Kelsey & Little LO Trails • Hike • Arizona • All Triplogs • HikeArizona.COM

Winter Cabin Canyon

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May 28 2021

GrangerGuy

Guides 34
Routes 138
Photos 931
Triplogs 111

68 male

Joined Dec 26 2018
Phoenix, 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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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.

Jun 13 2020

ShatteredArm

Guides 12
Routes 192
Photos 863
Triplogs 356

42 male

Joined Nov 30 2015
Phoenix, AZ

Flagstaff, AZ

Run/Jog		Jun 13 2020
		ShatteredArm • Triplogs 356

Run/Jog	12.41 Miles	2,627 AEG

Run/Jog	12.41 Miles	4 Hrs 12 Mns	2.95 mph
	2,627 ft AEG

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Decided to head out to the east rim of Sycamore Canyon to check out some of the trails out there. First went down Hog Hill trail to Winter Cabin. Doesn't really get interesting until you get to the actual cabin. The spring box there was dry, with barely a trickle about 10 feet away.

Kelsey Trail was cool, most of it is on a broad bench with pine and oak, and the occasional fir tree. Lots of shade, with two half-mile-or-so chaparral stretches that are hot, exposed, and overgrown, but afford the best views into the canyon. Dorsey Spring had more water than Winter Cabin, and provided a good opportunity to douse myself.

Headed down Little LO trail, which was very steep in places, but mostly shady, so I wasn't too worried about the climb out. Lookout Canyon looks like it might be worth checking out, but had stagnant water that I didn't really feel like dealing with. Sat by Geronimo Spring for a few minutes and filled up. Great flow, great tasting water.

The climb up wasn't bad, and at Babe's Hole Spring, passed by the group of hikers that had just started up when we got down to Lookout Canyon. Saw a pair of hikers on their way down just afterwards - apparently this area actually gets some visitation!

Got to Kelsey Spring, the fifth spring of the day, and it was closer to trickle, but still a pleasant spot. Didn't expect all five to have water in mid June!

This is a good little trail system, and one I'll probably come back to and explore more.

Babes Hole Spring

Gallon per minute

Dorsey Spring

Quart per minute

	Geronimo Spring	Gallon + per minute	Gallon + per minute
	Only took about 30 seconds to fill up a 3L bag. Good water.

Kelsey Spring

Quart per minute

	Winter Cabin Spring	Dripping	Dripping
	Spring box empty, stagnant pools in creek, very light trickle from the actual spring.

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1 archive

Apr 19 2018

azbackpackr

Guides 27
Routes 518
Photos 5,861
Triplogs 883

72 female

Joined Jan 21 2006
Eagar AZ

Flagstaff, AZ

Backpack		Apr 19 2018
		azbackpackr • Triplogs 883

Backpack	10.82 Miles	2,873 AEG

Backpack	10.82 Miles	1 Day 2 Hrs 39 Mns
	2,873 ft AEG

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[ checklist ] Babes Hole Spring Geronimo Spring Kelsey Spring Winter Cabin Spring

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I hiked down the Kelsey and Little Lookout Trails to the bottom of Sycamore Canyon. I made camp at the second campsite (not the one under the overhang, but the one with the log furniture and lots of trees.) I thought about staying there for a couple of nights. However, there was a storm in the forecast for the next day. My friend, Scott, and his 9-month-old preemie baby, Cora, day-hiked down with me to the bottom. Well, Scott hiked. Cora just rode along and observed with bright eyes. She was amazingly good. We had left my Jeep at Winter Cabin trailhead, and then Scott brought me around to the Kelsey trailhead. So, despite the bad weather, I knew I would still have to hike over to Winter Cabin.

It was really windy. I set up camp and then walked further up the trail, which eventually gave out. Then I went down into the creek bottom (dry) to walk upstream. It's rough going on those big rocks, especially when you're tired and your knees ache. I turned around after a few minutes and went back to camp. So much for exploring.

A campfire was out of the question. The wind was kind of crazy! I holed up for a while in my tent, then crawled out and made supper. When I crawled back into the tent it was about 6 p.m. I read for a while, (Camino Island, by John Grisham), but mostly slept, until 6 a.m. In the middle of the night I put my down jacket on. By that time I had pretty much decided I wasn't cut out for cold weather camping by myself. John Muir I ain't. I don't seem capable of awe and wonder when I'm chilled. I just want to crawl into my sleeping bag. So, I decided to skip the second night, and hike out in the morning to Winter Cabin trailhead.

At Geronimo Spring there's an apple tree in full bloom. Gorgeous big flowers! There are some other flowers there that looked like impatiens, but they were on vines. (See photo.)

It was a good shakedown cruise for me. I'm just getting back into backpacking. I felt pretty strong.

All the HAZ photos, GPS routes and triplogs I read were very helpful, thanks to all who wrote them.

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Agave Apple Meadow Violet Parry's Agave

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

Wildflowers Observation Isolated
Around springs. Also, manzanita.

Quart per minute

Quart per minute

Quart per minute

Quart per minute

Quart per minute

_____________________

There is a point of no return unremarked at the time in most lives. Graham Greene The Comedians
A clean house is a sign of a misspent life.

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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Ott Lake Trail #70B

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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

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- 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 09 2016

the1theycallfish

Routes 1
Triplogs 6

40 male

Joined Mar 18 2014
Flagstaff

Flagstaff, AZ

Hiking		Jun 09 2016
		the1theycallfish • Triplogs 6

Hiking	6.00 Miles	3,600 AEG

Hiking	6.00 Miles	3 Hrs 45 Mns		1.60 mph
	3,600 ft AEG		20 LBS Pack

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Excellent afternoon training hike. First time on this trail and took my dog. He is young and fit as I am also so it wasn't a too hard to hack out to Geronimo Spring and back in a few hours. Views of the canyon from the trial are limited. The road going in was a little beat up but, my RWD Ranger no lift made it fine. Glad I was able to find this trail and the springs are a huge plus. Will return. Great for isolated training hikes in future I think.

Wildflowers Observation Substantial
Was not sure of the any species but so much blooming today!

	Babes Hole Spring	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	Couldn't see the flow but could hear consist water movement.

	Geronimo Spring	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	Weir box cracked in bottom but, flow from pipe steady

	Kelsey Spring	Gallon + per minute	Gallon + per minute
	Excellent flow into weir box.

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2 archives

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

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

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	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.

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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Ott Lake Trail #70B

[ 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

Jul 29 2012

tonyp

Photos 4
Triplogs 15

58 male

Joined Aug 20 2004
Phoenix, AZ

Flagstaff, AZ

Hiking		Jul 29 2012
		tonyp • Triplogs 15

Hiking	3.00 Miles	1,800 AEG

Hiking	3.00 Miles
	1,800 ft AEG

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The boys (my son and his friend) wanted to backpack "someplace cold", and this was as far north as I would take a novice. Got clobbered with rain around Babe's Hole. Did the Little LO sans packs, and they were still demoralized by the hike out. Ended up making camp near the Dorsey trail junction.

Springs all ran strong. Nothing amiss with the trail save for mud.

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"Where am I to go, now that I've gone too far?" - Golden Earring

Oct 09 2011

uphill_junkie

Guides 2
Routes 9
Photos 1,486
Triplogs 944

female

Joined Apr 28 2010
Tucson, AZ

Flagstaff, AZ

Canyoneering		Oct 09 2011
		uphill_junkie • Triplogs 944

Canyoneering	4.80 Miles	1,800 AEG

Canyoneering	4.80 Miles
	1,800 ft AEG

Intermediate Canyoneering - Difficult or dangerous; Tech Climb; rope reqd; descent anchor; exit technical;

A - Dry or little water; shallow or avoidable water; no wet/dry suit

II - Normally requires a half day

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So apparently I didn't learn my lesson from the previous day's experience and I opted out of a bail out to roll back to Phoenix early with the girls. I stayed with the boys and did another canyon. They promised me this one would be easy and nothing like the prior day. Well, it was definitely not like the previous day, and the most of the rappels were easy with the exception of one. It was a 'nuisance rappel', and boy was it a nuisance!! I ended up whacking the pumpkin out of the SAME damn knee that I hit so hard the day before on another boulder. How I didn't break my knee cap is beyond me!

There was one part where we were trying to avoid the water too, and Scott climbed up this scary wall. He tells me "just grab here and walk across" - makes it look like a piece of cake. Well, I totally freaked!!! My shoes were slipping and it was pretty much a 90 degree slope about 15-20 feet down into the water or into the canyon wall, depending on how hard you fell.

I panicked and froze and John had to come to my rescue. :scared:

Yes, I was the damsel in distress! BIG TIME!!!! : queen :

He talked me down and I rolled up my pants and walked through the water anyway. It came up to my butt and it was FREEZING cold, but it was WAY better than what they were trying to get me to attempt to do!!!!!

The hike out was my favorite part of the whole day!

The trail was beautiful and it was a kick-ass workout! I think I will probably stick to hiking most of the time. :lol:

Canyoneering will definitely be a good option to have as an alternative in the summer time, but I think I prefer my boring old hikes for now.

Babes Hole Spring

Quart per minute

	Kelsey Spring	Dry	Dry
	Weird,there was water flowing, but nothing coming out of the hose where the spring is.

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No pants!

Aug 28 2011

nonot

Guides 107
Routes 249
Photos 2,067
Triplogs 514

male

Joined Nov 18 2005
Phoenix, AZ

Flagstaff, AZ

Canyoneering		Aug 28 2011
		nonot • Triplogs 514

Canyoneering	6.20 Miles	1,800 AEG

Canyoneering	6.20 Miles	5 Hrs 40 Mns	1.09 mph
	1,800 ft AEG

Intermediate Canyoneering - Difficult or dangerous; Tech Climb; rope reqd; descent anchor; exit technical;

B - Up to light current; wading/swimming; possible wet/dry suit

Risky - Extraordinary risk factors exist; solid skills/judgement reqd; no beginners

II - Normally requires a half day

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toddak

First half of daily double!

Keeper was 6 ft below the rim and did not yield to pack tosses. It is quite a serious/dangerous obstacle at this time!

Canyon was pleasant though a little hot! Hot weather made me take many breaks on the climb out - the springs help greatly with this! Even so I still cramped up badly, unable to bend my legs for awhile with 200 ft left to hike. :sweat:

	Strahan Spring	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	A little water found in the canyon, it went underground quickly.

_____________________

http://hikearizona.com/garmin_maps.php

Hike Arizona it is full of sharp, pointy, ankle-twisting, HAZmaster crushing ROCKS!!
Hike Arizona it is full of sharp, pointy, shin-stabbing, skin-shredding plants!
Hike Arizona it is full of striking, biting, stabbing, venomous wildlife!

Aug 06 2011

Dukedante

Photos 7
Triplogs 9

44 male

Joined May 09 2011
Gilbert, AZ

Sedona, 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

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My wife and I did the Dorsey/Kelsy Winter/Hog Hill loop as a one night backpack, staying at Winter Cabin for the night. The roads (FR 231 and 538)to the TH were passable by any passenger vehicle- we took our minivan that bottoms out with about 4" of clearance. We did have to stop about .25 miles before the TH because where you turn off 538 onto 538E is surely high clearance. No biggie though. The trail down to Dorsey Spring is steep and rocky. This trail is fairly scenic, as you pass through ponderosa forest and gambel oaks. You do not get any big views of sycamore. If I rated this trail alone, it would be a 2 or 3. dorsey Spring is nice- several gallons per minute on this trip were flowing out of the pipe. We had lunch there and saw a gopher snake. Or rather, I stepped over a gopher snake and my wife leaped over it and showed me it was there.

We got a bit turned around searching for the Kelsey Winter Trail, but figured it out- you go to the right at the spring and through the campground area before you get to the intersection. This section of the trail was pretty crummy. There are a little bit of up and down sections, and then you get to the exposed section where it it pretty overgrown with locust and other grabby shrubs. Plus, there's no shade in sight. It was a pretty hot day, about 90 and this section stunk. You go over several rockslide areas as well. Not very exciting. This is also the only realy area where you get big canyon views, which isn't great when you're running for shade. When you get up into the Winter Cabin area the forest closes in and it is nice and shady again. This section of trail gets a 1 rating from me.
The Winter Cabin area is ok. The cabin is in bad shape and the camping area was a mess when we got there. I would expect an area that is that secluded to be in more pristine shape, but there was lots of litter that I cleaned up. Bear hunters were out en masse, which made for some consternation on my wife's part, as this was her first backpack trip. The Cabin Spring was seeping out of the ground and had a few bigger pools for filtering from, and cooling off the feet. Our night was peaceful and not a bear or even chipmunk visited us.
The Hog Hill trail was a leg burner for the first .3 miles, then it was a steady uphill for awhile. This trail is very faint in many areas and we were saved by flagging and cairns on a few occasions. This trail ascends into some more open areas of juniper forest and would be very hot in midday. There were many Elk prints along the trail, but we didn't see the real thing, again- there were hunters out. This trail also gets a 2 rating from me. Not much to see, and the condition it was in was pretty rough. I won't come back here, there are many more places I'd rather visit that take less effort to get to and have more to offer. Some other hikers mentioned that the Kelsy/Dorsey loop is the way to go- it's a bit shorter but nicer. Take that as you will.

	Dorsey Spring	Gallon + per minute	Gallon + per minute
	Seems likely to flow year round.

	Winter Cabin Spring	Dripping	Dripping
	Water seeping from the ground into 2 moderate pools 2' deep. The trough is full of silt and doesn't have water in it- more of a garden now.

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Jun 19 2011

Vaporman

Guides 3
Routes 4
Photos 8,687
Triplogs 931

46 male

Joined Mar 28 2005
Gilbert, AZ

Flagstaff, AZ

Canyoneering		Jun 19 2011
		Vaporman • Triplogs 931

Canyoneering	6.00 Miles	1,600 AEG

Canyoneering	6.00 Miles	7 Hrs 15 Mns	0.83 mph
	1,600 ft AEG

Basic Canyoneering - Scrambling; easy climbing/downclimbing; frequent hand use; rope recommended; easy exit

B - Up to light current; wading/swimming; possible wet/dry suit

III - Normally requires most of a day

no routes

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azrocketchick

After doing Illusions Canyon and the steep AB Young trail the day before, we slept in this Sunday morning and downgraded to an easier canyon.

Thankfully my car was able to take the forrest roads all the way to within a mile of the Kelsey TH. We walked the rode a bit before cutting cross country towards the side canyon of Little LO canyon but this time I made a point to stay on the side of the canyon longer to make for a shorter rock hop down that canyon. I knew that with this dry spell there'd be a slim chance the canyon was flowing so I wasn't surprised to find that upper mini narrows rather dry.

After some hot & dry rock hopping, we hit the beginning of the narrows and I sent her down first to evaluate the water level. When she said it was good, I splashed some water on the slide and slide in.

This potential keeper was 1-2ft below the lip but we were able to exit using buddy boasts & pulls. :sweat:

I second Todd's recommendation in not soloing this canyon unless you know for sure that the pools are close to full... The next pool required the same techniques to exit and we slide into the third smaller hallway pool. The pools from here on out where 1-3ft below being full but posed no difficulty in exiting other than being slippery.

Even with the water being down, we were able to avoid doing any rappels by doing tricky down climbs and slides into shallow pools. :y:

Once at the lower narrows, we dropped the gear and made the steep hike up the Little LO trail. :sweat:

_____________________

Yea, canyoneering is an extreme sport... EXTREMELY dramatic!!! =p

Aug 22 2010

Vaporman

Guides 3
Routes 4
Photos 8,687
Triplogs 931

46 male

Joined Mar 28 2005
Gilbert, AZ

Flagstaff, AZ

Canyoneering		Aug 22 2010
		Vaporman • Triplogs 931

Canyoneering	6.00 Miles	1,600 AEG

Canyoneering	6.00 Miles	5 Hrs	1.20 mph
	1,600 ft AEG

Basic Canyoneering - Scrambling; easy climbing/downclimbing; frequent hand use; rope recommended; easy exit

B - Up to light current; wading/swimming; possible wet/dry suit

II - Normally requires a half day

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winklersh

2B or not 2B? That is the question... :lol:

The canyon was lightly flowing, the keepers were plenty full so we slid down the chutes, and the tricky down climbs had pools below them to drop into so we ended up not even doing a single rappel. :y:

The canyon was actually more enjoyable since we didn't get slowed up with anchors and rope work and ended up just taking my rope for a walk until we did the sidetrip down Babe's Hole Spring canyon.

But I'd bring a 100ft rope just in case the keepers & pools below all the down climbs & chutes aren't full...

From the TH, we trekked NE to drop into the eastern fork of Little LO canyon. That canyon started off kinna pleasant in its upper reaches but it quickly turned into another rock hopping, bushwhacking, downed tree bypassing canyon. :sweat:

After 1.5 hours of tediously descending that side canyon we finally reach the confluence with the main canyon and know that the real fun is about to begin. At the confluence, we took a snack break while admiring a flowing chute down below & gear up for the potential keeper not too far off. Little LO canyon starts off as a wide, brush-free, rock hopping, dry canyon with a few avoidable pools with a down climb above one of them but it soon narrows up with a slippery chute down to a large pool. Sweet! The canyons lightly flowing so most likely the potential keeper is full. My buddy slides down the 40ft chute to examine the keeper while I stay up with the rope next to the anchors in case I need to setup the rope for a retreat if we can't get out of the keeper. But he calls up that the pool is full to the brim as well is the next pool in the next chamber with another slide on the other side. Woohoo, wait for me! :y:

I slide down that long chute, wearing a couple holes in the bottom of my pack, swim across to the other side, get out and hop into the next large pool, and then examine the next slippery chute before sliding down into yet another swimmer. Sweet, I don't think canyoneering gets much better than this!

Soon afterwards the canyon opens back up with some more rock hopping for a bit before and some pools to wade before narrowing back up some and throwing the first tricky chockstone down climb at us. There's chest-high below it so we could have slipped off and still probably been fine, but we gracefully lowered ourselves over the boulder and swam our way to the other side of the pool. This was followed by another small chute that drops into a deep pool followed by another tricky down climb into a another swimmer. This sweet section of canyon stays fairly narrow as we traverse over slickrock, around boulders, and thru many pools of various depth until we unfortunately neared the confluence with Sycamore Canyon. We took a lunch break down there in the sun before hopping on the trail near Geronimo springs and making the steep climb up the trail to Babe's Hole Spring. We took a sidetrip down that canyon where we finally got to use the rope before hiking back up to those springs again and making the final sweaty climb back to the Kelsey Springs TH. :sweat:

Wow, what a sweet canyon & fun narrows to play in though its too bad its such a long drive to get up here and an unpleasant hike down to the good stuff. :roll:

_____________________

Yea, canyoneering is an extreme sport... EXTREMELY dramatic!!! =p

Aug 22 2010

Vaporman

Guides 3
Routes 4
Photos 8,687
Triplogs 931

46 male

Joined Mar 28 2005
Gilbert, AZ

Flagstaff, AZ

Canyoneering		Aug 22 2010
		Vaporman • Triplogs 931

Canyoneering	2.00 Miles	1,000 AEG

Canyoneering	2.00 Miles	3 Hrs	0.67 mph
	1,000 ft AEG

Intermediate Canyoneering - Difficult or dangerous; Tech Climb; rope reqd; descent anchor; exit technical;

A - Dry or little water; shallow or avoidable water; no wet/dry suit

II - Normally requires a half day

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winklersh

After having an amazing time playing in the water slides of Little LO, we made the steep climb up the trail to Babe's Hole Spring (hmm, sounds naughty

) and dropped back down that dry canyon on the other side of the ridge of the springs. The canyon starts off rather thick with loads of boulders, bushes, and tree fall to make for a rather slow going and uninteresting descent of the upper section. :roll:

A side canyon from the springs comes in and the canyon is to flow off & on for a bit. After dropping more than half of the way back down to Little LO canyon the canyon finally narrowed up and got interesting. :GB:

The canyon starts off with a mossy 20ft drop down to a bouldery ledge/chamber with a V-notch above another mossy & slick 35ft rappel which puts you down into some sweet narrows.

That was followed quickly by another 20ft chute that was wet and best to just rappel followed by a slightly tricky short down climb. Just when we thought the canyon was almost done, we hit another 25ft drop from a tree quickly followed by another 35ft drop down another dry chute. Todd recommends a 150ft rope for this drop so I brought my 200ft rope since I didn't fully read Jaclyn's post recommending only a 100ft rope since the anchor on that drop has been extended out 20ft to reach just above the rappel. :whistle:

That final rappel was followed by a tricky 10ft down climb and then squeezing thru the Babe's Hole formed by a few large chockstone boulders before reaching the confluence with Little LO Canyon and once again making the steep sweaty climb back up the Little LO trail. :sweat:

Time & mileage logged is just of our sidetrip from the springs down to the confluence and back up to the springs again... Hmm, I was having so much fun in the narrows of Babe's Hole that I forgot her name already. :sl:

_____________________

Yea, canyoneering is an extreme sport... EXTREMELY dramatic!!! =p

Jul 17 2010

suzaz

Guides 1
Routes 2
Photos 3,905
Triplogs 154

female

Joined Nov 23 2003
Gold Canyon, AZ

Flagstaff, AZ

Hiking		Jul 17 2010
		suzaz • Triplogs 154

Hiking	3.00 Miles	1,800 AEG

Hiking	3.00 Miles
	1,800 ft AEG

no routes

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Babes Hole Spring Canyon

Got an invite to do this canyon with a whopping 60 minute notice....LOL. (due to some contact glitches, I guess) When the Canyons call, this girl has got to go! I quickly ignored all 14 other things that I had planned to do....funny how my priorities shifted.

Tossed my gear together(which happened to be sitting near the front door), sent a quick email with emergency contact info/trip plans to a friend and jumped in the car. We headed up to Flag, camped at the trailhead and got a fairly early start.

This canyon is a short tributary to Little LO spring Canyon. Hiked from Kelsey to a dry stream bed with dark gray boulders. This is where we left the trail and started the fun rock-hopping down the drainage until it slotted up. There are about 5 rappels and a few down climbs before reaching the end of this pretty, mostly dry little canyon. We walked a short distance to Little LO canyon and continued on to the confluence with Sycamore Canyon. We turned left at Geronimo Spring, hopped on Kelsey Spring Trail and followed that all the up (about 1500 feet) to the trailhead under the hot-ultra-humid-almost-monsoon sky.

It was a very sweet little canyon, NO WETSUIT NEEDED(woohoo), enjoyed the company and learned lots!

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2 archives

Jul 13 2010

fotogirl53

Guides 5
Photos 1,229
Triplogs 181

female

Joined Mar 18 2008
Flagstaff, AZ

[ checklist ] Golden Flowered Agave Parry's Agave Wild Bergamot Wild Geranium

Flagstaff, AZ

Hiking		Jul 13 2010
		fotogirl53 • Triplogs 181

Hiking	2.40 Miles	1,800 AEG

Hiking	2.40 Miles	2 Hrs	1.20 mph
	1,800 ft AEG

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Went to Kelsey Spring then down to Babe's Hole and back this morning. Beautiful hiking weather, and a good workout. Hiking time does not include time spent in Tibber-mode, which added another couple of hours! I'm not sure of the mileage--I'm going by the Flagstaff Hikes book 'cause my GPS didn't seem real accurate today. Despite the steep canyon, my SPOT worked well. The trail is steep in places, kind of like Maxwell trail. I spent time doing some trail work--removing those ankle-rolling rocks and some larger ones, but much more needs to be done. The next person out should bring clippers to cut back the locust on the trail. Kelsey Spring is flowing at less than a pint a minute; Babe's Spring is really putting out the water--probably close to 2 quarts a minute. I wouldn't drink directly from either--Kelsey is under alot of deadfall and Babe is captured in a rock and concrete box before flowing out.

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Silver-spotted Skipper Spring Azure Butterfly Western Tanager

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Babes Hole Spring

Wildflowers Observation Moderate

Babes Hole Spring

Quart per minute

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Allergic to cities.

Nov 27 2008

PhredG

Triplogs 2

72 male

Joined Nov 27 2008
Phoenix, AZ

Flagstaff, AZ

Backpack		Nov 27 2008
		PhredG • Triplogs 2

Backpack	16.00 Miles	1,800 AEG

Backpack	16.00 Miles	3 Days
	1,800 ft AEG

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Went down the Kelsey Trail then boulder hopped about 5 miles to climb up to winter Cabin. This is the trail Anna hurt her knee on. Tough climb out of the canyon but beautiful.

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1 archive

May 29 2008

jzeller71

Triplogs 7

47
Joined Oct 20 2004
fagstaff,az