Light from Tucson, taken on Guthrie Mountain. May 2019.
On Guthrie Mountain cloudy grey skies block the stars, light from Tucson reflects off the clouds and floods into the mountains. Thru the camera lens the city lights are white hot metal, the clouds rising steam – the energy coming from the city is unfathomable, tonight it seems like Moloch’s incomprehensible prison is Howling out into the mountains.
Moloch whose eyes are a thousand blind windows! Moloch whose skyscrapers stand in the long streets like endless Jehovahs! Moloch whose factories dream and croak in the fog! Moloch whose smoke-stacks and antennae crown the cities!
Moloch whose love is endless oil and stone! Moloch whose soul is electricity and banks! Moloch whose poverty is the specter of genius! Moloch whose fate is a cloud of sexless hydrogen! Moloch whose name is the Mind!
Clouds, city and headlights on the highway from Guthrie Mountain. May 2019.
The images and thoughts above are fleeting – most of my overnight is the simple joy of being outside, nothing to do with Ginsberg’s anger and frustration – old graffiti and new flowers on the Green Mountain Trail; thick lines of black ants, new ferns and water at Maverick Spring; blackened trees, new views and fresh flowers in the Burro Fire burn that covers most of Guthrie Mountain and the ridge out to and past Point 7162.
Sunset over Green Mountain – from Guthrie Mountain. May 2019.Flowers growing in and area burned by the Burro Fire. May 2019.Below Point 7162 in an area burned by the Burro Fire. May 2019.Tank with water at Maverick Spring. May 2019.Coralbells on the Green Mountain Trail. May 2019.Coralroot on the Green Mountain Trail. May 2019.
General Hitchcock Highway, Weathertop and The Ruins from the Agua Caliente Canyon Trail. February 2019.
Agua Caliente Canyon Trail – headed out to do the full La Milagrosa and Agua Caliente Canyon Trail Loop, but didn’t make it… Too many flowers and too much water!
Tuber Anemone. February 2019.Blue Dick’s off the Agua Caliente Canyon Trail. February 2019.A gall on a Cat’s Claw Acacia. February 2019.Flowing water in Agua Caliente Canyon. February 2019.Sunset on the Agua Caliente Canyon Trail – below the junction of La Milagrosa and Agua Caliente Canyons. February 2019.
At Babad Do’ag I don’t see a pile up and at Molino Basin the bathroom doors are open and things look clean – I can see a little trash scattered at Windy Point, but nothing out of the ordinary after a busy weekend and in Bear Canyon things seem fine.
The Bigelow Trailhead is the first place I pull in where the government shutdown really shows – trash is scattered across the parking lot and accumulating under overflowing trash bins – a women hesitates at the bathroom door and turns back to the car exclaiming ‘not fit for a pig’.
Bits of trash at a trailhead really just isn’t all that shocking – there is a reason that I keep a trash picker in the truck – but this amount of trash is unusual and sad. It doesn’t take long to have two trash bags full and leaning against the truck – I’m working on bag three (mostly broken plastic sled pieces) when when a Forest Service Crew pulls up – a sort of trash strike force they quickly empty bins, grab trash and work on the restrooms – in spite of what I suspect must have been an epic (depressing?) day of cleaning up trash they still smile and graciously add my collected garbage to their load.
I wonder if other areas were as bad as the Bigelow Trailhead before the Forest Service crew came thru? Probably… It is sad to see people leave so much trash – and sad that our government can shutdown and leave these places without the care they deserve.
Three Forest Service workers were out cleaning up – barely visible but you they had nearly filled the larger truck and were loading trash into the smaller truck too. January 2019.
Get a look at Tucson’s bighorn sheep through spotting scopes – Arizona Daily Star: This upcoming event is being hosted by the Arizona Game and Fish Department and the Santa Catalina Bighorn Sheep Advisory Committee. The event is “a celebration of the completion of the initial phase of a bighorn reintroduction project in the Catalina Mountains” and will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Westward Look Wyndham Grand Resort and Spa, 245 E. Ina Road – there is no fee and there will be exhibits, talks and spotting scopes!
I have made a number of visits to the Linda Vista Trails over the years and have always enjoyed it – great views of Pusch Ridge and amazing desert close to town. Certainly so close to town you won’t completely escape city views and noise – but still beautiful! So it was no surprise to see a positive article by Doug Kreutz about Linda Vista – but it was a surprise to read a short letter to the editor a few days later with concerns that the trails are suffering because a “commercial horseback riding enterprise now using Linda Vista as its own private trail system” – something to think about… Linda Vista Trail’s various adventures attract amazing array of users – Arizona Daily Star, Letter: Linda Vista Trail suffers | Letters to the Editor | tucson.com – Arizona Daily Star
Rescues/Accidents/Incidents including information from the SARCI Newsletter:
1/26/2017 Sutherland Trail: Hikers off-trail near the trailhead with small dogs were concerned about Javelina in the area, they were met and hiked out.
1/27/2017 Bear Canyon Trail: A hiker waded upstream after loosing the trail at a crossing and twisted his ankle – helped to walk out.
1/27/2017 Bluff Trail in Sabino Canyon: A fall results in a hip injury – the hiker was carried to a nearby maintenance road.
2/2/2017 Phoneline Trail: After a fall the hiker is able to hike out with assistance.
2/11/2017 Bear Canyon Trail: Ankle injury results in a carry out.
2/12/2017 Romero Pools Trail: A hiker with an injured ankle at the Pools is hoisted out by the PCSD.
2/20/2017 Bear Canyon: A hiker took the route to Thimble Peak and then started down a drainage towards Seven Falls and became stranded. The hiker was hoisted out by the PCSD.
Mount Lemmon above the clouds from Ironwood Forest National Monument. February 2017.
A sign for the ‘start’ of the Molino Basin Trail – slightly out of place… April 2016.
I don’t ever remember noticing the trail sign at the start of the Molino Basin Trail – still standing, but nicely overgrown and no longer actually on the trail, probably the victim of past changes to the Molino Basin Parking Area – I wonder if the signs enjoys its retirement off the beaten path… 🙂
