Dave and I went to the Pinal Mountains on October 31. Dave wanted to get some drone footage of the fall colors. I was happy to go along. I hadn’t been to the Pinals since the Telegraph fire last year. It was a pretty bad fire, destroying 51 structures, and closing all the roads. It’s one of my favorite spots, and I was anxious to see how it fared.
The fire damage was apparent in the foothills. The scrub oaks and junipers were all burned. When we got into the pine forests, I couldn’t really see any impact from the fire. That was good news. The road we used to take to get to Sulfide Del Rey and Pinal Peak was closed (Russell Rd), so we drove further into Globe, to a turn-off for Pinal Peak (I don’t recall the name of the road).
There’s a spot Dave likes between Sulfide Del Rey campground and the peak. It’s a good taking off point for the drone to reach a canyon with a lot of deciduous trees with beautiful fall colors. He got some great drone video.
Next we went to Ferndell Spring, and Ferndell Trail. There were some nice colors there. There were some birds, but they weren’t cooperating, except for the Red-breasted Nuthatch, who roosted for a long time looking at us, and letting us take his picture.
It was a beautiful fall day in the Pinal Mountains, and good to know that the damage from the fire wasn’t too bad.
2 Comments
Cool pics!
Thanks!