Fairchild Draw • Hike • Arizona • All Triplogs • HikeArizona.COM

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Aug 08 2015

chumley

Guides 94
Routes 840
Photos 22,055
Triplogs 1,993

52 male

Joined Sep 18 2002
Tempe, AZ

Leonard Fairchild Loop, AZ

Hiking		Aug 08 2015
		chumley • Triplogs 1,993

Hiking	14.95 Miles	1,305 AEG

Hiking	14.95 Miles	6 Hrs 27 Mns	2.68 mph
	1,305 ft AEG	52 Mns Break

Linked

linked

East Leonard Canyon

Fairchild Draw

Partners

partners

	clairebear	FOTG
	John9L

The Beards were entertaining some friends up north this weekend with the primary purpose of gathering wild raspberries for an upcoming beer they are brewing. I decided to go along and put together a few options for a hike in some canyons and draws I hadn't previously visited. With enough miles on the map, I was able to convince 9L, Claire, and Fotg to come along as well.

East Leonard north of Knoll Lake is a well-traveled canyon with use trails that are easy to find and follow. Intermittent water made this a pleasant, scenic little canyon. We encountered some heavy machinery doing some work in the canyon bottom, and I can't find any indication that it was private property, but I'm looking into that some more. Definitely the most unusual sighting of the day.

We jumped east one canyon and headed up the very lush Fairchild Draw. There was virtually no water in this draw, save for a couple of small muddy pots, probably just the result of recent monsoon rains.

Next, with the goal of Double Cabin, we headed one more drainage to the east, checked out this very sturdy cabin ruin that appears to have been made from some huge milled pieces of timber (easily 16" square). It has uniquely different construction from other cabins I've seen up here.

O'Haco Cabins were on the list, but they have always been on private property. Apparently the land owners have re-established residency there from the dilapidated shacks that existed 10 years ago. (*Edit- The property was sold in November 2012, and it seems it is the new owners that have fixed the place up again).

Finally we visited O'Haco Lookout, a very tall tower in a fenced in FS compound with a cabin, basketball court, picnic area and bbq. This tower appears to be out of commission, but offers fantastic views over the rim.

Back at camp we enjoyed a fun evening around the fire before spending Sunday celebrating some dumb anniversary, picking berries and enjoying the pleasant weather at elevation. Not too bad!

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Arizona Black Rattlesnake

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Cairn Camp-fire Fire Lookout Structures Osborne Fire Finder Wooden Dwelling

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Dines Tank Double Cabin Spring East Leonard Canyon Fairchild Draw Knoll Lake Leonard Canyon O'Haco Fire Lookout West Leonard Canyon

Meteorology

Meteorology [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Fire - Wildfire

Wildflowers Observation Moderate
Very colorful in the drainages. Especially in the fenced in exclosure areas.

	Buck Springs Canyon	Dry	Dry
	Dry at junction with Leonard Canyon

	Dines Tank	76-100% full	76-100% full
	Full and deep.

	Double Cabin Spring	Dripping	Dripping
	Spring is inaccessible due to protective fencing. Some surface water is found in the draw downstream of the fencing.

	East Leonard Canyon	Pools to trickle	Pools to trickle
	Occasional pools. Sometimes dry.

Knoll Lake

76-100% full

	West Leonard Canyon	Pools to trickle	Pools to trickle
	Occasional pools. Sometimes dry.

_____________________

I'm not sure what my spirit animal is, but I'm confident it has rabies.

1 archive

Aug 08 2015

clairebear

Photos 188
Triplogs 163

43 female

Joined Oct 26 2011
Tempe, AZ

Leonard Fairchild Loop, AZ

Hiking		Aug 08 2015
		clairebear • Triplogs 163

Hiking	14.95 Miles	1,305 AEG

Hiking	14.95 Miles	6 Hrs 27 Mns	2.68 mph
	1,305 ft AEG	52 Mns Break

no routes

no photosets

Linked

linked

East Leonard Canyon

Fairchild Draw

Partners

partners

	chumley	FOTG
	John9L

What a relief to get out of Phoenix. We bailed as soon as we could on Friday night and drove up to the rim. Chumley located his bearded friends and we set up tents nearby. Later on we joined the large group for beers around the campfire and eventually one by one we found our way back to our tents.

Sleeping until 7 was awesome for a Saturday and we hit the trail ( off trail?) around 8AM. After we left Knoll lake and continued in Leonard Canyon it was so peaceful and we didn't run into anymore people for miles and miles. My dreams of not seeing anyone on the trail were dashed when we came upon a fellow operating some heavy machinery in the bottom of the canyon leveling out some ground. Very interesting. We stayed clear of him, but he still asked us what we were doing and telling us to be careful. Shortly afterwards we left Leonard Canyon. We took our lunch break on a grassy, flowery knoll and decided our path for the rest of the hike. Fairchild draw was lovely despite the enclosure fence that we followed up the draw the whole way. At the very end of the draw we came upon a grazing heard of Elk that Blanco and Cup were sniffing out. We hiked out and followed a road that took us to what is left of Double Cabin. Still really cool to see a bit of history so I'm glad this was included.

We got back to camp around mid afternoon and even though there wasn't significant elevation gain, all the off-trail was a good work out. I was glad to come back to camp and my beer and my bag of Cheetos

It was a really beautiful day and we would have had the trail to ourselves if not for the man on the tractor and the two camouflaged Quads that came across us.

Wildflowers Observation Moderate

_____________________

Aug 08 2015

John9L

Guides 6
Routes 183
Photos 5,612
Triplogs 1,647

male

Joined Mar 12 2004
Scottsdale, AZ

Leonard Fairchild Loop, AZ

Hiking		Aug 08 2015
		John9L • Triplogs 1,647

Hiking	14.95 Miles	1,305 AEG

Hiking	14.95 Miles
	1,305 ft AEG

no routes

no photosets

Linked

linked

East Leonard Canyon

Fairchild Draw

Partners

partners

	chumley	clairebear
	FOTG

We wanted to get out of the heat for the weekend and decided to head up north to the Rim. We drove up on Friday night and camped with a group from AZ Wilderness Brewery. We started our hike on Saturday morning and walked out of camp and made a clockwise loop.

The first part of the hike had us scramble down an off trail slope to Knoll Lake. It was steep and loose but no biggie. From there we followed East Leonard Canyon. The going was very easy as we followed good use trails. After a few miles we connected into Leonard Canyon. The first mile was rocky and required crossing the creek several times. Things mellowed out and we continued to the north end of the loop where we climbed a steep embankment back to a forest road. We followed the road for a mile or two and dropped down to Double Cabin. From there it was easy going back to camp.

This was a nice loop with beautiful scenery. Thanks to Chumley for putting it together. And thanks to FOTG for joining us on this one. Was a lot of fun!

Wildflowers Observation Moderate

_____________________

WARNING! Hiking and outdoor related sports can be dangerous. Be responsible and prepare for the trip. Study the area you are entering and plan accordingly. Dress for the current and unexpected weather changes. Take plenty of water. Never go alone. Make an itinerary with your plan(s), route(s), destination(s) and expected return time. Give your itinerary to trusted family and/or friends.

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