It was hot (94° F) in the valley when we left home on June 26, 2022 at 8:30 AM. Traffic was good on AZ-87 and AZ-260. After more than 2 hours of driving, we arrived at the Mogollon Rim.

It was 64° F and rain was coming. Check-in time was 2 PM, but at noon when we arrived at our Campground, there were a number of our group already setting up tents and enjoying the cool weather.

Our first hike was from our campground to the Rim. The temperature was cool and most of us hiked 4 miles. Ron and Anna hiked 8 miles. Good job, Ron and Anna.

Today we divided our group into group A and Group B. While Group A was kayaking at Woods Canyon Lake, Group B was hiking at Woods Canyon Lake. In the afternoon, Group A would be hiking and group B would be kayaking at lake.

Chuck was the leader of Group A: Chuck, John S, Mimi, Ann, John B, Norma, Anna, Ron, Kim.

Lin was the leader of group B: Lin, Carl, Lisa, June, Rudy, Michelle. We hiked counter-clockwise around the Woods Canyon Lake. It was beautiful. The cool air with blue sky and puffy clouds, we enjoyed every second around the lake. The total distance we hiked was 4 miles.

After the hike, Michelle, June and Lin were patiently waiting at shore for Mimi, Kim and Norma to return, because we were ready to kayak at lake while group A was going to hike around the Lake.

It was cold and wet last night for John S and Chuck; their tents get soaked. So after kayaking, they returned home. Lisa also returned back to Flagstaff because she did not bring enough blankets for the cold night. We had few more people to join us for this trip. They are Maggie, Alex, Rodney, Jackie, Terri, Nancy. BTW, Eileen went home after breakfast, too.

The weather was almost perfect. The forecast said there is a chance of rain in the afternoon. They were wrong. it was blue sky and very comfortable temperature. We had great day at Woods Canyon Lake.

Tonight, was potluck night, boy, did we have enough food. It was so yummy and so good and we had great AZTHC-style Buffet dinner. After dinner, Rudy set up the campfire, the party was beginning with Rudy’s guitar. What a prefect day today.

Here is the link to read Chuck’s kayaking trip report.

This morning we divided into two groups, doing two activities.

Mimi was leader of group A. They were kayaking at Willow Spring Lake: Mimi, Kim, Norma, Anna and Ron.

Rodney was leader of group B, hiking on the General Crook trail doing volunteer work. Here is the trip report from Rodney.

In the afternoon, after volunteer work with Rodney, Michelle and Lin met Mimi’s group at Willow Spring Lake, and kayaked at the lake. And Mimi, Kim, Anna and Ron hiked around Willow Spring Lake. It was a great day at the lake. The weather was perfect.

Due to my prior planned event, I had to leave early from this camping trip. Co-leaders Rodney and Mimi were in charge of this camping trip in my absence. Thanks, Rodney and Mimi. You both did great job.

Rodney was leading a hike to Dane Spring. Here is his trip report.

Last day of the trip. I am sure everyone had great time, and hate to leave such a cool and beautiful Rim. Thanks for all the safe drivers, thanks for the yummy food; thanks for the belly laughing game at campsite; thanks to Rudy for entertaining us at the campsite at the campfire ring; thanks for everyone for helping to set up and cleaning up the potluck; thanks for the wonderful trip and almost perfect weather for the hot summer. Be safe, and looking forward to coming back here in 2023.

Under partly cloudy skies, with temperatures in the mid-70s, nine adventurous Arizona Trailblazers gather near the launch ramp on Woods Canyon Lake to begin prepping our kayaks for launch.

We pose for a quick group picture and then ease our kayaks into the calm lake waters just a few minutes after 8:00 AM. This looks to be a great day for kayaking one of the most scenic of the seven Rim Lakes on Arizona’s beautiful Mogollon Rim. The plan this morning is to start kayaking around the lake in a counter-clockwise direction, closely following the shoreline.

June is normally a very dry month for most of Arizona, with our annual monsoon season typically kicking off around mid-July. But this year the weather has decided not to stay with the statistical norms. We begin seeing desert rains a full month early this year, in mid-June rather than mid-July. Rain is always welcome here in Arizona, especially in the desert. But, at the same time, we’re not any too thrilled to have it rain on our camping trips. Thus the reason for scheduling our first summer car-camping trips in June, when we rarely ever experience rainfall.

As we continue paddling along the shoreline, we occasionally see people casting their fishing lines far out into the waters and have to move further out into the lake to give them plenty of room. Running over someone’s fishing line is never a good idea and will usually result in a loud volley of outcries and occasional profanities from the offended fisherman.

Woods Canyon Lake, like all of the Rim Lakes, is surrounded by a dense forest cover of tall Ponderosa pine, Douglas fir, oak, and aspen advancing right down to the shoreline. This lake is the most accessible, most developed, and the most popular of the seven Rim Lakes that make up the Rim Lakes Recreation Area within the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest.

In less than 90 minutes we make a complete circumference around the lake and we’re all back at the launch ramp once again. Too early to rendezvous with Lin and the rest of Group B, who will be using our kayaks for the remainder of the day. So we decide to paddle over to the dam and back, which should eat up another thirty minutes or so. Dark storm clouds had begun moving across the lake earlier this morning, but it’s beginning to clear up once again. At one point we spot a bald eagle flying high overhead, probably in search of a fat trout for breakfast.

By the time we make our way back to the launch ramp, we spot Lin and a few others from Group B. At the same time an Arizona Game & Fish tanker truck starts backing down the launch ramp, and the driver gets out to check a few things before finally opening a large flush valve at the back of the tanker and releasing hundreds of small trout into the lake.

Several people, including Lin, are snapping pictures as a torrent of water and trout surges from the open tanker valve and streams into the lake. Having witnessed this process before, I’ve always wondered just how traumatic this experience is on these small lake trout and how many of them actually survive the process.