A Beautiful Summer Night on Blackett’s Ridge – 8/20/2016
night hike
Spadefoot Lightning, 8/8/2015
Rain earlier in the day doused the Finger Rock Fire – nothing to photograph there – onwards to Sabino Canyon – midnight, too late to catch the storm, but as a consolation the parking area was nearly empty and pleasantly quiet. Puddles cover the trail and the sand shows traces of the water that must have flowed just a few hours before – a great night to sit just off off the road and watch the lightning.
After awhile trying to catch the fickle lightning on camera looses it’s appeal, but the sounds of the calling Couch’s Spadefoots pull me just a little farther down the road.
The Spadefoots are somewhat hidden down in the canyon vegetation – but their calls are so loud, what luck to hear them!
//media.hikelemmon.com.s3.amazonaws.com/santa-catalina-mountains/media/1508-Spadefoot-Chorus.mp3
Fireworks from the Linda Vista Trail – 7/4/2015
While far from crowded there were a surprising number of people waiting at the Linda Vista Trailhead to watch the 9pm fireworks show at the nearby Hilton El Conquistador. On the trail the small crowd quickly disappeared and I smiled at the hikers moving up the steep trail to Pusch Peak – small white dots against the black hillside.
I worked around the trail and eventually moved a short distance off the trail to a spot with a good views – I could already see a number of fireworks shows in the distance as I setup my camera.
Between the bursts of light, experimenting with camera settings and keeping an eye out for the small spotted skunks (that visited several times…) the first part of the show was dazzling – but eventually the explosions thundering into the mountains felt excessive and after the show ended I enjoyed the peaceful hike back to the trailhead.