TacPen
Banned
A month or two ago Peachy (the wife) and I took the vehicles out to Bulldog Canyon at Tonto National Forrest for a bit of wheeling. Nothing crazy, she just wanted to drive the TW Xterra and get some wheel time. We started out at FR-1356 and enjoyed the scenery, then turned north at FR-3512. A few miles down we ran into a river of rocks which led to the base of an emerald colored mountain.
It was beautiful but Peachy didn't feel comfortable taking the Xterra down there and I didn't want to get stuck without any help so we backed out but swore to come back and with some friends. Fast forward a few weeks...
Jeyr (my buddy with the lifted Tacoma) was busy today so after pitching Dave (my buddy with the G Wagon) on the idea and grabbing a scone and mocha (seriously, tackling the wilderness is one thing but doing it without a chocolate chip scone is just ridiculous) we went back to cross the river of rocks.
We started at the AA Pit entrance just off the 87 in Apache Junction and made our way north. Since the last time we went out my buddy Dave has changed his MB G Wagon's Pitman arm and reinforced the rock sliders, had the engine dyno tuned as well as adding an entry step (uh... nobody in our little adventuring group is exactly an aspiring NBA player) making this quite possibly the most off-road capable G Wagon in North America.
We made our way up the AA Pit to FR-3512. It was a good warmup for the ride ahead.About 2 miles up and there's a small stone staging area before dropping down into what was obviously not a wash (we avoid washes, Dave fears them like Democrats fear a tax cut).
After a 10 minute break to gather our strength, empty our bladders and finish off my decaf 2% mocha we were ready to go. This is Dave in his ready to go stance after peeing on local vegetation:
The entrance into the river of rocks isn't really that bad. There are definitely some decent sized rocks and you have to pick a line but any high-clearance SUV with low-range and off-road tires should be able to make it. That said, many of the rocks do show "wear marks" and carry paint on them so a little caution is advisable.
As the trail continues there's a large boulder which at first seems to block the way. While it looks imposing there are actually two ways past it. A bypass on the left or continuing through the rocks river on the right. Both paths continue into the rock river and keep going but the path definitely gets a little gnarlier. Larger boulders and deeper ruts. Some of the obstacles were definitely more challenging and our rock sliders got a bit of a workout.
By now we had made it to the base of the emerald mountain and the scenery was absolutely breath taking. Just wonderful green and tan rocks with desert vegetation everywhere.
We continued on, bravely I may add, as the trail (remember, this was not a wash despite any water or any other signs to the contrary) turned to stone with eroded water channels, ponds and dips. We came to a point that was just amazing. Smooth water-worn slick-rock and a beautiful desert landscape.
In front of us was a large puddle of water past a small ledge and a second, much larger ledge only 30 or 40 feet further ahead. This is the first time I've ever heard Dave tap out (and with good reason, it looked a little dubious and there was no reason to break anything this far out) but I just had to see if I could make it. Besides, we had tow straps. After thinking about it for a minute I decided to drop into the puddle and cross the shelf.
The puddle wasn't deep at all and the Jeep had no issue finding traction.
The shelf... well, that had me sweating a bit. But before I had a chance to come up with some excuse for why I couldn't try it (my mother's calling me, the sun was in my eyes, the angle was bad, I left my balls in my other pants) we heard motors approaching. Another group was coming from the other direction so I backed up and made room in time to see this monster coming through:
This thing was awesome! A built rig with what looked like Dana 60's front and rear and 40" tires on beadlockers. He powered up over the ledge like it was nothing and proceeded to go through the puddle taking the straight line and just bouncing his diff cover off the rock like he was trying to get the casting seam ground down.
Then we heard his buddy flip the switch to engage his lockers and follow suit. These guys looked to have done some trail riding before.
Hell, after seeing these guys make it look like a leisurely Sunday stroll I proceeded to take my b@lls out of their velvet case and screwed them in place. Time to see just how much clearance and break-over angle I had on this puppy with my 2.5" AEV lift.
This is probably not a big deal to experienced Jeepers but if you look closely, you can actually see my butt-cheeks puckering a little.
Looks like I left some paint marks on the way down. The tow hitch took a whack too.
The guy in the white Jeep said that trail just kept getting gnarlier and gnarlier but we were quickly running out of talent (by now I had put my b@lls back into their velvet case). The idea of towing one of our vehicle out of there didn't seem too appealing so it was time to turn around and head back. Even though I could take the easier way back up on the right, Peachy convinced me to quit being a pansy and go through the pond and up the shelf. I just had to avoid the ledge on the right hand side. Fortunately for me Peachy's spotting was... well, spot on. It didn't hurt that Dave stepped on the left slider (not the preferred method of helping but he just jumped on) to keep the Jeep from going over (laughing the entire time mind you).
The trip back was equally fun. We missed a bypass and ran into a ledge that was just not something we were comfortable with. Looking closely we could see the fresh tire tracks left by the monster red Jeep and his buddy but we weren't feeling quite this brave. There was just no way we could see going up this ledge without some serious scraping of hard parts.
After back-tracking a bit we found a climb which led to a bypass. We let another group of Jeepers come down and then took the bypass up. A few hundred meters (they're kind of like yards for those who aren't familiar with the metric system. Think, "Le Royal with cheese") further up we came across a giant boulder blocking our path (I swear, it seemed like there was a buy-one-get-one-free discount on these things around here). Upon closer inspection there was more than enough room to make an off camber pass and we got through cleanly.
After a mile or so it was time to head back through the rock river.
Dave showing off the articulation in the G Wagon.
We decided to head back out on FR-1356 and take the Cottonwood exit instead of heading back through the AA Pit. On the way back out we stopped for a bit and drank in the scenery. The weather was just about perfect. It was a touch over 60 degrees with just enough clouds in the sky to keep the sun out of your eyes. Man, it doesn't get much better than this.
Another few miles and we finally made it back to the staging area and proceeded to air back up. We got there at about the right time because the temperature had started to drop and we could see some darker clouds rolling in. No sense in getting stuck out there when the rain came. Peachy was in charge of airing the Jeep back up while I provided moral support.
Good times.
It was beautiful but Peachy didn't feel comfortable taking the Xterra down there and I didn't want to get stuck without any help so we backed out but swore to come back and with some friends. Fast forward a few weeks...
Jeyr (my buddy with the lifted Tacoma) was busy today so after pitching Dave (my buddy with the G Wagon) on the idea and grabbing a scone and mocha (seriously, tackling the wilderness is one thing but doing it without a chocolate chip scone is just ridiculous) we went back to cross the river of rocks.
We started at the AA Pit entrance just off the 87 in Apache Junction and made our way north. Since the last time we went out my buddy Dave has changed his MB G Wagon's Pitman arm and reinforced the rock sliders, had the engine dyno tuned as well as adding an entry step (uh... nobody in our little adventuring group is exactly an aspiring NBA player) making this quite possibly the most off-road capable G Wagon in North America.
We made our way up the AA Pit to FR-3512. It was a good warmup for the ride ahead.About 2 miles up and there's a small stone staging area before dropping down into what was obviously not a wash (we avoid washes, Dave fears them like Democrats fear a tax cut).
After a 10 minute break to gather our strength, empty our bladders and finish off my decaf 2% mocha we were ready to go. This is Dave in his ready to go stance after peeing on local vegetation:
The entrance into the river of rocks isn't really that bad. There are definitely some decent sized rocks and you have to pick a line but any high-clearance SUV with low-range and off-road tires should be able to make it. That said, many of the rocks do show "wear marks" and carry paint on them so a little caution is advisable.
As the trail continues there's a large boulder which at first seems to block the way. While it looks imposing there are actually two ways past it. A bypass on the left or continuing through the rocks river on the right. Both paths continue into the rock river and keep going but the path definitely gets a little gnarlier. Larger boulders and deeper ruts. Some of the obstacles were definitely more challenging and our rock sliders got a bit of a workout.
By now we had made it to the base of the emerald mountain and the scenery was absolutely breath taking. Just wonderful green and tan rocks with desert vegetation everywhere.
We continued on, bravely I may add, as the trail (remember, this was not a wash despite any water or any other signs to the contrary) turned to stone with eroded water channels, ponds and dips. We came to a point that was just amazing. Smooth water-worn slick-rock and a beautiful desert landscape.
In front of us was a large puddle of water past a small ledge and a second, much larger ledge only 30 or 40 feet further ahead. This is the first time I've ever heard Dave tap out (and with good reason, it looked a little dubious and there was no reason to break anything this far out) but I just had to see if I could make it. Besides, we had tow straps. After thinking about it for a minute I decided to drop into the puddle and cross the shelf.
The puddle wasn't deep at all and the Jeep had no issue finding traction.
The shelf... well, that had me sweating a bit. But before I had a chance to come up with some excuse for why I couldn't try it (my mother's calling me, the sun was in my eyes, the angle was bad, I left my balls in my other pants) we heard motors approaching. Another group was coming from the other direction so I backed up and made room in time to see this monster coming through:
This thing was awesome! A built rig with what looked like Dana 60's front and rear and 40" tires on beadlockers. He powered up over the ledge like it was nothing and proceeded to go through the puddle taking the straight line and just bouncing his diff cover off the rock like he was trying to get the casting seam ground down.
Then we heard his buddy flip the switch to engage his lockers and follow suit. These guys looked to have done some trail riding before.
Hell, after seeing these guys make it look like a leisurely Sunday stroll I proceeded to take my b@lls out of their velvet case and screwed them in place. Time to see just how much clearance and break-over angle I had on this puppy with my 2.5" AEV lift.
This is probably not a big deal to experienced Jeepers but if you look closely, you can actually see my butt-cheeks puckering a little.
Looks like I left some paint marks on the way down. The tow hitch took a whack too.
The guy in the white Jeep said that trail just kept getting gnarlier and gnarlier but we were quickly running out of talent (by now I had put my b@lls back into their velvet case). The idea of towing one of our vehicle out of there didn't seem too appealing so it was time to turn around and head back. Even though I could take the easier way back up on the right, Peachy convinced me to quit being a pansy and go through the pond and up the shelf. I just had to avoid the ledge on the right hand side. Fortunately for me Peachy's spotting was... well, spot on. It didn't hurt that Dave stepped on the left slider (not the preferred method of helping but he just jumped on) to keep the Jeep from going over (laughing the entire time mind you).
The trip back was equally fun. We missed a bypass and ran into a ledge that was just not something we were comfortable with. Looking closely we could see the fresh tire tracks left by the monster red Jeep and his buddy but we weren't feeling quite this brave. There was just no way we could see going up this ledge without some serious scraping of hard parts.
After back-tracking a bit we found a climb which led to a bypass. We let another group of Jeepers come down and then took the bypass up. A few hundred meters (they're kind of like yards for those who aren't familiar with the metric system. Think, "Le Royal with cheese") further up we came across a giant boulder blocking our path (I swear, it seemed like there was a buy-one-get-one-free discount on these things around here). Upon closer inspection there was more than enough room to make an off camber pass and we got through cleanly.
After a mile or so it was time to head back through the rock river.
Dave showing off the articulation in the G Wagon.
We decided to head back out on FR-1356 and take the Cottonwood exit instead of heading back through the AA Pit. On the way back out we stopped for a bit and drank in the scenery. The weather was just about perfect. It was a touch over 60 degrees with just enough clouds in the sky to keep the sun out of your eyes. Man, it doesn't get much better than this.
Another few miles and we finally made it back to the staging area and proceeded to air back up. We got there at about the right time because the temperature had started to drop and we could see some darker clouds rolling in. No sense in getting stuck out there when the rain came. Peachy was in charge of airing the Jeep back up while I provided moral support.
Good times.
