Mountain Biking on the Waterline Road

November 19, 2024

The Waterline Road in the San Francisco Peaks reopened in October. It had been closed for more than two years in the aftermath of the Pipeline Fire. That fire occurred in the same area as the Schultz Fire (2010) and managed to burn what had been spared by the earlier fire. After two years of work, the Waterline Road was safe for the general public to use again.

View of the burned mountainside along Waterline Road in the San Francisco Peaks. New growth is already sprouting.

Riding on Waterline Road in the San Francisco Peaks. We've finally left the burn scar and have entered the aspen groves. — Riding on Waterline Road in the San Francisco Peaks. We’ve finally left the burn scar and have entered the aspen groves.

Aspen trees starting to show autumn colors along Waterline Road.

One of the few gaps in trees along the road allows a view down into Lockett Meadow. The hill on the far right was burned by the Pipeline Fire but is beginning to recover.

We rode our mountain bikes up the road and were saddened–but not surprised–by the destruction of the fire. There had been a lot of new growth after the 2010 fire–especially with new aspen trees already attaining heights of 10 to 20 feet. All this burned in 2022. Once again, new growth is taking place but most of it is still quite small.

A view into the Inner Basin from above shows colorful aspens.

A stand of aspen along Waterline Road with the high peaks surrounding the Inner Basin visible in the distance.

Biking back down the Waterline Road. It's about 9 miles of downhill. Easy! — Biking back down the Waterline Road. It’s about 9 miles of downhill. Easy!

The Inner Basin, however, was mostly spared by the 2022 fire and here were many aspen trees in full autumn colors. Along the road there are a few locations where you can get a wider view of the trees and the mountains but mostly the only view along the road…is the road.

Winter Sunrise

February 6, 2024 / 2 Comments

The sunrise after a winter storm often results in beautiful scenery and colors. Low-lying areas may have shallow fog. Mountains may have multiple layers of clouds. All of this is enhanced by the low sun angle as it first rises above the horizon.

Low clouds and fog partially obscure the San Francisco Peaks as the sun rises (24 Jan 2024).

On the other hand, getting up before sunrise, driving on snow-packed roads, and standing around shooting photos with cold temperatures is a challenge. But the results are often worth the effort. Here are a few sunrise photographs.

Wispy clouds cap the San Francisco Peaks (08 Jan 2024).

First light on some old ranching structures near Mormon Lake (08 Jan 2024).

Earth's shadow can be seen behind the San Francisco Peaks in this pre-sunrise image (26 Jan 2024). — Earth’s shadow can be seen behind the San Francisco Peaks in this pre-sunrise image (26 Jan 2024).

Telephoto image of snow and clouds on the San Francisco Peaks (26 Jan 2024).

Layers of clouds are draped across Mingus Mountain (03 Feb 2024).

This week should bring lots of snow to northern Arizona. I hope to get some interesting photographs.

Monsoon–August 2023

September 4, 2023 / 2 Comments

In a previous post I wrote how the North American Monsoon (NAM) was very late getting started in July. Fortunately, once started, it resulted in normal precipitation amounts for the month of August. Here are photographs and discussion of some of the events during the month.

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Wupatki National Monument with Snow

February 7, 2023

There was plenty of snow in January and some events produced snow at lower elevations — including Wupatki National Monument. So I found myself at the monument in time for sunrise one morning. There was less snow that I hoped to see but still enough to add some drama to the ancient pueblos in the park.

Sunrise at Wukoki Pueblo in Wupatki National Monument.

Wukoki Pueblo with the San Francisco Peaks in the distance.

After leaving Wukoki Pueblo I went to Lomaki Pueblo.

Lomaki Pueblo in Wupatki National Monument.

Lomaki Pueblo in Wupatki National Monument with the San Francisco Peaks in the distance.

And, finally, this tuft of grass with snow.

Aspen in the Fall

October 30, 2022 / 1 Comment

The aspen leaves have now mostly fallen to the ground with only a few patches of color left. It has been a good year for leaf peeping and I was able to capture several images that I like. But I have also captured some good photos over the years and this post highlights some of those.

My favorite is this photo taken while mountain biking in the Inner Basin of the San Francisco Peaks. Shot with fill flash and an ultra-wide angle lens.

One of my earliest photos, also in the Inner Basin, was shot on Fuji Provia film in 2005. The remaining photos are from 2008 through 2022 and are, of course, digital shots.

Mountain biking, Inner Basin Trail, 2013.

Flagstaff Altitudes

Tag: San Francisco Peaks

Mountain Biking on the Waterline Road

Winter Sunrise

Monsoon–August 2023

Wupatki National Monument with Snow

Aspen in the Fall