I'm posting this from a trip we took October 11, 2007.
We started out from Aurora, CO. To make it a more enjoyable trip, we used the first day of our vacation to get to Grants, NM (instead of driving straight threw to Superior) and stayed at a KOA campground in order to make sure Buzz and Roz's camper was in fine working condition. When we rolled into town we saw this military plane/helicopter doing touch and goes at the local airport.
On our second day we went about 15 miles east of Superior on Hwy 60 to find Mineral Mountain Rd. just before Florence Junction. The AZ Backroads book showed that we should be able to find good camping that would put us convenient to the trails we wanted to do. Our campsite ended up being in the middle of a National Guard practice range. Luckily for us they weren't doing any bombing while we were there. We were also lucky enough to get camp set up prior to sunset, which was gorgeous.
Let the wheeling begin! We used Guide to Arizona Backroads & 4-Wheel Drive Trails to select the trails to do and to navigate them.
Day 1/October 13 Due to a late start we picked a shorter trail today. Tim of Brown Dog Industries (a manufacturer of BEEFY Engine brackets & Motor mounts) suggested we do Ajax Mine. As we headed out toward the trail we came across two other jeeps that were able to assist us in getting our baring of the trails and how they matched up to our book. It was amazing how many roads there are from the mining days, it's like a maze. We then came upon the Ajax trail head that starts and spends the majority of its time in a rocky wash going back and forth across the exit route. The idea is to stay in the wash where the challenges are. About .5 into the trail while working over an obstacle I broke a D.S. front axle shaft . Luckily I had a spare axle and we were able to get it replaced, eat a little lunch and get back on the trail. We completed the lower section that is the easier part and ventured into the upper portion. It proved to be a tough but fun challenge for the first day. We exited the trail late that afternoon and exited the area on Cottonwood Canyon Rd. to try and get fuel in Florence Junction (the book showed it) but there is now nothing at this location. We headed towards Apache Junction, which was 22 miles towards Phoenix and luckily came upon Fuel and Food within about 10 miles. Luckily we remembered some of the landmarks to our campsite as it was pitch dark by the time we headed back to it from Hwy 60.
Day 2/October 14 Our local tour guides Tim (Brown Dog Ind.), Carol and Prince (the real brown dog) came out to our campsite to show us around the area as well as providing us with some great history about the area. Tim was like a history book of information. One of the sights that we stopped at on the trail was a cave that had been a cantina and bordello for the local miners. Our initial intention was to do Martinez Cabin and Canyon but due to the wonderful leisurely pace that we were taking, the history lessons that we were getting, visiting with other 4X4rs on the trail and Tim running a broken spring and some messed up D35 spiders we decided to do Martinez Cabin and Box Canyon. The scenery was beautiful both to Martinez Cabin and through the Box Canyon. We took Price Rd. out this time and were able to get gas and ice in Florence.
Day 3/October 15 Up for another challenging day of jeeping we selected Woodpecker Mine and the trail above it called "Highway to Hell" Upon reaching the Fire Hole there was a recently burned out station wagon (Volvo?, Subaru?) just to the side of the fire hole and a lot of its debris was still in the hole. We decided not to take on this obstacle because if you slipped a tire, (very slick from the soot) we were looking at the risk of some severe tire damage do to all the broken glass & metal debris. The rest of Woodpecker had some challenges but overall was uneventful. Then we came to the entrance of Highway to Hell. This trail was extremely challenging with many obstacles from the get go. As the day wore on, the daylight hours faded the trail and obstacles just kept coming, we finally decided to turn around since we were unsure of how long the trail was. Heading out was every bit as challenging as heading in was. We are looking forward to getting more information about this trail and doing the entire trail the next time we make it to Arizona.
Day 4/October 16 Needing to focus on a 1/2 day trail due the chores of the camper and grocery shopping in Superior we picked Walnut Canyon due to its location, the fact that it was a moderate trail and the described scenery of the route. This was a great trail for taking our time and enjoying the beauty of the area. Roz even took a turn at the wheel on this day. Trail finding was not to bad although we made a few wrong turns but due to views from where we ended up we were able to get back on track and back to where we needed to be. This was the only day that we encountered weather with a little bit of rain as we were airing up and driving back to town. The storm moved through quickly and was just a memory in a short time.
Day 5/October 17 Back to the challenges of the AZ desert we headed to Martinez Canyon. We had been hearing varying stories about the trail as to whether it was open, whether it was passable or if the entire loop was possible or not. We did know that the "Luge" was washed out, but were hopeful we could do the bypass. We loved this trail. It had a wide variety of obstacles and terrain and had some beautiful views from many different vantage points. We were so pleased when we got to "The Luge" and the bypass was drivable (As you start down it you just grab your brakes & slide until you stop, roughly 30 yds.). This was one of the main trails that we had selected that we wanted to do when we were planning our trip and it was great that we completed the entire loop.
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Day 6/October 18 We got a late start this day and decided to see what we could get to. First we would head to Jack Handle and if we had time we would venture onto Axle Alley. Things were going well through most of the obstacles and narrowness without having to use a spotter. We reached a drivers choice bypass @ about the 1/2 way point of the trail and got into a spot we felt was impassable with the YJ, decided to turn back to the bypass and let Buzz (TJ) try his hand at it. As we were working the jeep around in this tight spot, Bang, there went another front axle shaft . The jeep was in a very precarious spot, sideways & with the ass-end up on the wall in this over sized ditch and we were trying not to break it any further, so that we could take the broken piece out (inner shaft) and still drive out and home, we decided to fix it right there without moving it at all. We got very creative with strapping the jeep and blocking the jeep so as to not have any issues while we were jacking it up and fixing it. A group of deer happened by and looked at us like we were crazy. We did get the axle out and were able to save the outer and get it reinstalled. We drove out and everything was in shape to drive home the next day. Good thing it was our last day of trail running. (Sorry no pic's, we ran out of space in the camera)
Before the trip I had said I would leave the front axle the way it was if nothing broke on this trip. Dee and Roz are thinking that Buzz was real creative in getting me into "these spots" & then "oops" the axle broke?!?! Looks like you will be beefing up the D30 for next year.
We normally go to Moab 2 times a year for our wheeling vacations, I think this area in Arizona just took the place of one of those annual trips. The trails were great, especially that there is hardly anyone on them (not like the traffic jams you run into on Colorado trails like Holy Cross). The scenery and wildlife for the entire trip was amazing. We had a neighborhood coyote talking to us at night as well as seeing deer and wild pigs. It also was a great time of year to go with temps of 80-90 degrees every day and cooling off to the 40's every evening.
Tim, Carol & Prince Thanks for all your help!! WE'LL BE BACK!!
