Middle Bear Canyon picnic area is currently closed for construction – the restroom is being replaced – you can see in the picture above that the old restroom (at least the visible portion) has already been demolished.
I saw the first sign about the prescribed burns near the Box Camp Trailhead but it wasn’t until I passed the Upper Butterfly Trailhead and Sunset Trailhead that the smoke and small fires along the highway created a fascinating sight.
A short run – the Meadow and Mount Lemmon Trails to the Sutherland Trail junction from the Summit Trailhead – 3.6 miles, 640′ of elevation gain/loss – clouds kept the temperature wonderfully cool.
There are quite a few great flowers on the mountain right now – on the Meadow Trail I took a picture of the white flowers above. At home I consulted my favorite wild flower book for the Santa Catalina Mountains – Mountain Wildflowers of Southern Arizona by Frank S. Rose – but had trouble confidently identifying it, I think it is a Stevia/Candyleaf but I am not quite sure… However while searching online I did find Frank S. Rose, Flowers and More – a fascinating site by the author of Mountain Wildflowers of Southern Arizona!