West Chevelon Canyon • Hike • Arizona • All Triplogs • HikeArizona.COM

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Jun 18 2025

kingsnake

Guides 116
Routes 337
Photos 11,399
Triplogs 894

63 male

Joined Dec 20 2010
Sunnyslope, PHX

Porcupine Ridge Canyon, AZ

Hiking		Jun 18 2025
		kingsnake • Triplogs 894

Hiking	7.57 Miles	451 AEG

Hiking	7.57 Miles	3 Hrs 33 Mns	2.13 mph
	451 ft AEG

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West Chevelon Canyon

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Today I hiked the unnamed on the east flank of Porcupine Ridge. West Chevelon Creek is on the opposite side of the ridge, so maybe this is a branch of that?

Though I did not start from the head of Unnamed Canyon, it was still easy “dropping in” to its bottom. It was smooth travel for about a half mile, then tightened up. The deadfall and brush was thickest from the 1½ to 2½ mile mark. Not bad, but physical work — especially since I had done only one hike of any significance in the past five weeks.

The walls of Unnamed Canyon never got too deep or steep. I saw no obvious bail points, but scrambling out at any point would not be difficult. More so than other nearby canyons, there was evidence of people being in it. (Occasional beer cans, with a couple dozen scattered just short of the 3-mile mark.) I grabbed what I could, but it was too much garbage to carry it all out.

After almost three hours — including photography breaks — I arrived at the bottom of FR 34H. Rather than enjoy the mid-day shade, I chugged up the rough road. I intended to turn off after a mile, taking FR 34I back to my trailhead. Despite walking slow, and thorougly scanning, I didn’t find FR 34I. It would be the same distance as the route I ended up taking.

The first half mile of FR 34H is strictly high clearance, 4×4. The remaining 1½ miles of FR 34H is SUV-drivable. FR 34B is car-drivable all the way back to where I started — where FR 34I is quite obvious. Go figure. Maybe I’ll do a future hike to map that, then head over the side of Unnamed Canyon to grab all those beer cans.

Rumble Video: https://rumble.com/v6v41ux-hiking-porcu ... n-rim.html
Vimeo Video: https://vimeo.com/1095242729

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] American Vetch Common Dandelion Lemmon's Star Orange Agoseris Pine Thermopsis Richardsons Geranium Silverstem Lupine Wild Strawberry Wood's Rose Woolly cinquefoil Yellow Columbine

Wildflowers Observation Light
Besides the pictured flowers: fleabane, alpine false springparsley, groundsel, pygmy bluet, Canadian violet, yellow salsify, plus red and yellow pea.

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http://prestonm.com : Everyone's enjoyment of the outdoors is different and should be equally honored.

May 31 2025

chumley

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

52 male

Joined Sep 18 2002
Tempe, AZ

Porcupine Chev Dye Alder, AZ

Hiking		May 31 2025
		chumley • Triplogs 1,993

Hiking	12.79 Miles	1,004 AEG

Hiking	12.79 Miles	6 Hrs 21 Mns	2.48 mph
	1,004 ft AEG	1 Hour 12 Mns Break

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BiFrost

John9L

Hit up some ridges and some canyons. Prolific pondo growth. Plenty of green. Good water. At one point I saw what looked like it might be a bear in the distance. It seemed to be bear shaped with distinct ears, but it had been motionless for far too long as I walked perpendicular to it, so I began to question if it wasn't just a dark stump. To make sure I turned and walked directly toward it to get a better view. At this point the stump decided to turn and stroll away from me. Yay. It had been two years since seeing a bear up here. Deployment of spray was not required. I was happy to see him, and he seemed to be a good size and well-nourished. Add an elk and two coyotes for wildlife and it was a pretty good day.

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

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May 31 2025

BiFrost

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

55 male

Joined Nov 20 2012
Phoenix, AZ

Porcupine Chev Dye Alder, AZ

Hiking		May 31 2025
		BiFrost • Triplogs 1,257

Hiking	12.79 Miles	1,004 AEG

Hiking	12.79 Miles	6 Hrs 21 Mns	2.48 mph
	1,004 ft AEG	1 Hour 12 Mns Break

no routes

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West Chevelon Canyon

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chumley

John9L

Easy stroll in the pines with pretty low AEG for 12 plus miles. Chumley saw a bear...9L and I did not

Little bit of water in West Chevelon Canyon which was also near the bear sighting. Otherwise pleaseant loop in an area I've not hiked before!

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Aug 17 2024

chumley

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

52 male

Joined Sep 18 2002
Tempe, AZ

Alder W Chevelon, AZ

Hiking		Aug 17 2024
		chumley • Triplogs 1,993

Hiking	14.28 Miles	1,035 AEG

Hiking	14.28 Miles	5 Hrs 32 Mns	2.82 mph
	1,035 ft AEG	28 Mns Break

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John9L

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

Took my first trip down the new Daytona Rim Speedway and it was an absolute dream. There's no center line yet (not that it would matter) so arbitrary passing was a breeze. We made it all the way to FR 34 in 6 minutes. No washboards, no dust! This is what this area has needed since the beginning of time immemorial!

The day began with light sprinkles which was a treat. In fact overcast endured for the better part of the trip which is always pleasant in this hellish summerscape. After a quick dip in Alder Lake we cut down west of FR 117 and dropped into a nice unnamed canyon that flanked the east side of Porcupine Ridge for 4.5 miles to its confluence with West Chevelon Canyon. While this first stretch was mostly dry, it was highly enjoyable and featured few obstacles.

West Chevelon was the treat today as it opened into a wide canyon with grassy banks and continual water. The slope was minimal so the water appeared silty and not ideal for a dip, except for canine companions. I bit farther down there were rockier stretches that featured clear water and even some small sections with a trickle of downhill flow.

After about 2 miles in West Chev we cut east, climbing up and over Dye Ridge. This area was perhaps a perfect example of what the result of forest thinning should be. Nicely spaced pondos in a sea of a grassy forest floor. This is truly one of the nicest stretches of pondo forest I can recall walking through. It was delightful.

We dropped off Dye into West Fork Alder where we picked up an AZT-quality track perfected by future hamburgers. Upon reaching the mainstem we turned south and began our uphill return toward the rim. There was a pool or two of water near the confluence, but the canyon dried up shortly thereafter.

There was a mile or so of less than enjoyable canyon bottom rock hopping and a few deadfall debris fields that took a little maneuvering to get over, but this was short-lived. As we approached Cliff Springs the canyon opened up again into a beautiful grassy meadow. There was no spring infrastructure but pools of water began to appear again from this point and upstream.

Alder tightened a bit above the spring but there was usually a pretty good elk trail on the bank making travel pretty easy. There's a fork split about half a mile north of FR 169 where the canyon became narrow and choked with deadfall so instead of following it to the true top we cut up onto the ridge with just a short walk back to our starting point.

This was a pretty solid canyon loop up here. We never encountered any bushwhacking brush, and most of it was delightful walking on creekside benches without deadfall or other obstacles.

The early side canyon and Alder will both have water flowing in them in springtime, and possibly after a more robust monsoon, while West Chevelon is reliably perennial in this stretch.

I might put Dye Ridge on the list for a potential Camp Grasshopper, and both West Chevelon and Alder deserve exploration further north to at least the Dye Ranch and Barts Crossing area. I'll be back!

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Alder Canyon Cliff Springs West Chevelon Canyon West Chevelon Creek

Wildflowers Observation Isolated

	Cliff Springs	Dripping	Dripping
	Ok, not actually dripping. But a pool of muddy water. There were more, better, deeper pools in the canyon half a mile upstream.

_____________________

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

Jul 06 2023

kingsnake

Guides 116
Routes 337
Photos 11,399
Triplogs 894

63 male

Joined Dec 20 2010
Sunnyslope, PHX

West Chevelon Canyon

Payson, AZ

West Chevelon Canyon

Payson, AZ

Hiking		Jul 06 2023
		kingsnake • Triplogs 894

Hiking	8.59 Miles	626 AEG

Hiking	8.59 Miles	3 Hrs 53 Mns	2.21 mph
	626 ft AEG

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Hard to believe it has been 10 months since my last Mogollon Rim canyon crawl, in West Leonard Canyon...

My wife was with me, and staying behind. I told her if she needed, Woods Canyon Lake was not far away. After returning, if she parked on FR 34B, I would eventually bump into her.

Crossing FR 34, I “dropped into” the canyon.

After the relatively clear first half mile, the next 1.5 miles of were more congested. I only had to low crawl once. But I did knock my shins a half dozen times, and nearly tripped several more. (The parallel branches, not perpendicular, that stab under my laces that cause me problems.)

Somewhere along that congested stretch, I felt something wet on my arm. I looked down and “Oh,

, I’m bleeding.” Not just catclaw drops either. My sleeve was wet. I didn’t want to look. I could tell it wasn’t squirting, so I ignored it until I got to some sunlight. When I pulled my sleeve up, it turned out to just be a bad scratch. Which somehow did not tear my sleeve. Go figure.

It took me 40 minutes to hike the first mile, 66 minutes to hike the second, and 50 minutes to hike the third. That seems slow, but the time was due to finding more flowers to photograph, rather than the obstacles the final 1.5 miles.

There is nice mid-day shade on the shelf at the bottom of FR 34H. I relaxed for a bit, eating my gas station murderwich, chips and gorp. I didn’t touch the salt lick.

On the left of my lunch spot, was a moderately sloped, relatively barren hill. According to my GPS mapset, “FR 34B” goes up it, but I saw no evidence of a road. In the middle, on the other side of the creek, was a spur that I thought I was supposed to head up on. Instead, back & and to the right , what appears to be creek bed is in fact FR 34H.

The top of Porcupine Ridge is less densely forested than most Rim ridges: It looks like it has been cleared to a historically normal tree density. Good for the forest, but I missed the shade.

I found several treasures, including a compass / whistle, a still good bungee cord and — best of all — a full 15-round Glock 9mm magazine. (Even better than the box of .22 long rifle I found while exploring Hargan Mine.) Christmas came early!

Hike Video: https://vimeo.com/843639235

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Alpine false springparsley Golden-Beard Penstemon Goldenbanner Nuttalls Linanthus Orange Agoseris Pygmy bluet Western Yarrow Wild Bergamot Wood's Rose Woolly cinquefoil Yellow Columbine Yellow Salsify

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Atlantis Fritillary Butterfly Steller's Jay

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Gun HAZ - Hike HAZard Trash Hauled Out

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] West Chevelon Canyon West Chevelon Creek

Wildflowers Observation Light
Light, but the most common ones were yellow columbine and Richardson’s geranium. Besides the flowers I photographed, I also spotted tiny fleabane and Canada violet, alpine false springparsley, scarlet penstemon, goldenbanner, yellow salsify and lupine.

_____________________

http://prestonm.com : Everyone's enjoyment of the outdoors is different and should be equally honored.

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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