Sunset and Night in Catalina State Park – 10/30/2016
romero canyon trailhead
Conjuring – 7/27/2016
We are surrounded by what seems like an infinite variety of insects – walking this trail in the daylight, just hours earlier, there was little hint of the magnificent horde that would be conjured from the darkness…
If you enjoy insects certainly don’t miss Arizona: Beetles Bugs Birds and more!
Near the Mouth of Romero Canyon, Below Breccia Hill – 5/8/2016
With the Bighorn Sheep Closure over for the year we took advantage of a not-too-hot day to wander out of Catalina State Park and into Romero Canyon, just inside the Pusch Ridge Wilderness. Romero Canyon was completely dry in some places while other spots had trickling flow and pools of water.
Near the mouth of Romero Canyon there is an brief, but fascinating, section of canyon where canyon walls of an unusual rock close in tightly. This section of canyon is just below the prominent green colored Breccia Hill and the rock is mentioned in A Guide to the Geology of Catalina State Park and the Western Santa Catalina Mountains (p. 29):
Tremendous friction is generated as fault surfaces slide together. This grinding action produced a zone of powdered rock (fault gouge) and highly broken rock (fault breccia) that can be observed here at Breccia Hill and at other locations where the Cañada del Oro has exposed the fault surface … Movement on the Pirate Fault is thought to have occurred six to twelve million years ago. This demonstrates how an ancient geologic structure, in this case a fault, can control modern landscapes.
Beautiful Flowers, Beautiful Views, Catalina State Park – 3/12/2016
Romero Canyon Trail to Romero Pass – 3/22/2015
Up the Romero Canyon Trail from Catalina State Park – flowers and pools, steep climbs, stops at the two big fire rings and good memories of past hikes with friends.
From Romero Pass I wandered off-trail to random points and points where Bighorn Sheep have stood, slowly collecting vegetation data as a volunteer for a AZGF research project.
The sliver moon disappeared early in the night, with temperatures were the 30s I spent most of my time in my quilt, reading, watching the clouds, looking at the stars and occasionally taking a picture.
It was warm on the way down, as the trail went lower I hurried thru the sun back to the car. 20 miles, +/-6000′ of elevation gain and loss.