theksmith
Explorer
yesterday took the Jeep for a little drive. all 2wd, a couple sections needed high-clearance, but most was just forest road.
i took the 87 north past Payson/Pine/Strawberry/Clints Well and turned off just past the Blue Ridge Reservoir area to take some rough back roads to the Moqui Lookout Tower - one of the few manned fire lookout towers still around. you can actually go up and chat with the forest ranger on duty most of the time (except when windy or storming).
from there i meandered around some other little offshoot roads from FR 95, connected to FR 96 eventually, then to FR 137 and down to the Rim Road (FR 300) and back to the 87 and back to Phoenix.
there are a nearly endless amount of forest roads to see north of the Rim Road, and most connect back down to it eventually. it's a great place to explore and camp with even a 2wd truck, and many roads are even car accessible. most is relatively arid country with lots of tall pines, though some areas have more undergrowth and small deciduous trees. there's some areas with a lot of Fir trees too, and even a few small Aspen groves down near the Rim Road.
the trip was about 7 hours and 200 miles total trip. only took a few pics:
i'll link to the Spot Adventure Map later, their site isn't working with "create adventure" feature right now.
i took the 87 north past Payson/Pine/Strawberry/Clints Well and turned off just past the Blue Ridge Reservoir area to take some rough back roads to the Moqui Lookout Tower - one of the few manned fire lookout towers still around. you can actually go up and chat with the forest ranger on duty most of the time (except when windy or storming).
from there i meandered around some other little offshoot roads from FR 95, connected to FR 96 eventually, then to FR 137 and down to the Rim Road (FR 300) and back to the 87 and back to Phoenix.
there are a nearly endless amount of forest roads to see north of the Rim Road, and most connect back down to it eventually. it's a great place to explore and camp with even a 2wd truck, and many roads are even car accessible. most is relatively arid country with lots of tall pines, though some areas have more undergrowth and small deciduous trees. there's some areas with a lot of Fir trees too, and even a few small Aspen groves down near the Rim Road.
the trip was about 7 hours and 200 miles total trip. only took a few pics:
i'll link to the Spot Adventure Map later, their site isn't working with "create adventure" feature right now.