FR 172 & 172A to Rogers Trough TH

[SuperstitionGuy]

The USFS has a road grader and front end loader reworking FS road 172 and 172A. The road grader started from the beginning of 172 at Hewitt Station road and had made it approximately four miles when we passed by him on Tuesday afternoon. The front end loader had been filling in crosswise channels made by running water from the beginning of 172 to almost the top of 172A. When we passed him they were reworking the ruts just below the extremely sharp curve just before 172A tops out before the turn to Rogers Trough Trailhead. My experience with rework on this road is that they will be up there all week. Queen Creek is not flowing and relative easy to cross at this time. Someone traveling this road after this post please give us an update on the grading project and how far they have reworked the road.

General rules for driving this road is as follows. High clearence with rear wheel drive is recommended for 172. High clearence with four wheel drive is recommended for 172A. Front wheel drive vehicles can drive this road but it is not recommended that they tackle the steeper portions of either road as it is very easy to tear up the front tires on the embedded rocks. Vehicles without high clearence should drive only as far as the embedded rocks are low enough in reference to the road surface to allow safe travel. My experience when the road has been recently reworked is that drivers have a tendency to drive to fast and have accidents. There are numerous sharp curves and high spots where you cannot see oncoming traffic. This includes cars, trucks, ATV's and motorcycles. Head on crashes are a real threat under these conditions. Please drive at a safe speed and also be aware of cattle that may be on the road and unwilling to get out of your way.

[CannondaleKid]

16,878.4 yards or

that's 15,433.4 meters if you aren't from the USA.

[hikeaz]

33 29.048 x 111 3.132

is 16,878.4 yards or 9.59 miles from the junction of Fish Creek & Frog Tanks

if you slap a 1 in front of 3.132 for
33° 29.048, -111° 13.132
puts you 264 yards SSW of Fish Creek on Frog Tanks

Thanks Joe. Like I said... I don't use a GPS...ha.

[chumley]

@joebartels

I'm guessing that was edited because when I first read it the number was 1111 3.132

In any case, as nice as coordinates can be, for those who might be unaware there's a fantastic map here on HikeArizona.com where you can type, enter, paste a whole bunch of different coordinate formats and it'll put a pin on the map for you (though the coordinate entry panel may only be visible on desktop or larger mobile screens).

Some people are more visual than others...

[ custom map :: map ]

[joebartels]

though the coordinate entry panel may only be visible on desktop or larger mobile screens

just re-added to the options menu

[cw50must]

Anyone hear about any road closures in the area whether FR 172 or FR 650? I received the following comment via Youtube and trying to determine if there is any truth.

comment - "3/1/18 about 7 miles in and there is a new gate across the road and the new owners do not allow anyone access."

I find it odd that there would be new owners of National Forest land, but I do recall there being some mining activity along FR 650. Some kind of drilling, or something. I looked on the TNF website and didn't see anything about closures in their alert section.

[CannondaleKid]

@cw50must
Since he posted the comment on your Montana Mountain Loop video, he must mean Hewitt Station Road has a 'new' gate. It has been closed for some time due to the dust raised by all the ATV/4x4 traffic.

FYI, there is a large sign at the 'ATV Staging' parking lot across from Picketpost which has a map showing the bypass route, which is FR 252.

Other than that, there is no way FR 172 or FR 650 will be gated due to private property issues... until Resolution Copper begins dumping their mine tailings,that is.

[ddgrunning]

Does any of this discussion impact access to the Roger's Trough TH? I was planning a hike out there this weekend. Never have been, so not familiar with the roads in the area ....@CannondaleKid

[jonathanpatt]

No. If approaching Roger's Trough from the west, the turnoff to the trailhead is before the bypass route. If approaching from the east, there is a bypass around the gated section.

[CannondaleKid]

@ddgrunning
As jonathanpatt said, there are no issues getting to Rogers Trough from the west using FR 172.
If one wishes to drive to the TH on FR 650, just turn in off the US 60 across from Picketpost.

[mikebowers]

@SuperstitionGuy
Dog and I were passing through there last week. I didn't observe any type of road closures. But I did meet a nice Apache (SCA) gentleman that was working on the road. He said they were just doing general maintenance to the road. We waited about 10 minutes behind the digger, while they moved debris and rock from the road. Pleasant drive from Queen Valley all the way to Superior. No issues, other than a small wait, with the drive.

[SuperstitionGuy]

Over the years the Fr 172, 172A and 650 have had rework done on the difficult parts of the road to maintain. Primarily removing embedded rock and covering it with naturally crushed granite fill. Also additional crushed granite fill on the parts of the road that would get rutted when driven on when it was wet. As a result the road remains in better shape even during bad weather and increased use than in past years. Just be careful that you do not overdrive on the road as it is still dangerous and not always safe for two vehicles to pass each other. Be courteous to oncoming traffic and to someone that wants to go faster than you. Oh, and cattle have the right away....

[Sredfield]

Any recent information on this road? Thanks.

[ShatteredArm]

@Sredfield
I went up there last weekend, it's in worse shape than I've seen it. Mostly because of some minor washouts where it crosses drainages in the burn area. Still fine if you have an SUV.

[Sredfield]

We were up and back yesterday, conditions are pretty much as Shattered Arm says. Passable, but some of the drainage crossings won't last much longer if there isn't some work done on them soon.

[Alligatorjoe]

Hey Gang,

Coming down in two weeks for my annual Supes backpacking and spring training trip and just wanted to check the current conditions getting to Woodbury and Rogers Trough TH's. Is there snow up there? Can I make it either one in a 2WD SUV rental car?

Thanks y'all!

[Tough_Boots]

@Alligatorjoe

Not sure about the roads right now, but you should also make sure to research trail conditions since this past summer's Woodbury fire. A lot of that area got hit hard.

[SuperstitionGuy]

Check the recent posts for the area off of Woodbury and Rogers Trough. I am planning a trip to Rogers Trough later this week and will give you a report on the current road conditions.

[Alligatorjoe]

awesome, thanks yall. @SuperstitionGuy - that would be greatly appreciated!!

[SuperstitionGuy]

@Alligatorjoe
I am in tears today. I drove my 2014 Honda CR-V up Forest Road 172 and I was expecting a parade of ATV's, Razors and Jeeps driven by Snowbirds on the way but only saw two ATV's and one pickup truck along the entire route. The water damage is of two kinds, number 1 being the rains have exposed many embedded rocks along the entire route that caused me to have to slow down to avoid tire and undercarriage problems. Number 2 being whenever you have to cross the creek or where water has ran across the road you have two or three options to travel, all three being bad. I stopped at the junction to 172A and filled up on the water coming out of the bottom of the concrete damn. Then I drove over to the Woodbury Trailhead where conditions were a little better, that road being mostly decomposed granite. Here the fire damage was more apparent but the desert is recovering. Knowing that the road up to Rogers Through is mostly decomposed granite and from previous posts reported by HAZ'ers that it can be driven I sadly returned South to go home. I did not want to risk being up there overnight with tire or undercarriage problems. I have been driving this route for the last 40 years and gradually it has been improved over time but the heavy rains we have been experiencing have erased the fun of driving this road. There is little or no water flow now and yes you can drive it but very s-l-o-w-l-y and except for the weekend do not expect anyone to help you if you have any car trouble.

[Alligatorjoe]

@SuperstitionGuy
whoa! thanks for the info. pretty sure you've convinced me to start at peralta and hike up from there. thanks!!