A Prickly Pear along the Bear Canyon Trail. April 2016.
It was sunny and beautiful – Molino Basin Trail up to Shreve Saddle, Sycamore Reservoir Trail down to Sycamore Saddle, Bear Canyon Trail down – the surprise for the day was the amazing display of flowers on the Bear Canyon Trail.
Hedgehog cactus and bee along the Bear Canyon Trail. April 2016.Desert Chicory – Bear Canyon Trail. April 2016.
There flowers at the top of the switchbacks are incredible! Below I can see that it is a busy day at Seven Falls – see 25+ people enjoying the water – I am glad that so many people are outside experiencing the mountain, but also happy that the mountain is big enough that I can be alone with the flowers.
Fairy Duster and cliffs – Bear Canyon Trail. April 2016.
Storm over Samaniego Ridge – above Rainbows End Wash west of Double Tank. March 2016.
Three bighorn sheep die, mountain lion is killed – tucson.com: In the month of April 3 ewes were killed mountain lions and two mountain lions associated with the deaths were killed. Arizona Game and Fish now reports the number of living collared Bighorn in the Santa Catalina Mountains to be 38 while estimating the number of bighorn in the range at 80+.
Rabid Skunks have been confirmed in a number of Pima County locations including the Summerhaven area in the Santa Catalina Mountains – avoid contact with and don’t approach wildlife that are behaving abnormally or appear to be ill. If you believe that you see a rabid animal, call AZGFD at 1-623-236-7201 or the Pima County Health Department at (520) 724-7797 immediately. More information on rabies from the CDC. AZ Game and Fish expands rabid skunk warning – TucsonNewNow, State issues warning about rabid skunks – KGUN9.
Snow on Mount Lemmon, rain for Tucson – tucson.com: Snow! While this article doesn’t have any snow covered pictures of the mountain it does briefly note that in early April a storm managed to bring snow and ice to the mountain – maybe for the last time this season?
On Saturday, April 16, Pima County Sheriff’s Department Search and Rescue unit and SARA concluded the longest and most intensive search in Pima County since August of 2004. SARA is deeply saddened of the outcome and extends our heartfelt condolences to family of Mauricio Carreon-Maltos.
Ultimately, local Pima County volunteer SAR teams supplied over 1600 person-hours. SARA is especially grateful for the assistance of the volunteer ground, dog, and mounted search teams from Pima, Pinal, Maricopa, Cochise, Coconino, Gila, and Yavapai counties, and for the other agencies involved, all of whom together supplied an additional nearly 1200 hours to the seven-day search effort. Many thanks also to the watchful and attentive public during this time. Thank you.
Rescues/Accidents/Incidents including information from the SARCI Newsletter – :
Ventana Trail 3/3/2016 – A hiker on the trail after dark without a light was unable to follow the trail somewhere below Maiden Pools – a friend was able to help her down the trail.
Romero Canyon 3/4/2016 – Two hikers were separated on the way back from Romero Pools – one was reported missing but eventually made it back to the trailhead without assistance.
Seven Falls 3/7/2016 – A group of hikers was worried about continuing after sunset in the rain – in the end they made it back to the trailhead without needing assistance.
Seven Falls 3/10/2016 – A cardiac arrest resulted in a hiker being declared deceased on the trail and flown out from Seven Falls. Hiker with medical issue dies at Seven Falls – tucson.com.
Agua Caliente Canyon 3/15/2016 – A hiker requested help after attempting to hike down canyon – he was met and helped out via trails in the area.
Romero Canyon Trail 3/17/2016 – An exhausted hiker is able to hike out with assistance.
Seven Falls Trail 3/18/2016 – A hiker with an injured ankle is assisted out by stokes and mule.
Double Tank – State Trust Land outside of Oracle Junction near Rainbows End Wash and Arizona 77. April 2016.
Lupine and Poppies in Catalina State Park. March 2016.Penstemon just off the Canyon Loop Trail in Catalina State Park. March 2016.Romero Canyon – marked by the shadow in the middle of the picture – exiting the mountains and heading into Catalina State Park. March 2016.Leviathan and Wilderness Domes. March 2016.
A Yucca transformed by fire on the Pontatoc Canyon Trail. March 2016.
The upper section of the Pontatoc Canyon Trail – above the last crossing of Pontatoc Canyon at ~2.1 miles – has been faint/overgrown in some places for years – but the Finger Rock Fire has made it even more obscure.
Not long after the last canyon crossing you enter the burn – not everything is scorched, but the fire was not subtle.
Burned Yuccas lay among flowers and stand in strange and unexpected shapes. Short stretches of the trail are still identifiable – but it would have been difficult to link those sections together without help from occasional cairns. At least for now it seems the upper section of the trail has almost been erased – perhaps in another few seasons the sturdy ‘End of Trail’ sign, still standing in the canyon bottom, will be a puzzling and obscure landmark…
Fire and flowers along the Pontatoc Canyon Trail. March 2016.A fallen burnt Yucca along the Pontatoc Canyon Trail. March 2016.A fire formed black pod along the Pontatoc Canyon Trail. March 2016.
The Sutherland Wash Rock Art District was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1993. Located in and around Sutherland Wash the area holds an incredible number of Hohokam petroglyphs. Ceramics and artifacts found in the area indicate that it was inhabited by the Hohokam between 1000 A.D and 1300 A.D. The water in the area would certainly have been an attraction and researchers have identified probable prehistoric trails both to the top of the Santa Catalina Mountains and to nearby locations such as Romo Peak pass thru this area. (The Romo Cache was found on Romo Peak and contains 100,000 beads and a number of copper bells) .
There are more than 600 petroglyph panels in the district, including many representations of flowers, butterflies and birds. Such imagery is characteristic of a spiritual landscape known as the Flower World. In this Uto-Aztecan belief system of ancient Mesoamerican origin, believers evoked a flowery, colorful, glittering paradise through prayers, songs, and other actions. The likelihood of this connection is strengthened by the discovery of Mesoamerican copper bells at Honey Bee Village (a nearby Hohokam settlement) and in a cache of Hohokam artifacts found near the rock art district.
A panel of petroglyphs in the Sutherland Rock Art District. January 2016.Female anthropomorph and flowers. January 2016.
Even more common than the anthropomorphic petroglyphs at the site are representations of animals – it is difficult to tell what animal is represented above, but interesting to dream about what people were seeing in this area 1,000 years ago…
