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Camping Near Knoll Lake
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Overview: This was an phenomenal camping trip!
The happy campers: John, Joanna, their children Molly and
Matthew, and their favorite uncle, yours truly.
We wisely went up on Thursday, beating the weekend crowds, and
after scouting a few prospective sites, found the perfect spot on a
panoramic point off the Rim Road.
I prefer to keep the exact location to myself, but if you spend
time scouting, you'll find a great piece of the Mogollon Rim to
claim as your own for a few days at least.
Herds of deer and elk were everywhere. Plump turkeys crossed the
road in front of the Suburban. The sunsets and sunrises were
breathtaking. And after sundown, the Milky Way, glowing
constellations, streaking satellites, and crackling campfires were
far more entertaining than HBO.
We also experienced afternoon Monsoons which soaked us to the bone,
made us laugh at our frailty, and forced us to rebuild our campsite
more than once, but we endeavored to persevere. Torrential
downpours, pea-sized hail, crashing lightning, nothing would taint
this much-needed respite in the high country.
Note: It's best to experience these storms from the safety
of your vehicle.
We spent Friday morning fishing at Knoll Lake, but I didn't fare so
well. Although, a woman down shore caught a few rainbow trout by
floating Power Bait off the bottom.
To keep the children occupied, John and I put a hook, line and
salmon eggs on a stick, which Molly and Matthew used to catch more
than 30 crawdads. They were laughing and having a ball a my
expense. "You caught anything yet uncle Cody," they asked? Juvenile
delinquents!
On Sunday, we did some family friendly mountain biking off FR 147
near the junction with SR 87 near Clint's Well. The Forest Roads in
this area are well-graveled with few steep grades. Molly and
Matthew have training wheels on their bikes and this area is
perfect for children or novice mountain bikers.
John and I rode with the children for a while, then did a fun, 4
mile ride down FR 612. Forest Road 147 can be reached off the Rim
Road at the Potato Lake turn off, or off SR 87 roughly 2 miles
south of Clint's Well (Long Valley).
After mountain biking, we lunched at the restaurant in Clint's Well
(the chicken wings were great).
A fantastic weekend!
Contacts
Tonto National Forest
Payson Ranger District: 928-474-7900
www.fs.fed.us/r3/tonto
Map
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here for printable map and direction page.
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