Lake Mary, Mormon Lake, Pine Canyon Trail

Back on March 26, 2011, I headed down below the Rim to meet up with the family for some hiking. On the way down I stopped to briefly bird and take photos along Lake Mary and Mormon Lake, which looked really scenic with storm clouds rolling by and rays of sunlight peeking through. Lots of birds were along Lake Mary, including Pinyon Jays and singing Canyon Wrens and Olive Warblers. At first my folks and I met along the East Verde River, but lots of people were there, so we went up to the Pine Canyon Trail (#26) on the outskirts of the town of Pine. We had always wanted to check the trail out, so it was a great day to try it out. We only went up to Dripping Spring where we ate lunch and had some shelter from the increasing winds. Eva had fun playing in the spring and demanding us throw sticks for her (and our clothes getting wet and muddy in the process). It was nice to start seeing some returning neotropical bird species, including Broad-tailed Hummingbirds and Painted Redstarts. Lots of Pine Siskins, Mexican Jays, and a couple of Red-breasted Nuthatches were also seen and Spotted Towhees seemed to already be on territory and possibly nesting already.

Here are some photos of Lake Mary & Mormon Lake areas (the taller mountain in the background in some photos is Mormon Mountain):

 

 

Views of the Pine Canyon Trail. Some of the shots show the thinning operations that have been going on in the wildland-urban interface (WUI) to reduce fire risk to the adjacent community of Pine:

 

 

 

 

Checkerspot butterfly species:

Juniper lousewort (Pedicularis centranthera, F. Scrophulariaceae), one of the first flowers to bloom in spring in conifer woodlands across the state:

Wild candytuft (Thlaspi montanum, F. Brassicaceae), another flower that is among the first to bloom in spring at middle elevations in Arizona:

Poa grass species, with purple-colored inflorescence:

Sugar sumac (Rhus ovata) along the Pine Canyon Trail. This species is only found in the chaparral zone in the state, from ~3000-5000 ft in elevation. The pink-colored structures are flower buds.