Flowers in Sabino Canyon lingering boldly into November – it is hard at the moment to imagine the top of the Santa Catalina Mountains turning a winter white, and while I know winter will come part of me feels like this this warm always-summer season will roll right into next year…
In Tucson it is still hot, the only hint of fall a slight cooling trend that takes us down into the low 90s by the end of the week. After being trapped inside for a few days by illness the cool air and fall colors in Bear Wallow were a pleasant surprise. It was great to see so many hikers out and about, many with cameras and tripods capturing the fleeting change of seasons.
There is more color on the mountain than you might expect – Bear Wallow might be the best single stop in the Santa Catalina Mountains for fall colors, fun to visit camera in hand – but what I really love is stalking the smaller pockets of color scattered across the higher areas of the mountain. Today we hiked around the top of the mountain, wandered down from the Box Elder Picnic Area and pointed at distant hints of color thinking ahead to next week…
The start line of the Peppersauce Stampede – light rain, cool temperatures and beautiful light on the Galiuro Mountains across the San Pedro River. A great morning for a run – down the Control Road, dirt roads up to the High Jinks Ranch and a loop back to Arizona Zipline Adventures via the Arizona Trail/Cody Trail.
After the run I ate breakfast and watched as more and more people arrived – it was great to see so many people out and enjoying this part of the mountain! The Oracle Ford Peppersauce Roundup includes the Stampede Runs, Gravel Grinder Mountain Bike races, music, gear expo, camping, food, beer and, of course, the Zipline.
This was the 2nd year for the event and it is hard to imagine that it won’t happen again next year!
The Babad Do’ag Trail is surrounded by flowers and green! I am more familiar with the trail in winter when the hillsides are shades of brown and tan, amazing to see it so green – but the trail is quite low on the mountain and, even with a few clouds and a little wind, the heat was… oppressive…
In April of this year the General Hitchcock Highway was briefly closed due to the Molino Fire. News reports at the time indicated that the suspected cause of the fire was recreational shooting. Ultimately the fire was fairly small – around 80 acres – and after the summer rains/growth it is hard to see the fire’s impact. The fire did touch the Babad Do’ag Trail – but only lightly, occasional burned agave mixed in with new growth.
