Sunsets – 8/28/2016

Table Mountain. August 2016.
Table Mountain. August 2016.
Sunset from the Sutherland Trail in Catalina State Park. August 2016.
Sunset from the Sutherland Trail in Catalina State Park. August 2016.
Sunset near the mouth of Romero Canyon. August 2016.
Sunset near the mouth of Romero Canyon. August 2016.

Sunsets – all taken in or near Catalina State Park, all taken on easy to find trails, all taken less than an hour from the trailhead!

Near the Mouth of Romero Canyon, Below Breccia Hill – 5/8/2016

Looking up Romero Canyon. May 2016.
Looking up Romero Canyon. May 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.

Romero Canyon wall not far from the mouth of the canyon. May 2016.
Romero Canyon wall not far from the mouth of the canyon. May 2016.
In Romero Canyon below Bressia Rock. May 2016.
In Romero Canyon below Breccia Hill. May 2016.

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

Lupine and Poppies in Catalina State Park. March 2016.
Lupine and Poppies in Catalina State Park. March 2016.
Penstemon  just off the Canyon Loop Trail 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.
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.
Leviathan and Wilderness Domes. March 2016.

Night at Romero Pools – 3/11/2015

1503 Romero Pools by Headlamp
Devin exploring Romero Pools by headlamp. March 2015.
1503 Night Hike to Romero Pools
Looking down Romero Canyon. March 2015.

A night hike to Romero Pools – sunset, centipede, sounds of water, red spotted toad, the pools by headlamp, stars, great company – 5.9 miles, +/- 1300′ of elevation gain/loss.

Romero Pass, Romero Canyon Trail – 2014/4/5

1404 Arriving at Romero Pass

Arriving at Romero Pass took about 2 hours and 40 minutes of hard effort on the Romero Canyon Trail – it only took another 3 or 4 minutes for my friend Richard to appear on the West Fork trail. This was our meeting spot for today – he started at Molino Basin and was about 13 miles into an east/west crossing of the Santa Catalina Mountains.

The pass was too windy/chilly to be a nice spot for a break – so after refilling bottles we headed down – eventually taking a break along the canyon – green plants and flowing water!

1404 A break in Romero Canyon

Alison was also hiking up from Catalina State Park – her small blue figure was hard to spot against the huge walls of the canyon!

1404 Alison and Romero Canyon

Down, down, down the canyon – beautiful sections of canyon abound above Romero Pools –

1404 Alison and Richard Running Down

we had all seen other people during the day but until Romero Pools we didn’t see anyone on the descent, after Romero Pools there were quite a few groups headed down – a lovely day to enjoy the trail!

flickr – 2014 April Romero Canyon Trail