the great Knoll Lake escape

[te_wa]

What: Babe Haught trail starting at the Tonto fish hatchery and climbing the ridge to the top, stopping at the lake. 5 miles each way, moderate difficulty.
What else: fishing, dining, good times with friends before the Rim camping season kicks off. we'll likely have solitude, see some wildlife, and catch some trout.
When: end of April
Why: this is a great, moderate hike. not an easy stroll, but not gonna kill you either. trail climbs the Mogollon rim over the course of 3.5 miles and switchbacks are in place to ease the pain. its 6000 ft elevation will provide great temps, a bit on the cool side for most, but the views both off the rim and into the canyon that houses Knoll lake are superior.
Who: YOU!

come join us. we'll leave saturday and hike up to stay the night with beverages, good food and a fun crowd. road is paved all the way in. trail is in good shape. return to the valley on sunday with a belly full of Beeline malts and a sd card full of jpegs. do it!

please prepare for temps found on the forecast popup,
please be willing to meet at 8am at the eastern side of the Fort McDowell Casino. look for the 'outdoorsey' types.

[allanalxndr]

I'll keep this one in mind. I have been wanting to get back up since the last trip a few weeks ago. As long as everything works out schedule wise I plan on being there!

[te_wa]

allan, i thot of u when i posted this trip

polish up that fly rod, son

[Tough_Boots]

same weekend as Grasshopper Camp? I have some deciding to do. I do love Knoll Lake!

[te_wa]

i know.. i was not thrilled with the conincidence of Hank's trip.. but this has been planned for over a month. we plan our monthly backpacks at our monthly backpacks. last time out in the Mazzies we talked about this one.
sorry Hank!

[JoelHazelton]

Unless there's something going on that I'm forgetting about, I'm in. Interested for another week or so just to make sure.

[allanalxndr]

allan, i thot of u when i posted this trip

polish up that fly rod, son

Fly fishing is the one thing I'm still working on (damn rod, line, fly, wind, cloud, fish) ;)
It's already all packed sitting with my gear, and my spinning rod.

I'm just waiting on word from the wife before I confirm.

[berkforbes]

ITS ALIIIIIIIIIIIIVVVEEEE....... :wlift: Well after a long, long time off the trail, im slowly easing my way back on.. Im almost 6 months post-op from my 3rd ACL reconstruction, so i'll have to check with the Doc.. I would love to get back out more than anything, and this sounds like a sweet trip so hopefully the mutt and I can join..

[te_wa]

committed as of today:
Kate
Roger
Me
Felecia
John
Trip
Alex
Rob
Joel
Allen

[Tough_Boots]

Alright... dog watcher committed and I've been wanting to camp at Knoll Lake forever. I'm in!

[PaleoRob]

I'm seriously pondering this one. Another backpack this month would do me good. But I am going to be out in the backcountry for a week up in Utah a few weeks after this. I need to look closely at my calendar.

[PaleoRob]

You know what? I'm going to be bold and commit to this. Its been a while since I hiked with you, Mike. Plus I like the idea of another backpack this month, as I mentioned.

[te_wa]

yay for PageRob!
good on ya mate. its gonna be a hoot, all ppl involved are very cool and easy going. thanks!

[Tough_Boots]

I'm out of commission for at least a month. I tore my calf muscle last night playing basketball and have an MRI tomorrow to see how bad it is. I'm really pumpkin bummed I can't do this one. I was really looking forward to it. I am so annoyed.

[PaleoRob]

Sorry to hear that! I was looking forward to meeting the famous Tough Boots.

[Tough_Boots]

@PageRob

Thanks! This looked like a really fun group of HAZ folks to hang with.

[te_wa]

it appears that Rim rd 300 is still closed.. so outside of other hikers, with no vehicular access to the lake, we'll have this place to ourselves..
note to self:

[chumley]

As of April 5th, the Rim Road is open from HWY87 to the ASNF border ... just past the turn for Knoll Lake. The snow this past weekend has caused them to "discourage" travel on muddy and snowy roads, but they can't lock the gates again or they could possibly prevent people who were already on the forest from exiting. So it is possible for there to be people in vehicles up there, but you should have plenty of room to yourselves!

[JoelHazelton]

but you should have plenty of room to yourselves!

"Yourselves"? Join us Chumley!

[te_wa]

man i looked around for info on the rim road.. not much there even on COCO website.. do you have a link?