Pyeatt Draw Trail (AZ) Trip report

[goodtimes]

Fun day, long drive home, dog puked when the jeep was 1/2 way in the garage....literally. Glad I could be of so much amusement for Scott on the way out from the trail....I wasn't laughing too much as the jeep was heading down the road sideways with the ExWest taco bearing down on me, nor was I laughing when the passenger side tires started biting into the road surface making me wonder if I wasn't going to pull a John*....but all was good once the dust settled enough for me to figure out which way the road was......




* John \ jon \ v, 1. The act of damaging ones vehicle on a smooth, flat section of roadway after successfully negotiating a difficult off road obstacle without incurring any damage on said obstacle.




Few pics of the usual suspects are below.

1: Scott somewhere up front.
2: John before he found out he bent that control arm....
3: Ed showing everyone how it is *supposed* to be done
4: Marks view while he was eating lunch
5: Dammit....second time I have been wheeling with him, and can't remember his name!
6: Wanna guess what is going through his mind about now?????
7: Spike showing John just how easy it really is to get a 80 up that obstacle....

 

[BajaTaco]

What a fantastic trip. Thanks to everyone for a great time! This was my first visit to this trail and it is definitely a little treasure in the northern part of AZ.

 

[DaktariEd]

It was a great trip...thanks for letting me in at the #10 spot!
Now this was about as much rock crawling as I would do on a regular basis.
According to my GPS, we covered 1.4 miles in what...5 hours? :xxrotflma
Thanks a million to everyone who went. A great bunch of folks!
Photos to follow...and if I can figure how to upload a video, you can see Brian crawling up that last obstacle...

Ed

 

[MaddBaggins]

Sorry I missed this trip. I still haven't unpacked my rig. I was really looking forward to a family trip. which is pretty rare for us. My wife told us to go without her, but it wasn't right, so I worked on my house instead.

Mother in law is still in the hospital, pneumonia and her kidneys aren't functioning properly. So wifey has been back an forth to the hospital all weekend and I've been at home with Zoe.

For those who don't know me, my MIL lives with us and has for the better part of the 12 years my wife and I have been together. At first it was just convenient, but as time went by she needed our help. When we got married in 2000, we went on our own for 2 years. But it became obvious that her mom couldn't take care of herself physically or financially, so we asked to her move in with us again and we bought a fixer-upper house cheap. A few years ago, MIL had some real problems and ended up in the hospital for almost 3 months. After that we convinced her to give up her car. That hurt, it was her last mode of independence, but she agreed it was for her safety and the safety of others on the road. So, MIL doesn't need constant care, but she does need help from time to time, and she needs to be reminded of things frequently.
Now because of MIL and our daughter, my wife and I work alot of opposing schedules in order to have someone around the house most of the time. So weekend escapes are rare as a family. Usually it's just me and my daughter.

Anyway, I just wanted to give you all the lowdown on why we missed this trip and a little glimpse into the life of Alvin. Yes from time to time, the MIL is a real PITA, but she's family and I love her. That's my story.

 

[crawler#976]

great trip!

Had a good time - enjoyed meeting everyone!

Hardest part of the trip was the drive over and back...the beater did OK with the exception of the check engine light coming on for a couple hours after climbing from Camp Verde to Pine on Hyw 260. Knocked off zerk fittings on the left and right front spring hanger bolts and took a little rust off the pinion flange and yoke on the front d'shaft.

Didn't get over the ledge at the "Shaft Eater" - tried it once, backed off, and for once stuck my keys in my pocket to avoid taking any damage.

I was very impressed to see so many very nice vehicles being used for some difficult wheelin'. This was the first time I've seen how capable some of what I previously considered Luxo-Utes can be. Brian's Land Rover was a real eye opener! Ed's beautiful old FJ-40 also did very well.

As usual Seth and Mr. B Taco made it all look easy. Didn't get to see a lot of the front group from my vantage point at the tail with the exception of Scott's masterfull spotting of his Bro' in-law's stock TJ thru a fun obstical.

Brian did the big ledge - scared the crap outta me while I was under the ledge trying to get an odd pic. As I crawled under the overhang he started to air down - I thought I'd disturbed a rattler back in the crack...damn near rolled into the water :smilies27

Didn't get too many pic's - and the ones I did are seriously over exposed. Sometimes ya gotta wonder about the point and shoot cameras...

The trip home offered the opportunity to stay in touch with Chris via simplex 2M comms. They got a good jump on me leaving, and it only got wider as we headed back to Prescott. I believe the furthest contact was from the hills east of Dewey, AZ to Prescott Valley, AZ - and it was still clear as a bell.

Here's a few of the pic's...my favorite one is Spike's guest reading Toyota Owners Mag while stuck on a ledge :bowdown:

Mark

 

[Scott Brady]

Great trail, though not quite the 4.0 rating it receives (with the exception of the last obstacle, which is a 4.5). I had a great time driving the trail and spoting Jared (my bro-in-law) through in his stock Jeep. It is amazing what that Jeep can do.

Great group of people.

Spike,

Great driver, cool 80, great meeting you!


Brian,

Thanks for driving the last ledge and letting me spot you up it. I had a blast.

And thanks for drifting the Jeep around a turn sideways at 30 mph and for staying on all fours at the end of it. The look on Cherokee's and your face was priceless. :Wow1: :Wow1:

 

[-Spike-]

That was an excellent run, but even better was the group we had assembled. I'm thankful to John Shotts for giving me the opportunity to make this run and meet some new faces and rigs. That's the second time he's treated me to a new group, and both were a blast.

Alvin, sorry to hear of your difficulties, I wish your MIL a speedy recovery. Family first, every time.

Rod, my ~17 year old passenger, had his first introduction to the sport of rock crawling. He had a blast. He's soon to be getting his first car, and is trying to decide whether to go with a sports car or a 4x4. Of course I'm pushing for the 4x4, and I think he may be convinced after that run. He wasn't just reading the magazine on that obstacle, he was reading it avidly while we were cruising through the wash! I think he's hooked. He was thrilled to see several of the rigs we were cruising with were pictured in the magazine- made him feel like he was among celebrities I think. Special thanks to expeditionswest (I forgot everyone's real name already )for the free magazine, and for his excellent spotting and leadership. Big thanks to everyone for a great adventure!

-Spike

 

[ShottsCruisers]

Wow....a lot of great things have been said already. Alvin (Madd Baggins) we really missed you. Kudo's to you for putting your family first.

Scott...it's always a pleasure.
Chris...it's always a pleasure.
Oh heck, I could say the same to everyone who attended. What a great group of folks!

Spike: Thanks for stepping up and leading us (again).

Thanks also for your patience in those spots where my Big Charlie Tuna was slow. This is the first trail I've run both my trucks on and felt a reasonable difference between the 80 and the 100. I learned a lot on this trail! Size matters!

I'll snag some of these pics you all posted and add them to my website. This should give the site a nice representation of all rigs.

Trip pics are here: http://shottscruisers.smugmug.com/gallery/2149437

Hopefully we'll see you out there again. THANKS FOR COMING!

 

[seth_js]

Great trip! Thanks for letting me tag along. Here's a couple more pics.

http://seth.phizz.net/adventures/pyeatt_draw_11-18-06/

 

[seth_js]

How do you pronounce Pyeatt? Pie-oot?

 

[Scott Brady]

My Bro, Jared and his stock Wrangler. Just disconnect the swaybar and go

Ed, and his very cool FJ40. Great job driving Ed!

Mark's Uber-Crawler, making it look easy

Coolest truck on the trip (certainly with the most character), Spikes 80

 

[ShottsCruisers]

Awesome pics! Thanks for posting.

I believe it's PIE-ETT

 

[MaddBaggins]

Stop posting pics! Now I'm even more bummed about missing this. I didn't even unpack my rig until sunday afternoon. MIL is back home now and OK. Unfortunately it will be at least February before the wife and I can get a weekend off together to try for a trip again.


Great photos everyone

 

[-Spike-]

Coolest truck on the trip (certainly with the most character), Spikes 80

LOL, I don't win too many awards with the White Elephant, thanks for that!

-Spike

 

[FATZ]

Thanks for the great day, trail and spotting. :camping: