Tortolita Range: Exciting Biodiversity

As I wrap up Section 1 of my Sky Island Traverse, I’ve updated my Madrean Sky Islands gallery with a page for this incredible range, that can be found here. Below I’ll share a very small gallery of some of the magnificent creatures I’ve spent time with this April.

The animals I saw most abundantly were various birds and small lizards. I was also blessed by multiple Gila monster sightings, quite a few Western Diamondback sightings & a really cool Tiger Rattlesnake observation.

I feel I’m leaving this range right as I’m getting to know it; falling more in love with it by the day. So I will be continuing my study and documentation of the Tortolita Mountains on future zero days (off-days, pretty much) from my traverse. There are still so many species I’d like to see and photograph in this range.

Be sure to check out my gallery of the Torts, and comment below which species you love to see photos of from it the most!

My Sky Island Traverse Long Route

Through my favorite mode of exploration, I am putting all of my backcountry skills and joy into an epic solo odyssey called My Sky Island Traverse. This will be the biggest adventure I’ve had to date and what’s most exciting about it is that I’ve put my own route together and will be able to take all the time I need to do something important: documenting the vast wildlife biodiversity of each Sky Island I’m traversing in order to put together a conservation piece on why these important mountain ranges must be preserved and protected.

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