Tag: Waterline Road

Mountain Biking on the Waterline Road

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

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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.

Wave Cloud over the San Francisco Peaks

We had an interesting wave cloud over and downwind of the San Francisco Peaks on Saturday. I first noticed it as I left the house driving to a trail run on Waterline Road in the San Francisco Peaks north of Flagstaff.

Wave cloud over the San Francisco Peaks, Arizona.
Wave cloud over the San Francisco Peaks, Arizona.

The view from the parking lot and trailhead was partially obscured by trees but I knew that sections of the Waterline Road had a wide-open view. And, so, I found a view that I really liked with the wave cloud, road, and distant cinder cones.

I shot this as a set of five vertical panoramas on my iPhone. I then imported these into Affinity Photo to create a horizontal panorama (a panorama of panoramas!).  Finally, I used some warp transformation in AP to fix the horizon (i.e.; make it straight instead of curved) and the corners.

Five vertical panorama images used to create the final image.
Five vertical panorama images used to create the final image.

Oh, and the run was fun, too!

Autumn Colors–2019

It was a dry summer (driest on record in Flagstaff) and autumn hasn’t been too wet, either. And, yet, the autumn colors have been good. Very good, even, with leaves staying on the trees well into mid- and late October.

In early October, the aspen were changing colors on the north side of the San Francisco Peaks.

North side of the San Francisco Peaks from FR 418. 10/08/2019.
North side of the San Francisco Peaks from FR 418. 10/08/2019.
Aspen on the north side of the San Francisco Peaks. 10/08/2019.
Aspen on the north side of the San Francisco Peaks. 10/08/2019.

A week later, the leaves had already peaked along Waterline Road and were falling from the trees and covering the road.

Waterline Road. 10/15/2019.
Waterline Road. 10/15/2019.
Waterline Road. 10/15/2019.
Waterline Road. 10/15/2019.

As a bonus, we stopped to view the tree carvings, known as arborglyphs or dendroglyphs, made by Basque sheepherders.

Arborglyphs made by Basque sheepherders
Arborglyphs made by Basque sheepherders

The forecast calls for several breezy days and this may finally knock the rest of the leaves from the trees and onto the ground.

Bonus: Zion National Park along the swithbacks overlooking Pine Creek.

Pine Creek, Zion National Park.
Pine Creek, Zion National Park.

Autumn Colors in Northern Arizona — 2018

The colors have peaked and the leaves have fallen across the higher elevations of northern Arizona. Here are some of my favorites from this season.

Aspen leaves on Weatherford Trail.
Aspen leaves on Weatherford Trail.
Waterline Road.
Waterline Road.
Inner Basin Trail after an early-season snowfall.
Inner Basin Trail after an early-season snowfall.
This is the classic shot along Waterline Road.
This is the classic shot along Waterline Road.
Waterline Road.
Waterline Road.
Near Arizona Snowbowl.
Near Arizona Snowbowl.
Snowbowl Road after an early-season snowfall.
Snowbowl Road after an early-season snowfall.
Weatherford Trail.
Weatherford Trail.
Frozen water droplets on a leaf.
Frozen water droplets on a leaf.
Colorful hillside along the Elden Springs Trail.
Colorful hillside along the Elden Springs Trail.
Reflection in Frances Short Pond.
Reflection in Frances Short Pond.
Inner Basin and the Kachina Peaks Wilderness.
Inner Basin and the Kachina Peaks Wilderness.

 

Mountain Biking through the Aspen

The aspen have been at their peak color for about a week now. In just a few more days the leaves will fall or be blown away and another fall leaf season will come to an end. We didn’t want to miss the show so we rode our mountain bikes up the Inner Basin Trail to the Waterline Road to enjoy the fabulous colors.

A few years ago the upper portions of the Inner Basin trail underwent some re-routing and the trail now twists and turns through a near surreal stand of aspen as it ascends from Lockett Meadow to the Waterline Road. The landscape has been described as a Monet-like scene when the leaves turn colors in the fall.

Here are a few photos from that day. It just doesn’t get any better than this: beautiful fall colors, mild temperatures, clear skies, and light winds.

Inner Basin Trail.
Inner Basin Trail.
Inner Basin Trail.
Inner Basin Trail.
Inner Basin Trail.
Inner Basin Trail.
Waterline Road near Bear Jaw Canyon.
Waterline Road near Bear Jaw Canyon.