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| Hiking | 14.47 Miles |
1,637 AEG |
| | Hiking | 14.47 Miles | 6 Hrs 40 Mns | | 2.49 mph |
| 1,637 ft AEG | 52 Mns Break | | | |
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| partners | | I hadn't been to Chevelon Crossing in over 15 years and have never covered the terrain between the lake and Durfee Crossing, so that was the goal for this weekend.
We set out from the ridge east of the dam, following a rarely used two track parallel to the canyon eventually dropping into Durfee Draw. Instead of continuing in the draw as it made more lengthy meanders, we headed up to the actual canyon rim to continue north. The views here are pretty nice, and we had a close encounter with a bald eagle that had been resting on the rim, perhaps a friend to a second one soaring above the canyon farther north. To drop down to the canyon, we cut into a parallel drainage, which was a little more choked than planned. It probably would have been better to stick to the ridge.
We hit the canyon at the junction of Durfee Draw and Elk Rub Canyon and from here headed upstream. The first half mile gave us the biggest challenge on the day, requiring us to push through a thicket of brush along a narrow ledge above the water. Once beyond this obstacle, the rest of the canyon was generally easily navigated, with a few shallow crossings to access the shelves on either bank that provided the best travel options.
Once we got to our exit point, we opted for the extra 1.5 mile out and back to the lake, and along the way encountered a dirtbike rider that was hating life and a group of 4 sxs's that had come down along the closed old road from the east. At the lake, a father threatened to kill his children who were interfering with his unsuccessful fishing attempts. They were still breathing when we left earshot.
On the way up we took a side trip to one of my favorite view points in the whole of Arizona before heading back to camp for dinner and relaxation. This was a nice way to cover this stretch of Chevelon as it's a little bit too long to do the whole thing as an out n back day hike by my preference, and I wasn't in the mood for backpacking it.
For late October it was warmer than preferred, topping out above 80 with a radiating fireball in the sky. Overnight dropped to 31 and 34, respectively with coyote, deer, and fox sightings near camp.
There is now only about a 4 mile stretch of the 30+ miles of Chevelon Canyon between the Mogollon Rim and Chevelon Crossing that I haven't walked. That segment in the Horse Trap area below the Woods Willow junction is dry and bouldery so I'm not sold on ever doing it. |
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Autumn Foliage Observation Light
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| I'm not sure what my spirit animal is, but I'm confident it has rabies. |
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