Southwest by Southwest Arizona - 2022 Year-End Trip

[DVD]

The problem with sticking with a hobby for a number of years is that it gets difficult to find "new and different." We wanted to do some exploring and camping for the week after Christmas, but we have already done most of the trails and nearby destinations. Death Valley and KofA: been there, done that, multiple times. El Camino del Diablo, Mojave Trail, Big Bend, Anza Borrego: check, check, check, check.

But the good news about these destinations is that no matter how many times you've been there, you can easily find "new and different." Also, I think we stick with this hobby because we enjoy the solitude and natural beauty, and those qualities remain whether it's the first time or 100th time to a specific area. Based primarily on the weather forecast, we set our sights for southwest Arizona, exploring along the Colorado River and then heading into KofA Wilderness Refuge.

We hit paydirt on our first day, with one of the best campsites ever.

First campsite - on the CA side of the Colorado River a bit upstream from Yuma​

I didn't do much research for this trip, but for the first night, I used Google Earth and noted more potential sites on the CA side of the river. I was questioning that decision as we passed an area with 100s of "snowbird" RVs on public land, but continuing north on a 4WD trail, we left the crowds behind and came to some great camping spots.

Weird lunar landscape then lush wetlands right next to the river


Wife and dog enjoying the morning - I didn't even notice the reflection when I took the photo


Beautiful sunrise​

The beauty and tranquility of this site - enjoying good coffee, watching teeming water fowl - set the pattern for the trip: leisurely mornings breaking camp and enjoying the moment rather than stressing about the day's plans and destination.

Enjoying a cup of joe and getting input from the dog for planning the day's travels​

We eventually packed up and retraced our route to cross the river and back into AZ at the Imperial Dam bridge. We soon passed by the US Army Yuma Proving Grounds and did some sightseeing.

A nice trio of machines: our son's Taco, our LR3, Uncle Sam's Apache


Cool detail on this WW II - era Sherman tank: note the bullet pockmarks​

Continuing north along the Colorado River, we soon hit dirt again on the Red Cloud Mine Trail. The trail was pretty moderate but with interesting sights.

The first part of the trail goes through the Proving Grounds - Interesting dance-party icon!


You never know you'll find once you get off the beaten path​

Red Cloud Trail continues to Clip Wash Trail. Unfortunately, I got onto a parallel, more difficult trail with some serious wheeling. Our son got his Tacoma fairly recently and just finished the Icon lift/suspension kit, so this was a good shakedown. Both vehicles did great.

Some serious "wheeling" heading north along the Colorado on the AZ side​

Still to come: north the Quartzsite then into KofA.

 

[altaboy]

Um, why can't I see the pics? all i see is a grey circular spot with a horizontal line running through it and a grey circle surrounding it.

 

[DVD]

Um, why can't I see the pics?

Darn, that kind of negates the effort to put a trip report together. I replaced the (quicker and easier) photo links with uploaded photos. I'm guessing some privacy setting negated the photo URL references. Hope the photos show now.

 

[toddz69]

Thanks for the report and beautiful photographs!

Todd Z.

 

[Peneumbra2]

I'm hoping you've gotten to spend some time in Ajo. A great little town (moreso in winter than summer) with interesting people and good coffee, AND it's just a short drive from Why!
(Why not?)

 

[DVD]

I'm hoping you've gotten to spend some time in Ajo.

Hi, not on this trip, but on others. Agreed, Ajo is a great little town. We're heading through Ajo and Why on the way to Peurto Penasco next month!

 

[DVD]

Got a tranche of photos to continue with this.

Just like they always do, the bad trails just got worse. We handled the rocks OK, but some serious washouts convinced us to turn aound and retrace our steps to Red Cloud Mine and then take the intended route - Clip Wash Trail. This turned into a case of "out of the fire and into the frying pan." Clip Wash is a challenging trail in itself. But it was passable, and we eventually got to our intended camp destination, once again along the Colorado River. Unfortunately, the riverfront was within the Cibola Wildlife Refuge, with no camping allowed. It was getting late in the day, so we backtracked a little bit to BLM land and made a nice campsite.

Campsite with distant view of Colorado River​

Keeping with the theme of following the Colorado River, the next day we proceeded north along the river to Ehrenburg. It was pretty cool that we could travel between Yuma and Ehrenburg without hitting pavement, but from here north the trails were well graded and the river was less "wild," with defined banks. But it was scenic and interesting all the same.

Easier trails along the river once we got to Cibola Wildlife Refuge​

As desert denizens, we enjoyed seeing the flowing water as we headed upstream on the mighty Colorado.​

Bridge into California​

We made good time on the graded trails along the river and got into Quarzsite around noon. By now, we had been on the dusty trail for a few days, so we found a laundrymat with shower facilities. Quarzsite has a big "boondocker" population in the winter, so they are set up for people coming in from camping and needing a shower.

Clean and ready for new adventures, we headed in KofA Wildlife Refuge for the 2nd part of the adventure.

Entering KofA - The mountains had a cloud hat​

More KofA to come....

 

[DVD]

Apologies for stringing this out. On previous posts, I'd reference shared images on Google photos, but that's not working. Image uploads are working, but now I'm running into upload limitations. Gonna finish it tonight.

My wife and I had a couple trips through KofA under our belts, so we tried to hit some new areas to us. First we took MS&T trail to where it ends on the top of a hill. Nice view, but too exposed for camping, so we meandered toward Jasper Springs and found a blue-ribbon campsite (near the spring, but outside the 1/4 mile non-permitted camping restriction).

Beautiful campsite, just off the trail


Dramatic clouds and beautiful sunset!


This is why we do this


The dog likes hanging out around the fire with the humans, but prefers to do so laying on his memory foam mattress and snuggled into an old sleeping bag​

We were greeted with another beautiful day in KofA - clear skies and moderate temps. I'm not sure if this was one of the best campsites ever, or if the great weather and company made it seem that way. But "perception is reality" so it was one of the best ever!

Dual Jet Boils and Aero-Presses - don't want a logjam when it comes to morning coffee


Love the morning light​

After breakfast and breaking camp, we took an extended hike around the Jasper Spring area. Then it was back into the vehicles for more wheeling and new sights. The theme for the day was checking out old cabins in KofA. We continued on Jasper Spring trail to the KofA cabin.

There are a handful of cabins in KofA that are marginally kept up. They all have wooden cots and a woodburner and intrepid travellers can stay in them on a first-come basis.

Interesting history


Interesting smells, I'm sure​

After KofA cabin, we were back on the bouncy trail, headed towards Wilbanks cabin, our semi-intended stop for the day. But there were many interesting sights and adventures along the way.

Owl Head mountain - see the eyes?​

One more reply upload should do it​

 

[DVD]

I didn't bring my book of trail ratings on this trip, and thus far, we ended up taking a lot of more challenging trails. In retrospect, I think this was largely due to the fact that we wanted to explore places we hadn't been, and on previous trips, we tended more toward the 3-rated trails over the 5s. On this trip, with blissful ignorance of trail ratings, we ended up on more challenging trails.

Bighorn Pass Trail has some challenging bits​

With the slow going, it was getting late when we finally arrived at Wilbanks cabin. The cabin was marginal for staying in overnight (lots of holes and mouse droppings), but we enjoyed getting out and exploring the vicinity.

Interesting history


Cool construction detail: Octillo branches for the patio roof


Not very tight against the elements - we decided against staying here​

On a previous trip, we had stayed at Hoodoo cabin, which was about 45 min down the trail (fun to go fast on sandy wash trail until you come around a corner and there's a big boulder), so we decided to extend our day's travels and check out Hoodoo cabin. Unfortunately, as we crested the hill to get a view of the cabin, we saw somebody unloading his truck - missed it by that much. Oh well, another night in the tents, with an open fire and the endless heavens above is a fine alternative.

Another great dispersed campsite​

We were checking NOAA weather periodically this trip, keeping tabs on a big storm headed our way. This night, the 24 hour forecast called for the storm moving in the following night, with significant rain and wind gusts of 40-50 mph. We were planning to camp the night of the storm, but we reconsidered. Our big SUV tent would need the full guy-line treatment, and I wasn't looking forward to breaking camp in the rain and muck and then having to dry everything when we got home. So we decided to take another leisurely morning and then go back a few miles to Hoodoo cabin. If it was empty, we'd stay there and do some nearby hiking and exploring. If not, we could still have a nice, last day in KofA and be home by evening - a day early.

Different mood this morning as fog rolled in overnight​

After a couple cups of coffee and morning oblations, we packed up and headed to Hoodoo cabin to see if we'd continue our adventure beyond the day. The cabin was still occupied, but as we turned around and said hi to person staying there, my wife asked if he would mind if we looked around. Our son had never been there, and it is a cool place. He was a gracious host, and we spent a few minutes chatting and looking. It had been 8 or 9 years since we stayed there, and it was good to see that the place is probably in better shape now.

Interesting history


Wood burner and a roof would certainly be appreciated with the storm coming


Cool feature (pun intended) with pulley system for the wall panels​

With Hoodoo cabin behind us, we had the rest of the day to explore KofA and a nice house to come home to. We took Red Raven trail to Hovatter on our way out. Along the way, the GPX indicated a point of interest, so we stopped to let the dog stretch his legs and sniff new things. It turned out to be an old dam, probably from ranching days.

Not very big dam, but you can see the cement at the end of the ravine​

 

[DVD]

From there, the next stop was Hovatter home location. We had been here before, but it is such an interesting place with a sad history. The family built a home here and the wife was a botanist by hobby. The home burnt down and I recall that a daughter died from burns. Yet the many little touches remain to show their love for the place.

Semi-circular driveway defined by alternating cacti and octillo plants


Landscaping with stacked rocks defining the circular driveway


Father and daughter are buried on the hill above the house site​

In spite of the sadness, I like to think there are also good memories from when the family lived here, as evidenced by their love of the land.

There were still some bumpy trails and interested sights, but after the Hovatter stop, we set our sights to home and the end of a great trip!

Airing up before getting onto pavement - the symbolic end of the adventure​

 

[toddz69]

Love your report and the pictures!

Todd Z.

 

[EX121]

Thanks for the report. I now have a goal to see the cabins in KOFA.

 

[texasnielsen]

DVD-
Thanks for taking the time to share your adventures. The photos were a great reminder why so many of us maintain this “hobby” ?

 

[dierkz]

Beautiful dramatic skies and great catch of the reflections!