Pole Knoll

Weather:  79º, overcast

About this Hike:  Visiting Pole Knoll has been on the long list since at least 2018. Back then I had the intelligent idea that this could be a fun wintertime snowshoeing trip. Back in 2018 I still lived in Phoenix...

Today Payson is home and the White Mountains should be a lot more accessible. After all, Payson is just the halfway point between Phoenix and White Mountains, so now I'm already halfway there, right?  Wrong. Driving to the White Mountains is still about a three-hour, arduous affair. I shudder to think what it would be like in winter when there's enough snow to go snowshoeing. 

On Memorial Weekend this year we headed to Mt. Baldy and got turned around in Heber-Overgaard due to a crash on 260. This past weekend, the exact same thing happened. In the exact same spot. It even looked like it was the same cop turning traffic around. Talk about déjà vu. At least I was well-versed in the detour through Snowflake this time around. All in all, it took close to four hours to get to the White Mountains...from Payson. 

I spent the evening at Rainbow Campground on Big Lake and then visited Pole Knoll the following morning. It's not snowshoeing weather, but I was still glad to finally visit this site. 

The weather looked ominous with low, moody clouds and plenty of humidity. Despite high rain chances, I never experienced a drop nor a rumble of thunder. 

I hiked many of the interior trails of Pole Knoll, although there are so many that one would be hard pressed to experience them all in a day. After a while they all look the same—thick conifer forest and thicker aspen forest. That's not a bad thing... The trails are well signed and trees are adorned with blue diamond markers. I'm told these are international snowshoeing markers, hence 'Pole' in the name. Some of the trails appear to be old roads. At least one is still an active road, as I learned when a Jeep came up behind me.

I took the Summit Trail to the top of the namesake knoll and then followed Viewpoint Trail. Thick forest gave way to a nice vantage gazing down into Sunrise Lake and the lodge. The slopes and Mt. Baldy were not so far away in the distance.  

I descended from Summit and picked up Pole Knoll Loop. This trail is supposed to go around the base of the knoll. On the side facing FR-112 the well-marked trail and all the blue diamonds suddenly disappeared. So did thick forest, and it was now rocky grassland with cow pies everywhere. This area made me extremely nervous. I wandered off trail on the side of the knoll while looking down at FR-112 a few hundred yards below. In fact what I was supposed to do was follow 112; the forest road becomes the trail for a short time. 

Eventually I saw a parked truck and knew I was at the other Pole Knoll Trailhead that is accessed via FR-112. I gave up on the loop trail. It was confusing to follow and ugly scenery. I followed a trail from the 112 trailhead back into the thick, beautiful forest. 

Satisfied, I weaved my way on interior trails back to the main parking area. With several picnic ramadas, this made a nice lunch spot after my hike. As I ate, I pondered how accessible Pole Knoll is in the winter. Assuming ADOT clears 260, there is still a driveway to get back to the Pole Knoll parking lot. I doubt this gets much plowing...

Regardless of the season, after all these years I'm glad to finally check Pole Knoll off the bucket list. 

Chevelon Canyon via Telephone Ridge

Weather:  75º, sun and clouds 

About this Hike:  This one ended up being better than expected. I think this past February's hike to a Chevelon Canyon overlook inspired me to research more access points to this unique rim canyon. 

The rim has gotten some much needed rain this week, and that lended to some muddy spots on the forest roads driving in. Tired of the mud, and having failed to put traction boards in my off-road recovery kit, I opted to stop where FR-180 junctions with FR-119. It's about two miles down FR-119 to the official Telephone Trailhead. For what it's worth, 119 is narrow, rocky, and has huge ruts. The ruts were full of muddy standing water, although these have clearly been problem spots for years. Previous drivers have made new paths that go around the damaged sections of 119. 

The two-mile walk being a nice warm-up, we reached the official start of Telephone Trail. I was pleasantly surprised to find the steep descent into the canyon to be on a well-maintained, easy-to-follow footpath. We took our time ensuring good footing on the steeper sections. In short time the trail leveled out a bit. Tall pines and oaks offered some shade. We reached the meadows at the bottom of Chevelon Canyon. The namesake Chevelon Creek was flowing strong in the bottom of the canyon. 

While the official trail ends soon as you reach the canyon floor, footpaths can be identified following the creek. Chevelon is a popular route for backpackers, as the number of fire rings will attest to. We went upstream a ways, marveling at the rock formations and lush forest that define this canyon. 

The hike back up went rather easily, although two more road miles awaited us back to where I had parked the truck. At the trailhead there was now parked a Chevy Trailblazer...on street tires. I'm not sure how that car got through those muddy spots on the 119 road. I may have a 4x4 truck, but I'm a big wimp when it comes to treacherous forest roads. 

Regardless, this hike afforded spectacular Chevelon Canyon views and a nice glimpse into the interior of Chevelon's ecosystem.