12/4/16: Another adventure in glorious AZ. 51 weeks ago my buddies and I wanted to go to the Verde Hot Springs. So we hop in my friends brand new 4runner and go up to Camp Verde and get to the road and...it's closed. I guess they close it after the first snowfall because they don't want city slickers in 2wds getting stuck/crashing out there on those roads.
Screw it I say, lets see if we can find a back way in from the south side of the river. So we look at Google Maps and see that Dugas road does indeed end at the hot springs but that it's a long road and totally unknown to us. So we head out and the going was slow because at the top of the plateu that is Pine Mtn there is a giant boulder field. My friend's stock 4runner was sliding all over the place on its all season tires because there was a lot of mud. We push on and get to the end of the plateau and begining of the descent down Pine Mtn. The cliff road had a good amount of snow on it and because of how much we were sliding on the easier section, and not knowing when the next spot to turn around might be, we decided to call it quits and head home in defeat.
I didn't have a Montero back then, I got my first one a few weeks after that trip, and that failed attempt of reaching the hot springs has been haunting me ever since. My friends are tired of my talking about Dugas Rd.
With the first good snowfall coming any day now, I decide we need to get this done now. Well, both my friends chicken out with their vehicles so I decide to break the first rule of 4x4ing and go at it with just 1 vehicle. So we set off at around 9:30am from Phoenix and got to Dugas around 11am. About 2 miles in we come across a dog on the road. At first we thought it was a coyote but then we saw its tag sparkling in the sun. So we stop, get it in the truck, and omg did it stink. It smelt like it had been rolling around in dead animals. We drive around asking campers and ranch owners about the dog and eventually manage to get through to the dog's owner by the phone number listed on the tag. She is about 2 miles away from us cutting firewood and the dog just suddenly ran off. So we backtrack and reunite the dog with her family. Yes, some good karma built up!
So now it's around noon and we're off! Heading up through the boulder field Betty is having zero issues, I'm not even getting out to pick a line, just point and drive and she crawls over anything. But at the same time, I keep remarking at how impressed I am that a stock 4runner did this trail with all season tires in the mud and snow. Unlike 51 weeks ago, our route is clear of mud and snow this time for the most part. There was just a tiny bit at the top of mountain on the shady side where we had to turn around last time.
We press on, and start the steep descent down the mountain. I finally take it out of 4H Unlocked and put it into 4L, mostly just to help save my brakes on the miles of descent. Shortly after the summit, there is a pretty rocky and serious section of cliff trail. My buddy had to actually get out of the car to spot me and we made it through first try though I did bump the rock sliders a couple times ever so slightly (christening the new sliders like a badge of honor). That section would have been tough with a stock 4wd and some undercarriage damage is certainly possible if you're not careful.
Then a few minutes later, near end of the ridge, we come up to a 1980s Nissan compact car that had rolled off the side. No idea why it is there but someone must have dragged it there because there is 0% chance that it drove there under it's own power over like 10 miles of boulders and sharp rocks.
A few more miles and about an hour later we get to the Hot Springs! Its about 3:30pm now and unfortunately we weren't able to stay to long, which is a shame because we had the place all to ourselves (probably because the North side road is closed and even if it wasn't, no one is willing to cross the cold river in December). So, we enjoy a soak and get back on the road at around 4:30pm. Not wanting to crawl up the narrow cliff road of Pine Mtn in the soon to be dark, I elect to roll the dice and take an unknown route that I scoped out online the day before. It looked longer but flatter, wider, and smoother.
So we head south instead of west and the first 20-30 miles are rocky but not boulder filled, and there isn't as much of an incline or decline so I was able to go around 10-15mph instead of the 5mph that I would probably have been doing up the ridge face. Then at around 6:30pm the road smooths out totally when you reach Bloody Basin road and for the last 1.5hours you can go like 30-40mph.
All in all, it was an awesome day. Betty continues to impress, not only in her offroadability but also in comfort and most importantly, reliability. This is the 3rd time I've driven her for over 6 hours in a single day and she hasn't missed a beat. She was only for nearly 12 hours today and for 10 hours we didn't see another soul. It's kind of crazy to think about, that in a state of 9 million people, around 5 million of which living within 100 miles of these trails, and during hunting season, no one else was out there.
Some cool things about this trip:
1. Dugas Rd Conquered, now let us never speak of it again.
2. Dog rescued.
3. Saw lots of animals: a family of Javelinas, 1 owl, 1 grey fox (first time, super rare), 5 cows, 1 squirrel, 2 rabbits, 1 young buck.
4. Got to soak in the hot springs on a nice cool December evening.
5. Tested out my new in car offroad navigation system which I will do a separate post about soon with all the details so stay tuned on that.
6. Beer
7. Old abandoned Nissan car.
8. No crowds out on the trail.
