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Peppersauce, Shuttle, Weather, 60 – 2/11/2017

Updated - Posted - Charles Miles
Santa Catalina Mountains from Panther Peak in the Tucson Mountains. January 2017.
Santa Catalina Mountains from Panther Peak in the Tucson Mountains. January 2017.

Photos: Exploring Peppersauce Cave in 1948 | News | tucson.com – Arizona Daily Star: The Arizona Daily Star pictures from Peppersauce Cave in 1948! In 1948 Desert Magazine published a rather amazing article about Peppersauce Cave which included the location of the cave and a detailed map. The cave had been used/explored before 1948, but the Desert Magazine article – and a brief mention in a 1951 National Geographic Magazine article – probably contributed to the cave being widely known, and with the cave both widely known and completely accessible trash/graffiti/vandalism have been issues. (BTW there are apparently several versions of how Peppersauce Canyon got its name, but the popular stories involve Alex McKay – a prospector in the 1880s – and, you guessed it, his peppersauce…)

Free shuttle to Sabino Canyon for the holiday season – KVOA.com, Electric bus to Sabino Canyon part of new pilot program – Tucson News Now: An electric bus ran from Udall Park to Sabino Canyon during the holidays – it will be interesting to see if this service is provided next year. When this project was announced I mainly thought about the congestion of the Sabino Canyon Parking lot and the possible convenience of avoiding that – but one of the articles above points out that with several Sun Tran routes serving Udall this service provided a very nice link to Sabino Canyon! (And a bus that provides access to the great outdoors certainly brings to mind to the old pictures of the “Mount Lemmon Bus Line“!)

M.O.V.E. ACROSS 2 RANGES – “Marana, Oro Valley, Experience”,  “One Day. Two Ranges. Hike Challenge.” – This is an interesting event that has a variety of challenges to get you outside and into the Tortolita and Santa Catalina Mountains. Packet pickup and after party are being held at the Oro Valley Summit Hut and Patagonia & Summit Hut will donate $2 for every person who signs up for the event to the Friends of Catalina State Park!

This event is an awesome way to explore nature and get active. Hit the trails and experience the challenge and beauty of Southern Arizona’s Tortolita and Catalina Mountains in one day! Trail run, hike, or stroll through this fun event.  

Arizona State Parks and Trails Celebrates 60 Years and Holds 60 First Day Hikes throughout Arizona on January 1: On Jan. 1 the Arizona State Parks held 60 First Day Hikes to celebrate their 60th anniversary. If you have not visited the Arizona State Parks website you might enjoy visiting the updated site including new Oracle State Park and Catalina State Park pages and a statewide calendar of events.

Coronado National Forest announces fee-free days for 2017 – Tucson News Now: The remaining fee-free days for this year are President’s Day – Feb. 20, National Get Outdoors Day – June 10, National Public Lands Day – Sept. 30 and Veterans Day – Nov. 11.

Arizona Trail Association – Oracle Rumble: The Arizona Trail Assocation added a race to their list of trail running events this year – the Oracle Rumble! With 50 mile, 50k, half-marathon and 10k distances this race could be a great excuse to see the landscape just north of the Santa Catalina Mountains – a great area that is much less visited than the areas immediately around Tucson.

Opinion: Catalinas bighorn sheep reintroduction a win for wildlife and people | Guest Opinions | tucson.com – Arizona Daily Star: An opinion piece about the Bighorn reintroduction – the piece makes some positive points about the reintroduction, but for me it seems like the missing piece of the puzzle in making judgments about the project is the knowing what happens long term…

Dog found after getting lost on Mount Lemmon three months ago – KVOA.com: A nice story about a dog lost on Mount Lemmon who was found months later at a San Manuel area ranch!

Buffelgrass pulled at Sabino Canyon – KVOA.com: Sabino Canyon is a popular area and it is great to see Buffelgrass removal taking place there – if you don’t know about Buffelgrass here is some reading from the Desert Museum.

Snow helps Mt. Lemmon firefighters contain blaze to 1 cabin, some trees – Tucson News Now: The plume of smoke from this fire wasn’t huge – but it was very visible – sad that the cabin burned but I am glad the blaze was contained.

Tucson Outdoors Jan. 26-Feb. 3 | Things to Do in Tucson | tucson.com – Arizona Daily Star, Tucson Outdoors Feb. 2-10. | Things to Do in Tucson | tucson.com – Arizona Daily Star: The Arizona Daily Star has started to do articles with lists of outdoor related events – quite a few different events are covered and you will probably find something going on that you didn’t know about!

The weather felt slightly late this year – but as always snow eventually covered the mountain and brought the standard road closures and overcrowding – slight frustrations compared to the joy of being in the snow an hour or less from Tucson!

Recent links about hikes and adventures:

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

  • 11/13/2016 La Milagrosa Canyon: Ankle injury above Molino Basin at the head of Milagrosa Canyon – hiker carried and ridden out.
  • 11/26/2016 Sutherland Trail: Backpackers loose their way and are found from their cellphone location after calling for help.
  • 11/27/2016 Soldier Canyon below Prison Camp: A climbing fall results in an ankle injury at Jailhouse Rock – climber carried out.
  • 12/7/2016 Pusch Peak Northwest Side Route: A hiker with a knee injury is able to hike out slowly with assistance.
  • 12/11/2016 Wilderness of Rocks: Hikers have trouble finding the trail, call for help and are assisted out.
  • 12/24/2016 Historic Trail in Sabino Canyon: A hiker with low blood sugar is assisted out.
  • 12/27/2016 Rattlesnake Junction, Sabino Canyon: A fall results in a dislocated hip and pelvis fracture – hiker was carried to the tram road and taken to the hospital.
  • 12/30/2016 Pima Canyon Trail: A hiker, possible with cardiac issues, becomes ill and is carried back to the trailhead.
  • 1/6/2017 Blackett’s Ridge: Ankle injury leads to a carry out.
  • 1/7/2017 Sycamore Reservoir Trail: Hikers at a trail sign but in the dark without lights call for help and are assisted out by family members.
  • 1/15/2017 Thimble Peak: Hikers intending to do the Bear Canyon Loop back to Sabino start up Bear Canyon but accidentally leave the Bear Canyon Trail and turn onto the route to Thimble Peak and are unable to continue – assisted out.
  • 1/24/2017 Seven Falls Trail: Hikers have problems with darkness and high water levels, assisted out.

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.”