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| Hiking | 9.67 Miles |
796 AEG |
| | Hiking | 9.67 Miles | 4 Hrs 48 Mns | | 2.01 mph |
| 796 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | Due to the Bush Fire preventing all traffic along AZ-87, we took I-17 and AZ-260 to the Mogollon Rim. Traffic was normal in the morning, but heavy late afternoon on our way back on AZ-260, as Payson-bound traffic routed around the road closure. Just before we reached Kehl Springs Campground, I stopped to video the Bush Fire smoke ( [ youtube video ] ), which obscured all views south, even though the fire front was 40 miles away. 
Kehl Canyon is immediately tighter than the beginning of any other Mogollon Rim canyon I’ve so far hiked. Not bad, but tighter, with no shelves or meadows to speed travel. I don’t know if ferns can “peak” like spring flowers, but there were tons of them. False hellebore / corn lily were also plentiful. The most common actual flower was yellow columbine, followed by some white thing that was neither daisy, lily, poppy nor fleabane. I also spotted western wallflower and Richardson’s Geranium.
There was evidence of water the first 1.6 miles down Kehl Canyon, and a small, but loud, pour to a clear, waist deep, pool at the junction with Middle Kehl Canyon. The junction would make a great campsite.
The next 1.3 miles of Kehl Canyon considerably tightened until I came to a waist deep pool flanked by steep rock formations. I didn’t want to get wet, but neither did I want to bail, so in I went. On a smaller scale, it reminded me of hiking the Gila River — literally, hiking the river — in 2015 ( [ photoset ] ). Having gotten soaked, I didn’t hesitate to splash right through any further pools. 
I wanted to stop for lunch at the mouth of West Kehl Canyon, but didn’t find just the right combination of shade, soft ground and a decent back rest until I was a half mile up West Kehl. My photos don’t bear it out, but it was slow travel, with uncertain footing, pools, deadfall, etc. In other words, “tight”.
A mile up West Kehl Canyon, it began opening up. By the time I reached bone dry Mud Spring, FR 6110 was just a few yards away, in a small meadow. I didn’t want to do any more canyon crawling than necessary, so the solution was obvious. 
After a ½ mile on FR 6110, I turned left onto FR 308E, which was quite rocky for the ½ mile I was on it. Okay for walking, but I wouldn’t drive my SUV up it. Where FR 308E turns north, I took a short break before dropping into Middle Kehl Canyon for my final canyon crawl of the day.
Like West Kehl Canyon, I remember the initial stretch of Middle Kehl Canyon being more congested than my photos otherwise suggest. A ½ mile south, there was a leaning, but still standing, pine with the largest trunk I’ve seen on the Mogollon Rim: It was at least 60″ diameter! Speaking of which, most of the trees in the various Kehl Canyons are pine, with few oak or other deciduous species. 
A ¼ mile south of the massive pine, Middle Kehl Canyon intersects FR 308B, by which point the canyon bottom travel is fern patches. Instead of heading up the spur on FR 308B, I continued at the bottom of Middle Kehl on an unnumbered jeep trail.
After another ½ mile in Middle Kehl Canyon, I turned off the unnumbered jeep trail, up an obstacle-free draw, before crossing a burn area on FR 308A, back to the Kehl Springs Campground.
Hike Video: https://vimeo.com/467721921 |
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Wildflowers Observation Light
Ferns, corn lily, western wallflower, yellow columbine, Richardson's Geranium, others. |
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| http://prestonm.com : Everyone's enjoyment of the outdoors is different and should be equally honored. |
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