goodtimes
Expedition Poseur
Since it is starting to warm up in S. Arizona, three of us decided to visit one of the more scenic challenging trails that is still open in S. Arizona. The road to the trail is pretty easy, which leads to heavy use. Unfortunately, this brings in the "hold my bud light and watch this" croud...so the damage at the cabins continues to disgust me. On my first visit to Arizona back in '01 or '02, these cabins had intact windows, doors, etc. Now they are completely destroyed, and it looks like people are literally tearing them apart for fire wood. At this rate, it may not be long before the area is shut down completely. As I understand it, this is private land, and the owners aren't happy.
Anyway...the trail itself is not getting any easier. The rock gardens below the mill are getting filled in with dirt/rocks that are flowing down the wash....but in an interesting exchange, the movement of dirt/rocks is exposing some new challenges farther up the trail. The result is a almost "rubicon-esque" experience (on a much shorter scale). Rather than some fun challenges along a trail, the trail itself is becoming a non-stop challenge. You have to be careful in picking your line through an obstacle, because your exit line from obstacle A becomes your approach line for obstacle B....which forces you to take some harder lines just to get yourself set up for the next challenge.
3 years ago, I would not given a second thought to taking a stock high clearance 4X4 through this trail. After yesterday, I simply would not do it. At a minimum, sliders and one locker should probably be considered mandatory. Also, good break over and departure angles are a major help, as is a tight turning radius. Even with Jeep wranglers, we had a couple of three point turns. Sure, you could probably do it with less with an experienced driver...but it will be a long day on the trail. We had 3 TJ's (all with 4:1 t'cases and all were locked at both ends), we strapped one jeep, winched another, stacked (and unstacked) rocks, and generally had to do a little work to get through.
As always, the view from the top was simply spectacular, despite being hazy and the sun not making an apperance until the end of the trail. We all had a great time, and everyone drove home (actually, Darin is still driving home.....we still don't know why he calles texas home....the commute is hell!)
OK, enough typing, here are a few pics...
Anyway...the trail itself is not getting any easier. The rock gardens below the mill are getting filled in with dirt/rocks that are flowing down the wash....but in an interesting exchange, the movement of dirt/rocks is exposing some new challenges farther up the trail. The result is a almost "rubicon-esque" experience (on a much shorter scale). Rather than some fun challenges along a trail, the trail itself is becoming a non-stop challenge. You have to be careful in picking your line through an obstacle, because your exit line from obstacle A becomes your approach line for obstacle B....which forces you to take some harder lines just to get yourself set up for the next challenge.
3 years ago, I would not given a second thought to taking a stock high clearance 4X4 through this trail. After yesterday, I simply would not do it. At a minimum, sliders and one locker should probably be considered mandatory. Also, good break over and departure angles are a major help, as is a tight turning radius. Even with Jeep wranglers, we had a couple of three point turns. Sure, you could probably do it with less with an experienced driver...but it will be a long day on the trail. We had 3 TJ's (all with 4:1 t'cases and all were locked at both ends), we strapped one jeep, winched another, stacked (and unstacked) rocks, and generally had to do a little work to get through.
As always, the view from the top was simply spectacular, despite being hazy and the sun not making an apperance until the end of the trail. We all had a great time, and everyone drove home (actually, Darin is still driving home.....we still don't know why he calles texas home....the commute is hell!)
OK, enough typing, here are a few pics...
