up the mountain – the payoffs on this trip were watching the light on the San Pedro River Valley and Galiuro Mountains from the Incinerator Ridge Trail, seeing the end of the day thru The Window from near the junction of the Mount Lemmon and Sutherland Trails and hiking in the darkness thru the clouds and big pines near the top of the mountain on the Meadow Trail.

The Window from near the Sutherland and Mount Lemmon Trail junction. April 2016.
The Window from near the Sutherland and Mount Lemmon Trail junction. April 2016.
A stormy night on the Meadow Trail - Mount Lemmon. April 2016.
A stormy night on the Meadow Trail – Mount Lemmon. April 2016.

Any ‘big view’ from the Santa Catalina Mountains is going to include at least one – and often more – of the Madrean Sky Islands. Like the Santa Catalina Mountains these ranges soar up from the desert floor to oak and pine forests at higher elevations. Almost anyone who has spent time hiking in Southern Arizona will have driven to some, or many, of the Madrean Sky Islands – some people have also connected these ranges in long distance human powered efforts – two notable recent events:

  • The Sky Island Traverse is an incredibly interesting and rugged route that spirals thru a number of Sky Island ranges in Southern Arizona including the Santa Catalina Mountains – a thru-hike of the SkIT was completed by Ryan “Dirtmonger” Sylva, a rare event, and his blog includes a great post on the SKiT!
  • Readers of this blog are probably intimately familiar with the Arizona Trail – but might not be familiar with the AZTR300 and 750 – probably best described by quoting Scott Morris’ Racing the Arizona Trail page:

    The Arizona Trail Race is an unofficial challenge that takes place every spring on the cross state Arizona Trail. Two distances are available. The Arizona Trail 300 is a 300 mile event that has been held every April since 2006. The Arizona Trail Race is the complete traversal (Mexico->Utah over 750+ miles) and was offered for the first time in 2010. Both events are run concurrently, starting on the same day.

    This is not an organized or sanctioned event in any way. It’s simply a group of friends out to ride their bikes on the same route at the same time. We’ll probably compare times afterwards, but more importantly, we’ll compare experiences — the highs and lows the trail and mountains offered us.

    For a great write up of the 2016 event check out Joe Grant’s series on his Alpine Works blog – Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 – a quote from Part 1:

    The 18 miles or so of road climbing up to Mt. Lemmon are as challenging as I thought they would be. Pedaling up a sustained climb in the heat, on pavement, on a loaded mountain bike is a drudging affair. I decide to simply take my time and occupy myself people watching.
    I am passed by a few Tour de France style riders, who zip by effortlessly on their speed machines. I begin this ongoing joke in my head that Neil is up there attacking the climb, dropping all the roadies, while I am just turtle grinding in my lowest gear, waddling up the hill like that Gila Monster.

Pontatoc Ridge Trail – 4/3/2016

Looking across Pontatoc Canyon, over Finger Rock Canyon and up to Prominent Point, Finger Rock and the Finger Rock Guard. March 2016.
Looking across Pontatoc Canyon, over Finger Rock Canyon and up to Prominent Point, Finger Rock and the Finger Rock Guard. March 2016.
Cholla flower in the sun. April 2016.
Cholla flower in the sun. April 2016.
Loosing the light while descending the Pontatoc Ridge Trail - Tucson city lights in background. April 2016.
Loosing the light while descending the Pontatoc Ridge Trail – Tucson city lights in background. April 2016.

Pontatoc Ridge Trail