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| Hiking | 5.62 Miles |
357 AEG |
| | Hiking | 5.62 Miles | 3 Hrs 15 Mns | | 1.73 mph |
| 357 ft AEG | 19 Hrs 57 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | Despite living in Rim Country for two years, I've never done any hiking around the Doll Baby Area, and I decided to change that by exploring Pole Hollow Canyon. I parked at the pullout at the switchback shortly before City Creek Trailhead. As I crested the rise before dropping to the confluence of Pole Hollow Canyon and City Creek, I had to sidle around some stubbornly unmoving bovines. Eventually, I got past them, and my adventure began in earnest.
On this hike, I elected not to follow the old road like the guide but instead walk along the wash itself. The going is easy, with only a few brief ducks or squats under fallen trees or clambering over small logjams.
About 1.5 miles in is a patch of Cypress that escaped the flames of the Willow(?) fire in 2004. These Cypress dwarf the surrounding dog-hair forest of younger trees and protect a mature forest floor of shrub species described above, a nice place to take a break. Shortly south is a nice small cliff of what I interpret to be an ancient river channel. At the 2-mile mark, the drainage forks and you want to take the righthand one down the smaller-looking wash, it widens up again shortly after.
I eventually picked my way all the way up to Pole Hollow Spring at the confluence of Pole Hollow Canyon and Hill Creek. Hill Creek was completely dry, and the spring was marked by 2-3 small pools of water. Despite the pool floors being coated with emerald-green algae, the water was remarkably clear, and if I had water purification items with me, I wouldn't shy away from drinking from it. the only evidence of wildlife was Deer and Javelina prints in the muddy surroundings, Juncos fluttering amongst the cypress, and water striders skating around on their little fortress of solitude. The spring was discharging enough water that it created a noticeable trickle between the pools and then a tiny outflow that went only 3-4 feet before soaking into the ground.
Pole Hollow Canyon is rather unspectacular terrain-wise, with no big waterfalls or narrows. The most interesting geologic part of the canyon is the small bedrock section right near the confluence with City Creek, where a large 100-foot wall of conglomerate and sandstone rises above you to the east, it reminded me of the terrain in the Verde Valley area.
I'll be honest, I was mostly here for the plants. I've wanted to explore this area for some time due to the abundance of Smooth Arizona Cypress (Cupressus glabra), as well as to see what kind of semi-desert flora and fauna I could find in this arid hollow sandwiched between Payson and the Mazatzals.
The flora of the hike is dominated by a Cypress woodland, as mentioned above. Other upland trees making appearances besides the cypress include Arizona Singleleaf Pinyon (Pinus x fallax), and Junipers (Juniperus spp.). Despite their abundance in the highlands where Payson lies to the east, I saw no large Oaks. However, the shrub layer below the canopy of Cypress was dominated by Sonoran Scrub Oak (Quercus turbinella), with Palmer's Oak (Quercus palmeri) making frequent appearances as well. Other shrubs included Acacia, Mimosa, Silktassels, Manzanita, and Buckthorns.
The most surprising botanical observation I made was the frequent appearance of Coffeeberry practically the entire length of the canyon from the confluence with City Creek up to Pole Hollow Spring. Coffeeberry (Frangula californica is an evergreen shrub typically associated with Pine Oak Habitats, which in our region is Ponderosa Pine/Gambel Oak Forest, the nearest example of which is over 1,000 vertical feet and several miles from here. It should not be shaking hands with Chaparral and desert grassland plants in a pseudo-xeric environment, yet here it was.
Overall, Pole Hollow Canyon was a very rewarding hike and a nice introduction to this area of the region. I will definitely be back to do more exploring. |
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Wildflowers Observation None
Everything is in seed. |
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Pole Hollow Spring |
Dripping |
Dripping |
| | | There was a trickling flow out of the main source pools that went for several feet before soaking into the ground. Conservatively placing it in "dripping" category. | | | |
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