Snow in the desert! It didn’t last long, by mid-morning it was melting fast, and at the end of the day the snow line across the west side of the Santa Catalina Mountains was well above the desert floor.
2015 is the last time I took pictures of good ‘desert snow’ – in 2015 the snow line appears to have been a bit lower, Pima Canyon Trail in the Snow, 1/1/2015 has some pictures.
Beautiful to see and what a way to start the New Year!
After a largely dry and storm free winter it was a privilege to spend a week under grey skies! Rain, flowing washes, road cuts turned into waterfalls, canyons filled with water – a real joy, and as I write this it looks like we might get another short storm in February!
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!!!
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…
The cameras at the top of the mountain showed a nice layer of snow but at 6 AM ‘Closed’ signs blocked the drive up the mountain – instead I drove Redington Road hoping the snow might have made it far enough down the mountain to photograph from one of the view points near the Italian Spring Trailhead, low clouds and a high snow line meant that the lovely sunrise scene didn’t include any snow – but closer to town it was easy to see the first good snow of the winter blanketing the top of the mountain!
