Route Editor
Route Scout
From last year:
Over 250 people from all walks of life came together on February 9th 2008 to clean up a high use, off highway area near Phoenix, AZ. More than 7 tons of trash were picked up and 30 clubs represented.
The idea to do something about the mess came to a group of local outdoor enthusiasts recently. The Four Peaks area, north east of Phoenix, is a beautiful natural area that hosts all sorts outdoor lovers. The sight of burnt out cars, water heaters, TV’s and computers in addition to loads of smaller trash prompted them to act.
Groups from all walks of life were contacted and the response was nothing short of amazing! Clubs, companies, online forums and enthusiasts offered their support to make a difference. Included in the volunteers were groups of responsible four wheelers, shooters, hunters, hikers, mountain bikers, dirt bikers, and general outdoor enthusiasts. The day started out with over 250 volunteers signing in and heading out to one of 10 pre-mapped targeted clean up areas with trash bags in hand and trailers in tow. The support kept pouring in all day! There were even a few Harley’s and Mercedes that made the trek out the dirt road to the clean-up! The dumpsters were filled and a large pile of trash began to form at the clean up headquarters.
After hours of filling bags, loading up trailers, and meeting great people the volunteers headed back to the pickup headquarters for burgers donated by Border Construction Specialties.
Not long after, the give away commenced. An impressive array of prizes from concerned companies were handed out including items from: Racer Offroad, The Good Gun Foundation, SDHQ Offroad, Total Chaos Fabrication, Icon Vehicle Dynamics, Overland Journal, Overland Video, and Sierra Expeditions.
The Forest service was able to donate the use of dumpsters for the event and even provided trash bags! Also, several Maricopa County Sheriff Officers were in attendance to participate as well. The Maricopa Sheriff sponsored rock buggy, built by Hunter Offroad, was a huge hit with the crowds and everyone appreciated them being there to keep it safe and fun!
So...lets do it again this year!! Tim is already working hard to get more donations for the raffle this year and for supplies for the event and hopefully to feed everyone again!! This really is an amazing feat, and anyone who has been out to Four Peaks knows how busy and trashed it can get....not only that but this is the only local event I know of where EVERYONE from the outdoor community gets together to help our environment without pointing fingers. We all have a common goal and that is to help maintain our environment we all enjoy.
So if you only go to one clean-up event this year, it should be THIS ONE!!!!
Saturday February 7th!
I know I can't link to any outside sources here but there is a blogspot page that will have updates on the event, eventually with maps and more info. Just google Four Peaks Pickup. Thanks and I hope to see a ton of HikeAZ members out there!!
