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| | Dripping Springs Mountains, AZ | | | |
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Dripping Springs Mountains, AZ
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| 4x4 Trip | 40.20 Miles |
5,188 AEG |
| | 4x4 Trip | 40.20 Miles | 3 Hrs 42 Mns | | 12.50 mph |
| 5,188 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no linked trail guides |
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| no partners | | My elderly neighbor isn't a hiker but used to go 4-wheeling many, many years ago so with the Cherokee pretty much done he'd been making off-hand comments about going 4-wheeling in style which to him means in air-conditioned comfort. So I planned a trip to a new-to-me remote spot where I figured we'd get to give the Cherokee a good workout for most of the day. I settled on the Dripping Springs Mountains.
We started our trip across from the Pinto Mine along the U.S. 60 west of Miami. We headed south along FR342, FR2, FR639 and FR899 to the north end of Dripping Springs Road. From there we continued through what seemed like endless gates until taking a side-trip west along a very rugged old road. With plenty of overgrown brush the Cherokee got a full dose of Arizona pinstripes added to an already generous amount. With the heavy erosion and deep ruts on the steep hills tire placement was important.
Eventually we reached an area ripe with old mining history and wandered around for a while. This is where I had my first opportunity to play with my new Canon PowerShot SX260 camera. My S3iS was coming up with lens errors more often due to what I figure is dirt in the lens mechanism so I broke down and got a smaller camera. I'm so used to using a viewfinder I'm sure it will be a while to get used to the screen.
On our way out when I engaged the front locker on a steep incline the air compressor came on and stayed on so I knew I had an air leak somewhere. A quick check underneath and I found the front line had gotten a bit too close to the exhaust manifold when the front axle was articulated to the left full up limit and melted it. I was a bit surprised it hadn't happened on one of the dozen trips I'd already taken with it, but then it wasn't routed how I would have done it. No matter, I'll fix it when we get home.
Once home I re-routed the front air line in a safer and more efficient manner, not only keeping it away from the exhaust but using less line so I didn't need to splice a new piece in. |
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