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fr-67/pine flats road

Posted: Apr 10 2008 11:22 am
by JoelHazelton
According to Google maps, FR-67 starts in Mayer (near Prescott) as Jefferson street and takes off west-sw, changes to Mayor-Bolada Rd, and finally fr-67/Pine Flats Rd before it intersects with the Senator Highway in about a 10 mile stretch or so. It runs along the south side of Big Bug Mesa.

On my recreation map of the Northern Bradshaws, it shows the road as a regularly maintained dirt road. It also shows several hiking trails branching off that I am pretty interested in checking out.

I recently got a Toyota Tacoma (since somebody plowed into the back of my Sentra and totaled it last week) - not a prerunner, no lift, no 4x4, just the normal, single cab, 8.2 inches of clearance or so toyota tacoma- and I was wondering if anybody new the condition of FR-67 and if my new Tacoma could make it through.

Also, does anybody know at what point the Senator highway becomes impassible by a non-4x4 vehicle?

Thanks.

Re: fr-67/pine flats road

Posted: Apr 10 2008 4:25 pm
by Hoffmaster
I have driven the entire Senator Highway in my non-4WD Ford Escape. I did this last June. If I remember correctly, there were 2 short but steep uphills (going from Crown King towards Groom Creek) where my front wheels slipped a bit, but not enough to stop me. There were no sections of this road that had me wondering if I'd make it without 4WD. You should be fine.

Re: fr-67/pine flats road

Posted: Apr 10 2008 4:33 pm
by JoelHazelton
Sweet, thanks. Anybody know about fr-67?

Re: fr-67/pine flats road

Posted: Apr 10 2008 5:03 pm
by chumley
The FR67 portion is graded and easy for a sedan if I recall correctly. The Senator Highway has a few more challenges. It should be in good shape weatherwise by now, but keep in mind that a 2WD pickup truck has more difficulty because the only power is to the rear wheels ... and there's no weight in the bed of a pickup, so it's easier to spin on steep/loose terrain. (I've used sandbags to weigh down a bed before for added rear-wheel weight).

The Escape or other 2WD SUV-type vehicles tend to do better because of either front-wheel-drive with the weight of the engine on the powered wheels, or more evenly distributed weight over a rear-wheel-drive.

On this trip however, if you get to a hill you can't climb, just back up and turn around ... since you are probably planning on going back the same way you came anyway.

Re: fr-67/pine flats road

Posted: Apr 10 2008 5:25 pm
by Hoffmaster
chumley wrote:but keep in mind that a 2WD pickup truck has more difficulty because the only power is to the rear wheels ... and there's no weight in the bed of a pickup, so it's easier to spin on steep/loose terrain.
I considered this when responding above, but since it sounds like he'd be traveling north to south, I decided not to mention it since the challenges seem to be more prominent when traveling north.

Re: fr-67/pine flats road

Posted: Apr 10 2008 11:11 pm
by PrestonSands
FR 67 was in great shape back in 2000, when I last drove it. The Prescott N.F. map shows it as improved. I don't think you'll have any problems on it. It's a nice drive into some big pine areas.

Re: fr-67/pine flats road

Posted: Apr 11 2008 7:59 am
by JoelHazelton
Awesome, thanks for all the great info. I'm not much of an adrenaline junky, and if I come up on somthing that makes me uncomfortable I'll more than likely just back up and turn around (until I become more comfortable with driving off-road). Sandbags in the bed of the truck are a good thought. Thanks again for the info.

Re: fr-67/pine flats road

Posted: Apr 14 2008 3:10 pm
by JoelHazelton
Checked it out this past weekend... The road is perfect. It's also very beautiful. It's rather boring in the farther east sections, closer to Mayer, but as soon as you cross Little Wolf Creek, the ponderosas appear and tower over you. Pretty sweet area, for being so accessible yet untouched on this website. I'll take care of that pretty soon here...