July 23 was another one of our precious Saturday mornings during the summer, but we did not sleep in! Instead we dragged ourselves out of bed and were on our way to Mt. Lemmon before it was even 7:30 am. We were a small army of six UBRPers, a mom, a friend, and our fearless leader, Carol. Armed with sunscreen, water, and shovels, we were ready for just about anything!

The one thing we were not prepared for was the baldness of our once shady mountainside. The Aspen fire blackened Summerhaven two summers ago. Its trees were gone and cabins were burned to the ground, including Carol’s. The town was still in repair. We observed new cabins being built over the rubble and ash.

We split into groups. Half of the group left to plant Ponderosa Pines, a pine tree important to the Catalinas, while Dylan Odam, Katie O’Dell, Austin, and I headed for designated fields to survey the grasses and wildflowers that were growing. It was a relaxing and educational job. We learned to differentiate between a few specific wildflowers and grasses, and then counted how many were growing in the area since the fires.

Then it was off to Carol’s new cabin, to rendezvous, to eat brownies for Katie's 21st birthday, and go to lunch. After a laid-back meal and in the middle of a light rain, we left to help an elderly lady and her two-pound puffball dog, Lucy, with their gardening. We worked quickly and a short time later, we had completely landscaped around her house, with bushes, pine trees, you name it!

Before leaving Summerhaven though, we hit up a couple gift shops and taste-tested some of their famous fudge! Following a little adventure trying to find a bathroom, we finally piled into our van and headed back to Tucson, identifying a few of the trailheads along the way. It was a long day’s work, but I know that all of our efforts will make a difference in bringing back the mountain that we once knew.

Laurel Cox, UBRPer in Dr. John Szivek’s laboratory, Orthopedic Surgery