Dorsey Spring Trail #7 • Hike • Arizona • All Triplogs • HikeArizona.COM

Little LO Spring Canyon

Winter Cabin Canyon

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May 26 2025

agrove731

Photos 6
Triplogs 4

30 male

Joined Jul 07 2024

Flagstaff, AZ

Babe's Hole Spring Canyon

Flagstaff, AZ

Backpack		May 26 2025
		agrove731 • Triplogs 4

Backpack	5.30 Miles	941 AEG

Backpack	5.30 Miles	2 Days
	941 ft AEG

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We were excited to do a lollipop loop from Kelsey springs TH south to Winter Cabin, then north up hog hill, across Dorsey springs trail, and back up the north-most half of Kelsey springs, but after Babes Hole the trail all but disappears. We kept at it using our gps to trail find, but once hitting the rim of the canyon, the trail became impossible to find, and the scrub oak absolutely unbearable. Frustrated and scratched up, we decided to take a break before turning back, but after our snack reassessed the map and decided to hike “the trail of our soul” rather than the marked trail on the map, and headed a half mile south along the canyon wall to Dorsey springs. This was not hiking and was in fact quite dangerous as it appears there have been some recent rock slides and the terrain was quite steep. We bushwhacked along a faint game trail and eventually made it back into the pines where we located the Dorsey spring. There’s a great campsite there, and the Dorsey springs trail looked to be in much better conditions. We camped for the night and took the Dorsey springs trail east the next morning, turned north on 538e and hiked back along the road to the Subi at Kelsey springs TH.

Definitely not the hike we planned for, as we were hoping to easily make it to the winter cabin. Next time we will head south down Dorsey springs and hog hill trails to attempt to find the cabin, and bring a machete for the scrub. This Kelsey springs trail needs a TON of work/maintenance. We are experienced backpackers and hikers and this was doable but actually quite unreasonable and frustrating.

We did some birding and enjoyed the wildflowers. Babes hole spring is flowing nicely, Kelsey spring is very very low flow, and Dorsey is dry. We carried 19 liters of water (3 ppl) and were glad we brought the extra.

Temps were beautiful in the low 50s at night.

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] HAZ - Hike HAZard

2 archives

May 28 2021

GrangerGuy

Guides 34
Routes 138
Photos 931
Triplogs 111

68 male

Joined Dec 26 2018
Phoenix, AZ

Flagstaff, AZ

Flagstaff, AZ

Hiking		May 28 2021
		GrangerGuy • Triplogs 111

Hiking	12.40 Miles	2,880 AEG

Hiking	12.40 Miles	8 Hrs 20 Mns		1.99 mph
	2,880 ft AEG	2 Hrs 6 Mns Break	10 LBS Pack

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Babe's Hole Spring Canyon

Little LO Spring Canyon

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The road:
Forest Road 538 up to FR 538E would have been passable even with my Toyota Corolla. The first part of 538E from 538 to the intersection at 538G did require high clearance but didn’t really require four-wheel-drive. The intersection of 538G and 538E is a good place to stop for this loop. Although I only walked the roads from here to both trailheads, Kelsey and Dorsey, both 538E and 538G were passible with high clearance, and no need for 4x4.

The hike:
I slept in my car overnight in order to get a 5:15 AM start, doing the loop counterclockwise. It took me about a half hour of road walking on 538G to get the Kelsey trailhead. This was practical, since I was walking the complete loop. There is plenty of parking at the trailhead.

It turns out the counterclockwise loop is the way to go. The trail drops pretty steeply from the Kelsey TH, and the climb back up Hog Hill is gentle. There is decent camping in the vicinity of Kelsey Spring. All the springs had warnings to camp at least 200’ away, which was not an onerous requirement.

There was old bear scat in the vicinity of Babe’s Hole Spring, and a lot of mole activity as well.

The Little LO (LO means Lookout, according to the Forest Service Map) trail is pretty steep, but always a good quality trail. From the bottom of the canyon, I turned right up the canyon a bit for some good pictures. There is poison ivy in the vicinity of Geronimo Spring.

The Kelsey Trail is challenging at times. The north-south section from Babe’s Hole Spring through Dorsey Spring , down to where it turns east toward Winter Spring can be very ambiguous. Pay close attention to the blazes on the trees and you will do fine. There is about a mile of trail in the east-west section north of Winter Cabin where the trail is very overgrown with scrub oak. You will want to have long sleeves and long pants when going through this section. I sent a note to the Forest Service. Perhaps they can do something.

It is surprising to find Winter Cabin within the wilderness boundary. I guess it is old enough that it doesn’t disqualify the area for wilderness.

The Hog Hill trail is the remains of an old road, but it feels more like a wide trail than a road.

Fauna:
I encountered two bull elk just after starting out, but not too much interesting after that.
There was lots of elk scat and prints along the Kelsey trail north of Winter Cabin.
I heard woodpeckers on the Little LO trail.
I was insulted repeatedly by a Stellar’s Jay on the Hog Hill section.

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Lewis Flax

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Kelsey Spring

Wildflowers Observation Moderate
It was a great time to do this hike. Lots of wildflowers in bloom including:
Yellow Ragwort
Lewis Flax (Linum lewisii)
Desert Penstemon [Beardtongue] (Penstemon pseudospectabilis)
New Mexico Locust (Robinia neomexicana)
Golden Columbine (Aquilegia chrysantha)
Ceanothus fendleri
Lithospermum (not sure which species)
Arizona Lupine (Lupinus arizonicus)
Wild Currant (Mahonia trifoliolata)

	Babes Hole Spring	Gallon per minute	Gallon per minute
	Spring is flowing. Plenty of clear water.

	Casner Tank	26-50% full	26-50% full
	Casner tank has plenty of filterable water in it.

	Dorsey Spring	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	Dorsey Spring was flowing less than a liter per minute, and there is great camping nearby.

	Geronimo Spring	Gallon + per minute	Gallon + per minute
	Geronimo Spring is flowing at gallons per minute. The best access is from the bottom of the canyon, and not where it first comes out of the hill.

	Kelsey Spring	Gallon + per minute	Gallon + per minute
	Kelsey Spring is flowing at gallons per minute. Spring box is full of clear water.

	Winter Cabin Spring	Dripping	Dripping
	Winter Cabin Spring was stagnant and unappealing, but would be available to the desperate.

May 09 2020

cdeperro

Guides 3
Routes 43
Photos 666
Triplogs 41

54 male

Joined Jun 17 2013
Phoenix, AZ

Sedona, AZ

Hiking		May 09 2020
		cdeperro • Triplogs 41

Hiking	5.88 Miles	1,313 AEG

Hiking	5.88 Miles	2 Hrs 58 Mns	2.16 mph
	1,313 ft AEG	15 Mns Break

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Route Recorded on Route Scout | Pop | Map | Popup | MapDEX

I'd always wanted to check out this area, and we figured that this was a pretty good way to social distance. Let me start with DON'T USE GOOGLE MAPS and/or GOOGLE DIRECTIONS to get to this trailhead. It took us down some downright almost impassable forest roads which looked like "shortcuts". Fortunately I have a Jeep; however we still turned around twice. I did submit an edit to the TH directions so hopefully they are good now. It's really pretty simple though there's a lot of miles on gravel and dirt roads.

Now for the hike! We parked at Casner Tank right near the intersection of FR 538G and 538E, and walked down the (very rutted) 538E to the official Dorsey TH, where we signed the register. The hike was lovely with lots of spring flowers (small, don't know what they were) as well as some surprise irises at Dorsey Spring. It's about 3 miles to Dorsey Springs from where we parked. The first 2 miles were pretty well forested, with a subtle decline you'll notice more if you come back the same way. There is a lot of shade (not total, bring a hat) and some massive alligator junipers along the way. At about 2 miles, you drop into a fairly steep draw which takes you quickly down about 400' in elevation over the next mile to Dorsey Spring. We found this section mostly good, definitely shady, but slippery in a few places from loose soil and pine needles. It's totally doable but hiking poles are good here. We turned around at the spring, which was flowing well from the spigot. The irises just downstream were a plus. After a snack break, we turned around and headed back the way we came. We HAD intended to do Dorsey/Kelsey to Winter Cabin/Hog Hill back to the TH, but Google took us SO out of our way we were literally about two hours late from when we should have gotten there. Looks like nice oaks and maples around spring for fall color possibilities.

	Casner Tank	51-75% full	51-75% full
	water in it

	Dorsey Spring	Gallon per minute	Gallon per minute
	flowing very well

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Nov 23 2017

FOTG

Guides 37
Routes 556
Photos 10,872
Triplogs 1,052

43 male

Joined Jan 21 2013
AZ

Sedona, AZ

Hiking		Nov 23 2017
		FOTG • Triplogs 1,052

Hiking	10.13 Miles	2,082 AEG

Hiking	10.13 Miles	4 Hrs 8 Mns	2.61 mph
	2,082 ft AEG	15 Mns Break

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A little Thanksgiving hike with the pups today. This was my first time in this area, but I left feelings impressed, with though of a return backpack.

The winter cabin area was probably the highlight, however the majority of the hike was pleasant. There was significanr water flowing at all of the robust springs along the way and the trails were in great shape, apart from a few overgrown warm stretches along Kelsey. The stretches of trail underneath the pines in particular, were very pleasant and there were some nice views to be had on occasion along Kelsey. Good hike overall, perf temps and fast trails. I started at Dorsey TH, took Hog Hill to Winter Cabin and then Kelsey the rest of the way. Nobody on the trails. This area might have some solid fall color potential.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Autumn Foliage Observation None
Past due prime, not much to be had, but potential

Babes Hole Spring

Gallon per minute

	Dorsey Spring	Gallon per minute	Gallon per minute

	Kelsey Spring	Gallon per minute	Gallon per minute

Winter Cabin Spring

Gallon per minute

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1 archive

Oct 16 2016

flagscott

Guides 1
Routes 1
Triplogs 22

male

Joined Jan 03 2016
Flagstaff, AZ

Winter Cabin - Dorsey - Kelsey Loop, AZ

Hiking		Oct 16 2016
		flagscott • Triplogs 22

Hiking	16.00 Miles

Hiking	16.00 Miles

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Beautiful day to be in Sycamore Canyon. We started at Dorsey Spring trailhead, took Hog Hill over to Winter Cabin, stopped briefly at "Ott Lake," went down to Sycamore Canyon, goofed around in the canyon, took Winter Cabin back up, and then took Kelsey Spring over to Dorsey Spring to make a loop of sorts. Only saw one person all day. No aspens, but the Gambel's oak are gold all over (or maybe brown if you don't see the beauty in Gambel's oaks).

Our only complaint is that the lowest mile or two of the Winter Cabin trail is kind of a piece of pumpkin-super steep, bad tread, very brushy, with lots of scrub oak over the trail, and agaves, yuccas, and prickly pear encroaching, too. My wife has a nice big stain on her shoe now from blood running down her leg. Wear pants and long sleeves if you're thinking of doing Winter Cabin.

Quick driving note: FR231 and FR538 are in great shape, and we had no trouble at all in our little car. We parked at the turnoff for the trailhead, where 538 and 538E meet. If you're very careful, a low-clearance vehicle could probably make it down 538E to the turnoff for the tank but probably not the last few hundred yards to the trailhead. But if you park right at the intersection of 538 and 538E, it's about a quarter mile of easy cross-country walking to the trail.

	Dorsey Spring	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	Great water from the pipe coming out at about a liter per minute.

	Ott Lake	Dry	Dry
	Nothing but flowers (and grass).

	Winter Cabin Spring	Dripping	Dripping
	Plenty of water in the pools, but it was full of floaties and kind of rank. We would've skipped it, but we were out of water when we pulled in there. Bring a filter and some Crystal Lite or Gatorade powder if you're going to drink from here.

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2 archives

Oct 15 2016

knmurphy

Photos 281
Triplogs 222

45 male

Joined Aug 03 2008
Chandler, AZ

Winter Cabin Loop, AZ

Backpack		Oct 15 2016
		knmurphy • Triplogs 222

Backpack	18.00 Miles	3,500 AEG

Backpack	18.00 Miles
	3,500 ft AEG

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Autumn Foliage Observation Light

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Jun 11 2016

joebartels

Guides 264
Routes 2,797
Photos 14,494
Triplogs 5,894

55 male

Joined Nov 20 1996

Dorsey - Kelsey - Sycamore -Winter Cabin Loop, AZ

Hiking		Jun 11 2016
		joebartels • Triplogs 5,894

Hiking	17.54 Miles	3,875 AEG

Hiking	17.54 Miles	10 Hrs 35 Mns		1.93 mph
	3,875 ft AEG	1 Hour 30 Mns Break	14 LBS Pack

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BiFrost

The_Eagle

This would be better in April or October. We did a reverse of Bruce's 2012-09-15 loop. No mosquito or wasp issues this round.

The area got around an inch of rain overnight. BiFrost did a fine job sliding his 4Runner through the mud all the way to the Dorsey Trailhead.

Dorsey, Kelsey & Little LO is a fantastic hike down to Sycamore Canyon. An out-n-back would be prime for most.

Not sure how I forgot about 5.6 miles of boulder hopping. Sycamore is cool but 0.6 would suffice. Sprained my ankle so I may be negative biased.

Turning out of the creek and up Winter Cabin Trail #70 we met two canyoneers from Ohio. The little side trip to Ott Lake was a winner for the second time. No field of wildflowers, just a sea of foxtails. Which is the only place I like to see them, in the middle of a lake bed!

Albeit reasonable for myself this was borderline too hot for Bruce. Luckily occasional clouds and breezes made it bearable.

The pines kick in just before Winter Cabin then on up. Always nice to hike in the tall pines.

Shockingly the roads were mostly dry heading out.

Geology

Geology [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Mud

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Babes Hole Spring Ott Lake

	Babes Hole Spring	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	it would help if I looked...

	Geronimo Spring	Gallon per minute	Gallon per minute
	looked fine

	Ott Lake	Dry	Dry
	just a sea of foxtails

_____________________

- joe

Jun 11 2016

The_Eagle

Guides 41
Routes 1,626
Photos 14,983
Triplogs 2,760

69 male

Joined Jan 20 2009
Far NE Phoenix,

Dorsey - Kelsey - Sycamore -Winter Cabin Loop, AZ

Hiking		Jun 11 2016
		The_Eagle • Triplogs 2,760

Hiking	17.28 Miles	3,784 AEG

Hiking	17.28 Miles	10 Hrs 36 Mns		1.93 mph
	3,784 ft AEG	1 Hour 40 Mns Break	15 LBS Pack

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BiFrost

joebartels

With the 1" of rain the night before and 20 miles of dirt roads, Karl slid us to the Trailhead in 4wd. With my 2wd Pathfinder, there is absolutely no way we would have made it. We started at 62, got as high as 95 degrees twice on the climb out and finished at a pleasant 68.

- Dorsey Spring Trail #7
This trail is just a wonderful walk in the woods.

- Kelsey Trail #3
At Dorsey Spring, we got on the Kelsey Winter Trail making our way closer to Sycamore Canyon. This also is a nice trail with a few good camp sites on it. We checked out Babes Hole Spring on the way down which had some good filterable water.

- Little Lookout Trail #6
At Babes Hole Spring, we got on to the Little LO Trail. towards the bottom, fill up at Geronimo Spring. Getting to this point is a pretty steep drop. The water is great at the spring

- Sycamore Canyon
While there are some great looking canyon views...
5.8 miles of boulder hopping gets a little tiring for me.

- Winter Cabin #70
From Sycamore Canyon, don't miss the cairned turn on the east side. This is a steep totally exposed climb to Ott Lake. After Ott lake you pick up some trees and is gorgeous at Winter Cabin. Filter some water here if you need it.

- Hog Hill #133
Pleasant grade up from Winter Cabin. This appears to be an old road in many spots

We saw a huge Fox running at top speed with a 3' bone in it's mouth on the way in, a dozen or so elk and plenty of Mule Deer on the day.

I love this area, just need to work up a better loop minimizing the 5.8 miles of boulder hopping

Wildflowers Observation Isolated

	Babes Hole Spring	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	Plenty in the Spring box and the pools below

Colcord Canyon

Dry

	Geronimo Spring	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	Flowing nicely from the black plastic pipe

	Kelsey Spring	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	Good filtering source

Little L O Spring Canyon

Dry

Ott Lake

Dry

	Winter Cabin Spring	Gallon per minute	Gallon per minute
	Spring box is filled in and useless. We filtered 6 quarts from the pools below

_____________________

There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."
Dave Barry

2 archives

Jun 11 2016

BiFrost

Guides 4
Routes 491
Photos 10,890
Triplogs 1,257

55 male

Joined Nov 20 2012
Phoenix, AZ

Dorsey - Kelsey - Sycamore -Winter Cabin Loop, AZ

Hiking		Jun 11 2016
		BiFrost • Triplogs 1,257

Hiking	17.54 Miles	3,875 AEG

Hiking	17.54 Miles	10 Hrs 35 Mns	1.93 mph
	3,875 ft AEG	1 Hour 30 Mns Break

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joebartels

The_Eagle

Lots of rain the night before so we pretty much slid into the trail head at Dorsey. Temps were cool but humid at the start. Really enjoyed the hike down into Sycamore Canyon through some nice pines and passed by Dorsey, Babes Hole and Geronimo springs which all had good water. Also some great camp spots in the area if doing an overnight.

As mentioned in Bruce and Joe's triplog once we got into Sycamore Canyon the party was over. Bouldering de jour was the main course but it is a scenic canyon despite the terrain. We ran into some canyoneers from Ohio where we exited Sycamore Canyon up Winter Cabin trail and the only people we saw all day.

Eventually made it to Winter Cabin and filtered some water at Winter Cabin Spring before moving on to Ott Lake. No water in Ott Lake but there were some cool wispy foxtails in the basin. Then the last 4 miles back to Dorsey TH to close out the loop.

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Geronimo Spring

	Babes Hole Spring	Gallon + per minute	Gallon + per minute
	flow in drainage just below the spring

	Colcord Canyon	Dry	Dry
	didn't see any sign of water at the confluence or up canyon

	Geronimo Spring	Gallon + per minute	Gallon + per minute
	decent flow out of base of spring

	Ott Lake	Dry	Dry
	could have water in spring or winter

	Winter Cabin Spring	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	several decent pools at spring source

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2 archives

Jun 13 2015

hikeaz

Guides 6
Photos 346
Triplogs 225

69 male

Joined May 13 2002
Tempe, AZ

Flagstaff, AZ

Flagstaff, AZ

Hiking		Jun 13 2015
		hikeaz • Triplogs 225

Hiking	5.30 Miles	941 AEG

Hiking	5.30 Miles
	941 ft AEG

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Wonderful day to be in this area. All 3 trails are in pretty good to excellent shape - some deadfall but nothing that is problematic. Area is little-used - I don't know why - Abundant NICE camping - good roads (unless muddy), lots of wildlife.

Wildflowers Observation Light

Babes Hole Spring

Gallon per minute

Dorsey Spring

Gallon + per minute

	Winter Cabin Spring	Gallon + per minute	Gallon + per minute
	None at the spring box - Plenty in the creekbed

_____________________

"The censorship method ... is that of handing the job over to some frail and erring mortal man, and making him omnipotent on the assumption that his official status will make him infallible and omniscient."
George Bernard Shaw

May 02 2015

jterrij

Photos 22
Triplogs 21

51 female

Joined Mar 24 2015
Peoria, AZ

Sedona, AZ

Backpack		May 02 2015
		jterrij • Triplogs 21

Backpack	5.50 Miles	775 AEG

Backpack	5.50 Miles	1 Day 2 Hrs 30 Mns
	775 ft AEG		34 LBS Pack

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This was my first backpack trip. It took almost an hour on forest roads to get to the trail head but fortunately I was with people that had been there before. I could see someone easily getting lost otherwise especially in the dark! We camped at the trail head Friday night. There is ample parking and space to camp there overnight. We had 6 vehicles and there was another vehicle there as well with room to spare. Saturday morning, we departed at the trail head sign for Dorsey Springs. The first mile or so of the hike is fairly easy and somewhat flat and shaded. We saw some neat Alligator Juniper trees along the way. There are a lot of fallen trees and underbrush in this area. We stepped over a few on the trail. After about a mile or so, we started the descent into Sycamore Canyon. This was my first time on a backpack and I was very grateful for my hiking poles once we started the climb down because the 34 lb pack was messing with my balance! There are a few areas where you cross rocks or boulders on the trail as you go down. The many pine needles and leaves made area slippery as well as loose rock. Occasionally, the trail flattens out briefly between descents and there are logs for breaks. We took a few breaks along the way to make pack adjustments, etc. Dorsey Springs has a long black pipe and the water looked clean and was cold. A few noted seeing some plankton. There was mint growing all around the spring. We filtered all our water and the taste was just fine. Beyond the springs, there are plenty of spaces to camp (signage is good to make sure no one camps too close to the springs!) While it is getting warmer out, I was quite surprised at just how many mosquitoes and bees were around both at the trail head and at the springs. It still reached 39 at night and I figured we were safe for a little bit longer. Not so! If there was one thing I could change about this trip, it would indeed be the crazy amounts of bees and mosquitoes! We saw and heard many frogs. We even heard a turkey at one point. Sunday morning, we packed up and began to head to the trail head. I was intimidated about the climb with the pack because the day before that was mostly what I was thinking as we climbed down...how on earth am I going to make it out of here??? And, it was challenging but I kept repeating "slow and steady" and took breaks to sip water and before I knew it, we were back up to the flatter ground. Once we were done with the main climbing area, the hike out was fairly smooth and enjoyable. I'll definitely backpack again. I don't think I'd call Dorsey Springs my favorite place - we had some in our group do a longer hike and camp to Geronimo Springs and they made many comments of how beautiful the canyon opens up past the end point of the Dorsey Springs trail. I guess I just need to keep working to get up to a point to backpack further and see more of this area. Overall, it made for a great first backpack, and I enjoyed the remoteness of the area and ample water available.

	Dorsey Spring	Gallon per minute	Gallon per minute
	Water looked clean and flowed well from a black pipe. Some noted seeing plankton. We filtered all of it and it was cold and tasted just fine.

_____________________

Sep 15 2012

The_Eagle

Guides 41
Routes 1,626
Photos 14,983
Triplogs 2,760

69 male

Joined Jan 20 2009
Far NE Phoenix,

Sycamore Canyon Loop-North, AZ

Hiking		Sep 15 2012
		The_Eagle • Triplogs 2,760

Hiking	17.47 Miles	3,525 AEG

Hiking	17.47 Miles	9 Hrs 51 Mns		2.08 mph
	3,525 ft AEG	1 Hour 28 Mns Break	16 LBS Pack

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[ checklist ] Dorsey Spring Geronimo Spring Ott Lake Winter Cabin Spring

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	joebartels	Tortoise_Hiker
	wallyfrack

We tried to do this hike last month, but were turned away because of muddy roads. On this return trip Wally decided to join Denny, Joe and myself. The Trip to this trailhead includes 22 miles of dirt off of I-17. If you like washboard roads, then FR 231 is for you.

It was a beautiful crisp clear morning with The temps on my Truck Thermometer getting down as low as 40 degrees on the way to the TH. We did a clockwise loop

- Hog Hill #133
Pleasant grade down to Winter Cabin

- Winter Cabin #70 (With a stop at Ott Lake)
This is a pretty area.
Interesting Cabin.
Spring is full of water.
Ott Lake is Dry.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTtbeyuHQsk&list=UUcAm2CHlpbDrwYRrjYvcHUA&index=2&feature=plcp
Got to personally witness the Denny Rattlesnake dance. Hope to get it on camera some day.
It goes something like this:
"A high Pitched/Scared hoot, with both hands in the air, hopping on one foot in circles.
This trail gets steep dropping into Sycamore Canyon Basin.

- Sycamore Canyon Basin
There are some pretty views in the canyon, but I tired of the 5.8 mile rock hop.
Two more Blacktail Rattlers found down here

- Little Lookout Trail #6
Fill up at Geronimo Spring. The water is great.
Short Steep trail that climbs out of Sycamore Canyon. If you are trying to find this trail from down below, the trail head is easy to miss as it is blocked by a fallen tree.

- Kelsey Trail #3
Traverses across to Kelsey Spring

- Dorsey Spring Trail #7
The final push up to complete the loop

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Black-tailed Rattlesnake

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

	Dorsey Spring	Gallon + per minute	Gallon + per minute
	Clean Cool water coming from plastic Pipe.....

	Geronimo Spring	Gallon + per minute	Gallon + per minute
	Clear cold water. Tastes great.

	Little L O Spring Canyon	Dry	Dry
	Looked for a bit, never found this one.

	Ott Lake	Dry	Dry
	Dry

	Winter Cabin Spring	Gallon per minute	Gallon per minute
	A few good size pools of clear water. There is a flow.

_____________________

There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."
Dave Barry

3 archives

Sep 15 2012

joebartels

Guides 264
Routes 2,797
Photos 14,494
Triplogs 5,894

55 male

Joined Nov 20 1996

Hog133/70 - LO6 - Kelsey3 - Dorsey7 Loop, AZ

Hiking		Sep 15 2012
		joebartels • Triplogs 5,894

Hiking	17.40 Miles	3,150 AEG

Hiking	17.40 Miles	9 Hrs 52 Mns		2.17 mph
	3,150 ft AEG	1 Hour 50 Mns Break	12 LBS Pack

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	The_Eagle	Tortoise_Hiker
	wallyfrack

From the Dorsey Springs TH we headed down Hog Hill Trail #133. The air was cool, crisp and most enjoyable through thick pine trees.

After a short visit to Winter Springs Cabin we headed down Winter Cabin Trail #70. On route we stopped by Ott Lake. This large meadow is a very picturesque. Abundant wildflowers filled the dry lake. Mosquitoes tried to devour us alive. Denny entertained with a Kachina Rain Dance type circle stomp upon hearing the rattle of a snake.

Back on trail #70. The descent turns a bit rocky and slightly scratchy down to Sycamore. It felt warmer with each step. It really seemed to drag on making this stretch my least favorite for the day.

We boulder hopped about 5.6 miles up Sycamore Canyon. Which is very similar to the middle section of Woods Canyon most curse off. We lunched near the halfway point. Mosquitoes and wasps were out in force.

Just as we were all excited to exit the canyon and be on a real trail I pounded my inner right calf with a bad step. Not even a scratch, just some blunt force rock pounding. The pain was unreal. About five minutes later it was swelling up enough to concern me. We had a bit of difficulty finding Little LO Trail #6 due to a fallen tree at the first switchback up.

Back on track Little LO ascends quick and steep. Luckily there wasn't much descending as that shot shrieking pain with each step. Albeit steep the trail is short. Next we headed over on Kelsey Springs Trail #3. A little unnerving as it was angling back down...lol The pines give way to live oak. It reminded me of the second mile along Boynton Canyon Trail.

The pines pick back up approaching Dorsey Spring Trail #7. Several of us enjoyed the clean water flowing out of the black tubing. Many thanks to all the kind souls that maintain springs in the back country for all to enjoy.

I enjoyed the hike up Dorsey through the pines. Yet I was glad this one was over due to my leg. The swelling is almost gone now a day later. It's only a little tender. Probably a big ol' yellow bruise will surface. I'm just grateful as the shrieking pain was concerning me.

Pines
Pines are thick on Hog Trail #133, Little LO #6 and Dorsey Trail #7. Not sure on the fire history for the area. Most of the fallen and decaying trees are larger than anything standing. I fire might wipe out this entire area since the pines are skinny and dense. Jim_H would be better at making that type of assessment.

Synopsis
It was good to hike with Wally after a little hiatus. The hike in general just seemed okay compared to our Casner-Taylor-Dutch-Sycamore-Dogie Loop loop on April 7th. A day later now it is growing on me, sometimes hikes just have a way of playing with your mind. Bruce put together another winner. Check out his triplog for a thorough report on all the springs!

Wildflowers Observation Moderate

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- joe

Sep 15 2012

Tortoise_Hiker

Guides 1
Routes 148
Photos 9,924
Triplogs 3,652

63 male

Joined Apr 02 2005
Mesa, AZ

Sycamore Canyon Loop-North, AZ

Hiking		Sep 15 2012
		Tortoise_Hiker • Triplogs 3,652

Hiking	17.47 Miles	3,525 AEG

Hiking	17.47 Miles	9 Hrs 51 Mns	1.77 mph
	3,525 ft AEG

no routes

Linked

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[ checklist ] Black-tailed Rattlesnake Giant Centipede Grant's Hercules Beetle

Partners

partners

	joebartels	The_Eagle
	wallyfrack

An interesting hike,workout,adventure!Thanks for planning this out Bruce.My first time in this area.We saw some nice views of the canyon and cliffs.Three springs and an old cabin.Some nice sections through the pines.Some serious boulder hopping.Lots of flowers.A few rattlesnakes and some bear tracks.There was even a little singing and dancing

.Thanks for the adventure Joe,Wally and Bruce!Good times

.

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Alligator Juniper Fleabane

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Dorsey Spring Geronimo Spring Winter Cabin Spring

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Tortoise Hiking. Stop and smell the Petrichor.

Aug 06 2011

Dukedante

Photos 7
Triplogs 9

44 male

Joined May 09 2011
Gilbert, AZ

Sedona, AZ

Backpack		Aug 06 2011
		Dukedante • Triplogs 9

Backpack	7.30 Miles	1,400 AEG

Backpack	7.30 Miles	2 Days
	1,400 ft AEG		38 LBS Pack

no routes

no photosets

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