Chiva Falls 5/12/07 (east Tucson area)

[MaddBaggins]

Any interest in running Chiva falls and maybe the upper loop on 5-12?
Meet at the far east Tanque Verde Circle K
11271 East Tanque Verde
8am-ish departure
CB 7

Hope to see a couple people there.

 

[goodtimes]

I was thinking about running something this weekend, but I realized today that I double booked June 9/10....so some of the work got pushed up to this weekend. Have fun, I'll be bending tube and burning metal....

 

[MaddBaggins]

Bueller...

 

[MaddBaggins]

{crickets chirping}...

C'mon, don't let me wheel all by my onesy's!

 

[erin]

How long does this trail take to run? Any requirements?

 

[MaddBaggins]

It can be run to the falls and back in a few hours with a lunch break. If we take time to play on some obstacles it's a half day.
If you're a decent driver, most stock 4 wheel drives can make it with a few scrapes (there's bypasses). High clearance helps a lot and if you want to hit some of the obstacles, lockers and armor are good.
I see bone-stock Suzuki Sammies all the way in there quite often.

So IMO, depending on the line the trail can be a mild 3 or you can make it a 4.

 

[erin]

Yeah, thats going to take more time than I have, but it sounds like a good trail, have to do it another time. Thanks

 

[goodtimes]

So IMO, depending on the line the trail can be a mild 3 or you can make it a 4.

Alvin, I don't think I would rate it that difficult. Taking the easiest line through the trail (which is how trails are generally rated), I would give it a 2.0, maybe a 2.5 tops. Certainly there are optional obstacles on the trail which can increase the difficulty significantly. To qualify that, several years ago I led a friend in a stock 85 toyota pickup back to the falls. After crossing tanque verde canyon ("the groves") we discovered one of the hubs was not working...thus he was in 2wd the whole time. He finished the trail in 2wd. The only places he had trouble was the hill at the start of 4405A (leading down to the falls--we were concerned about how loose the hill was, so he parked at the top), and when we left, 3 feathers gave him some trouble. The light was fading, so we didn't try very hard...just hooked up a strap and pulled him over the last ledge (easiest route up).

No matter how you look at it, it is a fun trail, close to home. A great rookie trail because it has so many optional lines for people to experiment on, yet a pretty easy primary route so people aren't committed to the harder lines.

 

[MaddBaggins]

Well, I'll check back later, but if no-one posts up, don't count on me at 8am. I'll probably go earlier or in the evening with some other guys.

 

[MaddBaggins]

I did end up making it out, but forgot my camera. I went with another guy in a lifted FJ cruiser. He posted some cool shots over here http://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=154802 Good Time! :safari-rig: