4x4Wire's TrailTalk Forums: OT: AZ BOARD

After clearing my head of the cobwebs from getting back to work and catching up on the sleep I sacrificed for the love of the campfire, I decided to delve a little deeper into the adventure of last weekend's run.

I met up with BottomFeeder and his dog Scooter at their house in Scottsdale, accompanied them to the grocery store, and we hit the road for real about 7:30 on Friday evening. Our biggest surprise of the evening came when we hit what used to be the gas station at Florence Junction, east of the Phoenix area about an hour out of the center of town. Apparently, the highway realignment took them out of business, as the gas pumps were removed and the store was dark. So we proceeded south to Florence, where the nearest gas station to the jump-off point was only about a mile south of the turn. This station, it should be noted, still sports free air, and any return trip through this area by me will get my business. Because it was so close to the dirt, we decided to air down at this point. Note to self, do not pick up hitch hikers, as the large state prison is right across the street.

We decided to access our destination via the Box Canyon trail's south entrance, entailing a short drive on a washboard road past some farms that depend on Gila River irrigation water. The straighaways allowed Mr. Feeder to fine-tune the aim on his 4 KC lights. Those things are mighty bright, and I thought better of driving in front of him at this point. Around 10 p.m., I'd guess, we arrived at our destination, the Martinez Cabins, where we set up our camp in somewhat windy, but very mild weather. When I camped there last year at the same time with Lloyd, Justice and Pedro, it was probably 20 degrees colder, so we really lucked out. Here's a couple of pictures of the cabins, which were lived in until 1951:

Apparently the area was a mining hotbed starting around the 1880's; mines of various sizes dot the surrounding hills in all directions, and minor claims still exist today.

EricD and the lovely and talented Jill showed up to camp later on in the evening, and we all enjoyed Mr. Feeder's fire-making prowess until the wee hours. I had to sleep in my tent, because I was the only one with a SWB, and I don't fit in the back of my vehicle. I make up for that by packing an amazing array of goodies to make life easier, and dare I say, more comfortable.

The next morning, not knowing that Monte3's daughter had ingested a penny and he wouldn't be along any time, we watched BottomFeeder's front sway bar get removed with EricD's help, and compared underhood oddities of the Type-R with normal vehicles (it is somewhat cobbled together). After reloading some of the things back into our trucks, we set off to Woodpecker Mine trail, about an hour away. I am constanly impressed with the general behavior of fellow AZ outdoors-types. I was again able to leave my things in plain sight while being away from them for hours without anyone taking anything from what proves to be a busy area for recreation during the day.

The Charles Wells guide book says that the Woodpecker Mine trail is "Difficult...large bolders and solid rock obstacles...narrow rock openings...lockers and very high ground clearance required...route finding complex along exit route." In fact, I was 'fired' over the radio for blowing a turn and leading us the wrong way after the difficult sections had passed.

Here are some pictures of what we did. The first one shows the 'Replace-A-Raider' clearing an early obstacle. It's a warm-up:

Next up is EricD in the Trooper. This guy is good, and nothing seems to faze him or Jill:

This shot shows BottomFeeder's LWB carefully negotiating another rock waterfall, Wheel placement is important to avoid body damage on the rocker areas, as none of us wear sliders - yet:

The Scooter shot. I started calling him Scootero. Mr. Feeder has great knowledge of his dog and takes good care of him. The dog also has great knowledge of 'Feeder and takes good care of him.

I picked this shot to show that, even though the camera tends to flatten things out, the entire trail was rocky, with one obstacle after another. Turning around really isn't an option, as getting out would be just as daunting as going forward. We would have been there all day if we had taken a picture every time we found something to climb or pose on.

In this shot, as EricD makes his approach, he has to not only get over the obstacle, but has to mind the side clearance to avoid damage that could even be reaching the top of the roof:

BottomFeeder has to negotiate potential lethal rocker wrecker rocks. His truck was the first LWB Montero I wheeled with that had 33's on wheels with the proper backspacing that keeps him from rubbing his truck's frame or body at any angle. After seeing him tackle Sibley Mansion's trail without any wheelspin or drama, I knew I had to get some, too!

The Type-R leads the way and tries to articulate. That's all it's got, folks:

Same obstacle, different camera angle, longer wheelbase. I can't understand why the dog was not allowed to drive. Again.

Here we are, setting up for another climb.

EricD opted for the "bypass" in this case. I'm not sure which way was more scary.

All in all, this is a run that turned out well. Once again, there were zero mechanical failures. The strap came out twice. EricD slid a little into some rockage and dented a door a touch, and BottomFeeder busted his cherry and picked up a rocker panel smiley-dent. I hit my frame, front lower swing arms and rear spring mounts pretty good, but all in meaty areas that left only scrapes. Eric and Jill peeled off and turned for home, while Mr. Feeder and I returned to camp, where he cranked out another colossal fire with some wood we gathered and dragged back to the site:

On Sunday, we even made it up the creekbed to the old Martinez Mill, which dates from around 1880. The trail is slow-going, and involved rock stacking and lots of spotting. BottomFeeder is getting really good at both driving and spotting, and made me feel pretty comfortable trying some of the hardest wheeling I've done to date. Looking forward to the next trip! Here's a shot of the Mill:

John B.

--------------------
'87 Raider 2.6 Turbo Auto, Under Construction
'95 Montero SR, 35x12.5/15 BFG M/T KM-2's, Rock sliders, Qtr panel chop, gas tank lift, 2" BL, Aisins
'86 SWB Auto, 2" BL, 33" BFG KM-2's
2012 Chevy Camaro LS V6/M6 IPF S/C

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