HikeArizona.COM

Hey all,

I'm considering a backpacking trip out of Mormon Grove Trailhead next weekend... I recall last year hearing the road was so washed out in places that jeeps were struggling to get through. Has anyone been out there since all the rain this winter? If not, do the resident Mazatzal pros predict the road to be practically impassible? We will have access to either a stock 4x4 Tacoma or a stock 4x4 Ranger. Thanks!

I haven't been up there in a few weeks, but I wouldn't recommend taking a passenger sedan up there. However, you can park along the old SR 87 about a mile east/north of the Cross F TH along the road, walk through the gate at the start of FR 201, and get down to FR 25 "fairly" close to Mormon Grove.
http://hikearizona.com/location_g.php?GPS=7341
See the southern/eastern end of my route. It's pavement all the way.

Hmm... Doesn't look like a bad option. That +-1000 ft of gain from where 25a forks off until the TH would add some nice to the hike though. But, if you would only recommend not taking a passenger sedan up there, that might mean a stock 4x4 would make it? Then again, there have been a couple nice storms the past few weeks.

A car w/ stock 4x4 should have no problem as long as it has enough clearance. The better option would be to hike it, as always. I'm looking to hike- and post a hike that goes from near the Cross F exposition up the ridge to FR 201 (Horse Camp Seep) and then back. Probably in the next 4 weeks

I was at Cross F a week ago, during the rain, and the creek there was nearly into the little parking pull out by the AZT sign. Don't know exactly what that bodes for other roads in the area but probably not good.

no trouble getting to Mormon grove. fr 25 is passable with a pickup. fr 25a, however, no dice. so make sure you take the left turn at the intersection of these two roads. they are marked with signs.
do me a favor Joel. when you get to mormon grove, go beyond the corral a few yards. behind the corral, (to the west) you might see a small break in the brush on the north side of the old road. snoop around in there and retrieve the 6 gallons of water that i had previously cache'd for a past trip, that i was unable to access. the 6 gallons of water is fresh, only a month old. so, drink from it what you need. i just dont want to have to make a trip of 45 miles to get my "litter" if you can help me out. Muchos gracias amigo.

Thanks for the help guys!

Mike- More than happy to retrieve that water for you... But I have to ask... Six gallons?!?

party of 10. and then, since i cache'd six gallons, ma nature decided to give us six million. go figure.

My experience with the road is if its rained that day be carefull on the downhill, we ended up turning around and hiking in. Later that day, we pushed out a pickup truck that was seriously close to sliding over the edge.

te-wa wrote:party of 10. and then, since i cache'd six gallons, ma nature decided to give us six million. go figure.

Boy, you ain't kiddin'!

azpride wrote:We will have access to either a stock 4x4 Tacoma or a stock 4x4 Ranger.

As long as you are in one of these stock 4x4s that hopefully has a more agressive tire tread than a highway tire, then go for it! It doesn't make sense to hike up/down FR25 if you can safely drive it. Take the Tacoma 4wd if you have a choice..

rlrjamy wrote:My experience with the road is if its rained that day be carefull on the downhill

If it has rained in the past couple of days you will need to ingage the 4WD on up/down sections of FR25. From FR201 on to FR25 it goes downhill first to cross a couple of creek/drainages (which will probably have water running), before the climb up to the Mormon Grove TH end. Also, like Mike says- don't miss the left turn of FR25 at the junction with FR25A, or I will need to come up and pull you guys out with my Grasshopper! ;)

Have fun, this is a wonderful area of the Mazatzal Wilderness to experience!

Thanks all!

For the record, I've hiked out of Mormon Grove, but it was last spring after the road had been graded. This time we're actually planning to backpack out to the Plateau Overlook Point that you wrote up, Hank. I'm excited!

In response to azpride:
Excellent!!!

I drove to Mormon Grove Trailhead on 03/24/2010 in my 10 yr old Lincoln Navigator. The road was OK. I wouldn't recommend taking a sedan there as there are a number of rocky spots and a couple where high clearance provides a margin of safety.

Agreed... I think the initial creek crossing on fr25 will keep anything with lower clearance from continuing any farther.

I would add if attempting FR25A, be extremely careful even with high clearance 4WD. Was out there last month and we parked pretty early on because it still wasn't worth the risk. On the way in we saw a line of oil where someone had punctured their oilpan that very morning. Luckily the made it out, though I honestly don't know how. All the oil ran out.