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| 4x4 Trip | 36.95 Miles |
5,657 AEG |
| | 4x4 Trip | 36.95 Miles | 4 Hrs 19 Mns | | 12.46 mph |
| 5,657 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | With the lower temps Tracey will be more willing to hike with me so I figured I better get out and scout out some new areas for us to hike.
I would like to have gotten an early start and explore the whole day but most of my morning was taken spending way too much time to gathering info and loading my GPS with possible routes and waypoints. And once I got rolling I spent 20+ minutes on the US 60 crawling through construction traffic. So much for a full day of recon. Whatever, I packed as much as I could in the time I had.
I started my 4x4 trip from AZ 177 at Battle Axe Rd and headed in. At the gate 3+ miles in there were two couples in a Jeep Liberty who were out for a day of taking photos. They had just opened the gate and they were out of their vehicle so they waved me on through. A few minutes later I took a short side-trip to visit the White Canyon TH then continued on. I made the turn to what I thought was the Walnut Canyon loop until I drove a few hundred feet, passed a few deep washouts and realized it was turning into a goat trail. Only problem was, there was no place to turn around. With nobody to guide me backing up it brought a few tense moments at the washouts. Once back out on Battle Axe Rd barely a hundred yards farther and I found the Walnut Canyon loop road.
The first part was a short climb to a barbed-wire gate, which took some work to open since there was so much tension on it. With the help of my trusty pry-bar I finally got it open and reset it so it wouldn't be so hard for the next one through. A few moments for some photos and I was headed down, winding all the way down to a wash. The first turns were easy, wide enough for a 4 door pickup but by the bottom they not only were very tight but with deep washouts. Several times, even choosing the best tire placement I had the Samurai leaning over almost to the point of tipping over... but not quite.
After a short drive through the wash it was back to climbing the other side. It leveled out at the top at which time I stopped for more photos before heading down into a little less-steep but every bit as washed out as the previous descent. But this time instead of another ascent it was a leisurely drive along a smooth wide wash all the way to the Gila River.
I crossed the Gila and drove a few hundred yards until I came to a Y intersection with a gate in one direction. Due to my late start I simply turned around and with a short jaunt out from the river I rejoined the loop. A mile or so farther along I took another jaunt to the river but this time turned around without crossing. Heading back up this wash was nothing like coming out the previous one with plenty of large rocks and boulder to maneuver around and/or climb over. Once I got back to Battle Axe Road instead of closing the loop and heading back I turned west and headed toward the Coke Ovens. I took a few side trips off Battle Axe on the way but continued on.
When I reached the spot that stopped me previously in a CR-V and again with my Pathfinder (the place I call 'the hole') there was a bit of mud just before the smooth 3' rocky ledge so I wasn't sure if the tires would be too slippery climbing it. But now that I've got my rear locker fixed I had no reservation about driving into the mud hole and climb it. With a slight sideways twist Sammy made it up just fine.
From there is was a smooth run in the sandy river bottoms winding through a 'tunnel' of trees where I happened across a family of Javelina. Unfortunately they were in such thick brush any attempt at a photo came up with nothing but brush. Barely out of the flat area and I came to the most serious rocky slope of the day. I had driven up this once before earlier in the year with SUN_HIKER before I had the rear locker and extra clearance, but it was in much worse condition. After climbing only about a third of the way I realized as slow as it was going I was better off turning back now. Only thing... again it's quite a challenge doing probably a 20-point turn-around in an area barely the length of my vehicle wide. I made sure to be do my backing toward the hill side not the drop. Not having a spotter I was careful not to drive to far forward each time. Once turned around it was time to make tracks.
On my return trip shortly before the same gate I saw them on the way in again I caught up to the folks in the Jeep Liberty. Since they had gone most of the way out but didn't see me they wondered where I had been. Also by the mud on the Samurai they knew I had been places where they had not. After giving them a run-down of where I had been it was now time to head home.
With less than a full day for the planned recon and a further whetting of my appetite for more I'll be out there again this Friday. This time I'll have my neighbor as a co-pilot/spotter and we'll be heading out shortly after sunrise. |
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