The houses near the Richard McKee Finger Rock Trailhead crowd against the forest boundary and many of the views from the trail include Tucson and the surrounding communities – some days the city pulls me back down with thoughts of friends and the warmth of home, other days it is a sprawling terror that pushes me up the mountain.

I don’t quite make it to the top of the ridge today – too bad since it will be my last chance in 2016, the route up the ridge is not an official Forest Service Trail and it will be closed at the beginning of January to help protect the Bighorn sheep that have been reintroduced in recent years. Something for next year…