Analog Weekend

[SOAZ]

Enough of the fridges, the gps, the apps, the gear and the toys. We were in need of a basic car camping weekend.
I mean, the truck had only not made the commute to work 2 out of the last 10 times so what could go wrong.

So, we loaded up a cooler of ice, the Arizona Atlas/maps filled the Aux and main tanks to the brim and headed out into the night. It was Friday just before sunset so the dirt roads that are teeming with recreational shooters, UTV’s and tourists on a weekend were silent. We were thankful for that.
The short wheelbase, old school heavy duty Rancho Springs and blown shocks make for a harsh ride. Airing down was the savior in this truck.

Once we were about 40 miles of dirt roads away from town we felt better. We had made just enough distance from town to feel the calm that comes with getting away. I figured we'd use a perfect "1 truck" campsite I'd stopped at before. The hill was steep and had a couple nice stepups so we put it in low range and locked the hubs. Time for some left foot braking, spotting by the wife and a little bit of praying.

One poor picture showing the dicey bit. We made it and so we walked around and enjoyed the views before making dinner.

We brought our copy of Strangers Like Angels and allowed ourselves 2 electronic luxuries. Music via bluetooth speaker and our Spot GPS. (The 40 doesn't have a radio)

After a nice evening of sleep we woke up and started to tear down camp. We had to admit, after sleeping inside of trucks for many years having to do anything more than fold up camp chairs to get going seemed like a lot of steps. Still, it was a fun novelty to actually have to break camp.

Okay honey, I DON'T want to go off that ledge.

Made it, let's make some tracks and get off of these "big" dirt roads!!

We stopped at the old cattle scales. They still work somewhat, but per the measurements our meat isn't worth very much.

It was unseasonably warm so any chance we got to stop and put our feet in the water, we did. Thankfully it had been the wettest winter I can remember so the creeks and streams were all running strong.

Automatic gate opener...
:sombrero:

 

[SOAZ]

The hot springs. We made it.
As you walk along you can picture the former hot springs resort in all it's grandeur.

Little remains where the actual resort was, but the hot springs themselves are still very similar to what they would have been 100 years ago.

There were a few "baloney ponies" running around so we didn't take many pics of the springs themselves. (Check earlier trip reports of mine for more pics)
The river isn't usually this high so... you gotta do it.

Not a bad spot. You can sit in the river with the snow melt water freezing your body and the Hot Springs runoff hitting your head. It's not a bad feeling.

There is some quality graffiti at the springs. The painting of what the former resort looked like is extra cool.

 

[SOAZ]

The old ranch near the springs was still inhabited until just a few short years ago so I'd always been curious what it looked like. Finally it was time to take a look.

The clear signs of folks who DIY everything and make due with less were everywhere.

After checking out the ranch we decided that we wanted a bit more remote of a spot on the river to make camp. It's not that there was other vehicle traffic out here, we'd been making first tracks on the dirt roads most of the day, it's that there is consistent traffic from across the river and the "nice" road headed to the springs.
So, we hunting around and found a spot up river to camp out.
Time for another jump in the river before food, books and a fire!

Good night!

 

[DGarman]

Excellent!.....

 

[Ryanmb21]

Fantastic report, awesome that you have the land cruiser working well!

 

[SOAZ]

Excellent!.....

Fantastic report, awesome that you have the land cruiser working well!

Thanks guys, glad to have the ol truck working fairly well. Adjusted the vales again yesterday and it's running like a top.

 

[WeLikeCamping]

not seeing the images ;-(

 

[SOAZ]

Good morning!



Time to hit the road! We started putting along with no big plan except to take any side roads I hadn't over the years. I wondered if the old MT Ranch was still around so we took a nice side trail. Again, not a single vehicle track along this route either, but after a mile we came upon a high quality gate. Fresh private property and no trespassing signs made it clear. I wondered whether they visit the ranch seldomly or maybe they helicopter in and out. The road had only gotten worse over the last 10 years so it seemed like they must not be reliant on it to access the property.



Slow progress with nowhere to be.

Eventually we rolled into Horse Camp. This cabin was built before the road was along here. Used by the Red Creek ranch as an outpost to round up their cattle. Thankfully it's still in good condition and still in use.

Cowboy Bill Helm has quite a lot of history tied to him including Zane Grey and more than a couple books. Sadly, he passed on recently.

Stocked with feed and alfalfa ready for the next group of horses to arrive.

I could stay here a couple days. Plenty of fresh water, great views.

After Horse Camp we were back on roads with regular use, but thankfully we still had yet to see a single truck since hitting dirt on Friday.

Perfection looks a lot like this to me:

Every little creek provided an opportunity to stop and soak it in. Ice cold water felt great as the temps neared 90F. We carried a simple spray bottle that acted as our air conditioning. This little $1 bottle was worth it's weight in gold.

Eventually we hit Bloody Basin road, to Cave Creek/7Springs and the traffic hit like a ton of bricks. UTV's going sideways around turns, dirt bikes, mountain bikers and tourists in rental cars. They all have a right to be out enjoying this wonderful world, but going from 0 to traffic was quite a shock to the system. After passing and getting passed dodging people and just trying to get through it we turned off on a little known side track just before we hit pavement. It was the final quiet reprieve from civilization. We decided to use our "backup" compressor to air up the tires to make sure it was up to the task in the event it was ever needed. Heck, it was the first time out of the package for this one. (I carry one of these in each vehicle as a last resort)
We sat in the creek, not wanting to go back. We made it last as long as we could until we relented and rejoined society.
Until next weekend.

 

[WeLikeCamping]

Bloody basin pics are fine, as is the Sharlot Hall pics, the rest though:

 

[twopoint6khz]

Looks like you're trying to link from a Google pics account and the pictures aren't public?

 

[Kiriesh]

Sounds like an interesting report but another confirmation, I can't see the pictures either.

 

[Kiriesh]

Post one fixed... I think.

Yup, great pics of a great looking FJ, all fixed! :wings:

 

[unkamonkey]

Some of the pictures came up after the 2n't attempt, or was it the third try? All in all, a nice trip. I have a couple friends with LCs from that era. Both are green, Good to see some of the old iron out on a trail.

 

[1leglance]

Oh I am going to have to bride some info out of you for this run....I think I might have been to some of the area you traveled but not all and I for sure want to take the wife on a weekend run like this.
Thanks for the post and some of the pics still not showing...but I know your pics always rock so I am not worried

 

[SOAZ]

What a cluster! Sorry guys.
I'm going through and manually uploading a bunch of them now. When in doubt, go low tech.

Lance, for sure, shoot me an email. It's a great loop with VERY little travel once you get far enough up north.