santa catalina mountains

Snow, Color, Cleanup, Bighorn Deaths, Grand Canyon National Park Backcountry Management Plan – 12/22/2015

Updated - Posted - Charles Miles
A snowy hillside - taken from the ridge south east of Bear Canyon. Tucson and Mount Wrightson in the background. December 2015.
A snowy hillside – taken from the ridge south east of Bear Canyon. Tucson and Mount Wrightson in the background. December 2015.

In places the snow has melted – but there is still plenty of snow on the mountain to enjoy!

 

There were two Bighorn Deaths in the first part of December. Initial lab tests confirm that Ewe #37448 died of pneumonia. Ewe #37441 was killed by a mountain lion. The latest project updated noted that:

A subcontractor to the project used a drone to monitor his dogs during pursuit of the lion that preyed upon Ewe #37441. The Department routinely uses low-level fixed wing and helicopter flights in connection with wildlife management projects. The pursuit was terminated upon the Department learning of use of the drone as the Department has not completed ongoing evaluation of how to best use such technology consistent with all applicable rules and regulations.

The Friends of Redington Pass held a cleanup with 50 volunteers on December 12th – pictures and a great summary are posted on their Facebook Page – the work included hauling away a burned out mini-van! Group looking for volunteers for Redington Pass cleanup – Tucson News Now.

Molino Basin puts on an autumn color show – Arizona Daily Star, Find autumn color on a Sabino Canyon hike – Arizona Daily Star: Two articles pointing out the beautiful fall colors in Molino and Sabino Canyons, the Cottonwoods and Sycamores in these – and other canyons – are a great source of late fall/winter color.

Catch comet Catalina on its way out of the solar system – Astronomy Magazine: Pictures of Comet Catalina with two tails! Comet Catalina is notable both for being currently visible in the sky and for being named after the Santa Catalina Mountains!  Comet Catalina showing two tails – Tucson News Now.

Rescues/Accidents/Incidents including information from the SARCI Newsletter:

  • Romero Pools – 11/1: Hiker missed the first crossing, descended the canyon and was accompanied out after reaching the Canyon Loop.
  • Blacketts Ridge – 11/5: Hiker with chest pains lifted out
  • Windy Point – 11/11: Fall
  • Agua Caliente Canyon – 11/22: Ankle injury while coming down the canyon
  • Marshall Gulch – 11/27: 30′ Fall

 

Grand Canyon National Park Backcountry Management Plan and Draft Environmental Impact Statement – Open for Comment: This site is focused on the Santa Catalina Mountains, but Grand Canyon National Park is probably of interest to almost anyone in Arizona who loves the outdoors… The comment period is currently open on a new Backcountry Management Plan – if you care about the Grand Canyon it is worth reading. This plan is mentioned here in part because the current Preferred Alternative includes seasonal permits and fees for day hiking to the Colorado River on the major corridor trails and notes the potential for future daily use limits, year round permits and similar policies for other trails. This would be a huge change for hiking in the Grand Canyon – please consider commenting. From the plan:

  • Implemented on [Backcountry Management Plan] Adoption
    • Day use permits required seasonally for [the North Kaibab Trail below the Manzanita Resthouse, South Kaibab Trail below the Tip Off and the Bright Angel Trail below the junction with the Tonto Trail]
    • Expected cost of day use permit at least $5 per person per day
    • Outreach and user education
    • User monitoring and data gathering
    • Protocols for Special Use Permits
  • Potential Adaptive Management
    • For [the North Kaibab Trail below Manzanita Resthouse, South Kaibab Trail below the Tip Off and the Bright Angel Trail below the junction with the Tonto Trail]
      • Implement group size limits (e.g., 30); adjust limits as research determines
      • Daily use limits (e.g., 250); adjust limits as research determines
      • Designated days for group or individual events
      • Day use permits required year-round
    • Policy for other trails

 

Snow on the Bug Spring Trail above Bear Canyon. December 2015.
Snow on the Bug Spring Trail above Bear Canyon. December 2015.

Snow on the Butterfly Trail – 12/16/2015

Updated - Posted - Charles Miles
Snow on the Butterfly Trail! December 2015.
Snow on the Butterfly Trail! December 2015.

Somewhere after the Gordon Hirabayashi Recreation Site I started to notice the snow in the shade and by the time I was in Bear Canyon there were small piles of snow on the side of the Highway!

Enjoying the snow on the Butterfly Trail. December 2015.
Enjoying the snow on the Butterfly Trail. December 2015.

Higher on the mountain I watched sledding and snow ball fights – it was great to see people out and enjoying the snow – but it was also beautiful to leave the people behind and enjoy the nearly empty Butterfly Trail – I hiked out to Butterfly Peak, watched the sunset and hiked back in the quiet snow under a sliver moon.

Watching the sunset from Butterfly Peak - looking into the San Pedro Valley and across to the Galiuros. December 2015.
Watching the sunset from Butterfly Peak – looking into the San Pedro Valley and across to the Galiuros. December 2015.

 

After the Storm, Snow on Mount Lemmon – 12/13/2015

Updated - Posted - Charles Miles
Snow on the Santa Catalina Mountains. December 2015.
Snow on the Santa Catalina Mountains. December 2015.

During the storm the snow barely touched the lower elevations of the Santa Catalina Mountains – so the morning after the storm, under a clear blue sky, instead of heading into the Catalinas I hiked out the Garwood Dam Trail, in the shadow of the Rincons, for a view of the snow on the top of the mountain…

Subtle sunrise color on the Mount Lemmon Snow. December 2015.
Subtle sunrise color on the Mount Lemmon Snow. December 2015.
Snow! December 2015.
Snow! December 2015.

Winter Storm, Pusch Peak – 12/12/2015

Updated - Posted - Charles Miles
A line of rain, hail and snow moving towards the mountain. December 2015.
A line of rain, hail and snow moving towards the mountain. December 2015.
Winter storm on the route up to Pusch Peak. December 2015.
Winter storm on the route up to Pusch Peak. December 2015.
In the clouds on Pusch Peak. December 2015.
In the clouds on Pusch Peak. December 2015.
Light thru the clouds from the overlook off the Pusch Peak route. December 2015.
Light thru the clouds from the overlook off the Pusch Peak route. December 2015.

We watched clouds swirl across the mountain peaks in the AM before we started – but Pusch Peak was clear and it looked like a great place to watch the storm… It didn’t take long for the storm to catch us though, waves of precipitation rolled towards and over us, rain first – then hail – then snow, when we reached the peak it had been eaten by the clouds – too cold to linger we started back down.

The Santa Catalina Mountains had several days of winter storm – while the links below are now ‘old’ a number of them have interesting pictures – some showing the snow on the mountain!

Oracle State Park, Aermotor, J. Knox Corbett Lumber and Hardware Company – 12/5/2015

Updated - Posted - Charles Miles
Aermotor Windmill Vane - on the Arizona Trail in Oracle State Park. December 2015.
Aermotor Windmill Vane – on the Arizona Trail in Oracle State Park. December 2015.
Markings - J. Knox Corbett Lumber and Hardware Company (or variation). December 2015.
Markings – J. Knox Corbett Lumber and Hardware Company (or variation). December 2015.

An obvious destination in Oracle State Park is the Windmill on the Arizona Trail – on this trip to the windmill I paid a bit more attention to the windmill itself and was able to learn more about it:

–Aermotor: Aermotor has been making windmills since 1888 and is still in business today! From the beginning their windmills featured a steel wind wheel – apparently a key feature because it was more efficient than the wooden wind wheels commonly in use at the time. Some articles about Aermotor’s history: Aermotor Windmill Company History, GasEngine Magazine – History Of The Aermotor Windmill Corporation, Watrnews.com – The Aermotor Company – Windmills Made in the U.S.A. 

– J. Knox Corbett Hardware and Lumber Company, Tucson: While I can not read all of the smaller writing on the windmill there is enough to connect it to the  J. Knox Corbett Lumber and Hardware Company. 

William Corbett came to Arizona in 1877 – after working at Lord & Williams, as an Assistant Postmaster and as a paymaster in the army he returned to Tucson in 1890 and bought a hardware store on the corner of Congress and Main – it became the W.J. Corbett Hardware Company. William Corbett ran the company until his death in 1919.

J. Knox Corbett came to Tucson several years after his brother and worked selling news papers for the Arizona Daily Star, as a postal clerk, owned a stage and freight line, owned the Tres Alamos Ranch on the San Pedro River and was the Postmaster of Tucson. Knox established J. Knox Corbett Lumber in the early 1890s. After his bother’s death in 1919 J. Knox took over the W.J. Corbett Hardware Company and it became the W.J. Corbett Lumber and Hardware Co. After suffering a stroke 1922 Knox retired from the business and it was taken over by Hiram Stevens Corbett.

Hiram “Hi” Stevens Corbett – son of J. Knox Corbett and Lizzie Hughes (eldest child of Sam Hughes and Atancia Santa Cruz) – became president of the J. Knox Corbett Lumber and Hardware Company in 1923. Today “Hi” Corbett’s name is familiar to many in Tucson because in 1950 Hi Corbett Field was named in his honor for his work in bringing baseball to Tucson. 

The J. Knox Corbett Lumber and Hardware Company – which eventually included a store on Speedway – closed in 1965.

The  J. Knox Corbett House is now part of the The Tucson Museum of Art’s Historic Block. The Arizona Memory Project contains a contribution from the Tucson Museum of Art Research Library, Tucson Museum of Art Historic Block Homes – A Window on Bygone Days, that includes a great resource in learning about the Corbett family:  A History of the J. Knox Corbett House and the J. Knox Corbett Family by Bettina Lyons (March 1981).