Arizona revisited 2014 - The better late than never ride report

Okay, I know this is late in coming, but there was an earthquake, a tidal wave, a tornado, I SWEAR IT!!! And basically life just got really busy immediately following the conclusion of this trip. This trip was my last hurrah before buckling down for seven months of hard core studying to pass the Texas Professional Engineering exam (which I did pass ). In those seven months, I did some serious head cramming, so I don't know how much of the details of the trip I can remember, but I did take a LOT of pictures!

WAYYY back in 2007, I made a trip out to Arizona with Gotdurt and TxRider. I was riding the KLR 650 back then and the trip was pretty epic... I had long been telling Roger "Rsquared" about how great it was and how he needed to experience it. Well, I wanted to get in a trip before doing the PE exam thing and I casually mentioned returning to Arizona to Casey "Gotdurt". He seized on it and things got rolling. Almost seven years to the day, we were going back!

See Casey's report here, along with pics from Roger.

Casey would be riding the same DR 650 that he rode on the first trip. I would be on my 2010 KTM 530 EXC and Roger would be on his KTM 450 EXC.

The bikes loaded. We picked up Casey on our way through Austin.


Casey's bike went in backward in the center of the trailer. A perfect fit.


We drove straight through to Superior and stayed at a little hotel where we had stayed after we escaped the desert on our first trip, The Copper Mountain Motel. The rooms were cheap and clean.

Casey - our fearless leader for this trip


My then new to me 2014 Ram 1500 crew cab. Makes for a nice travel vehicle!


The rooms we stayed in on the last trip... Oh the memories!


After checking in we grabbed lunch and then headed on toward Phoenix, actually Gilbert, where we would be leaving the truck and trailer for the week. Jo Smee had graciously allowed us to leave the truck and trailer in a nice secure place where she and her husband (Dennis?) could keep an eye on it for us. Brian "TexasT" helped is hook up with them. She is a VERY active dual sport rider in Arizona. So we took them out for dinner at one of Casey's favorite places. Really nice folks!

Dennis, Jo and Brian


We unloaded the bikes at their place and geared up for the ride back to Globe


Back at the hotel, Casey goes into one of his packing trances...


With bellies full and being tired from the drive, we called it a night early. The following day would be a return to the desert to revisit the route that left us stranded on the previous trip...

[gonna shift to present tense now because that is my normal style of writing]

Day One: Sunday

Sunday morning arrives as does Casey's long time friend Drew. Drew is the guy that came and rescued us from the desert on the previous trip. Go read that report if you want to see how Today, he's gonna ride with us, so hopefully we won't be needing any rescuing

Drew


My KTM and Casey's DR locked and loaded...


He's carrying much less luggage this time...


As am I... The top bag is just a sleeping back and tent. Looks heavy, but it is not bad.


With all the bikes and riders ready to go, we head out of town, into the desert...


Drew will loop back to his truck and we will peel off and head for Globe after completing the route to the South


And so it begins... Casey


Drew


Roger


That's Roger down there in the bottom right corner - Drew or Casey in center


A nice easy section of road


I stop in this easy section because I spot something on the ground. Looks like someone's phone? This can't be good. I grab it and tuck it away.

A nice fat Saguaro cactus. There are TONS of them in this area.


Is that Casey walking back up the road looking for something...?


If we go off the road, there is no shortage of "soft" landings available to cushion our fall


Roger waiting patiently




It turns out the stuff I picked up belonged to Casey. Apparently it fell out of a bag. This is a bit of foreshadowing of things to come... He is much relieved to have his things back. I've no real clue about the actual roads we are riding. Much like last time I am just trying to keep Casey in sight, or at least his dust cloud. I think we're on the Telegraph Rd and/or the Ajax Mine road, running generally South by Southwest out of Superior.

Lots of LONG climbs and descents, some smooth and some not so much...




I got ahead after a stop so I could set up to take pictures of the guys coming.

I think that is Casey and Drew right where the road disappears, heading my way


Casey coming up the hill




Drew eating dust




Roger prepares for a short hill climb


Casey leads the way


Chased by Drew


And we crest the hill to see a LONG climb...


The Ocotillo are in bloom






I think this is the Ajax Mine? Our route goes to the lower right corner of the shot






Roger and Casey taking pics of the mine






A Gila Monster!


We annoyed the Gila Monster for a bit trying to get pics of him. We never poked or prodded, but we had him surrounded. He eventually just went into hiding mode until we gave up on him.

More climbing and some Jeepers at the top


At the top


Roger heading on up to the top


I believe this is known as "Box Canyon". I don't have fond memories of this when riding the heavily loaded KLR 650...


Roger


The last time I was here, the ground was a much softer and deeper gravel. The KLR just sank in and it was almost impossible to get the bike up on top of the soft stuff, so I did a LOT of wallowing and flopping around like a fish out of water. It used a LOT of energy. Then, we figured out we had missed a turn and had to go BACK... That really sapped me good. This time, on the KTM and carrying a much lighter load, I actually have fun! Once again the thought constantly running through my head is how glad I am that I am not riding the KLR, hehe.

YES... it IS steeper and worse than it looks


You can kind of see that here




The going gets a bit rough for a short while, but still fun!




After a short break, I take point and run down through the canyon. The big rocks gradually give way to just the deep loose gravel and I start having a bit more fun Eventually though I stop to wait for the others. I don't want to get too far ahead and risk losing the group because I missed a turn or something. So I wait at an intersection.

Cool yellow bush is all over the place


YES... it IS deeper and softer than it looks






Time for a snack while I wait


It takes the guys a while to show up and I was starting to wonder if something has gone wrong. When they arrive I found out they stopped to check out a deteriorating little cabin thingy which I missed in my enthusiasm of playing in the gravel. We are soon on our way again and before long arrive at a place that brings back memories of riding that wasn't so much fun in the moment but turned out to be fun after the fact

YES!! It IS steeper than it looks!


I walk down a bit to have a look at some of the ledges and to think about what line I might want to take. Last time I was here, I got on a bad line on the KLR and could not back up to get to a better line. Casey eventually trudged up the hill to help shove me over a bit so I could get a better line to the bottom. It was still a huge expenditure of energy wrestling the KLR down the hill. Once at the bottom, we rested in some "shade" and it was then that I started to realize that the ride was not going to be the piece of cake Casey had thought it would be. This time though, while there is still some pucker factor involved, things go a bit smoother!

Then there is THAT climb on the far side... another tough spot that I plan to conquer this trip!


Drew trudges back to the top after checking it out himself...


Casey leads the way...


Right at the end of the video, the road turns hard right and makes a long rough descent down to the creek bed below...

[More later. Time to head home...]

Tourmeister said:

Roger waiting patiently

Click to expand...

Roger just might be one of the most patient people I've ever met

Tourmeister said:

YES!! It IS steeper than it looks!

Click to expand...

Tourmeister said:

Casey leads the way...

MVI 9195 - YouTube

Right at the end of the video, the road turns hard right and makes a long rough descent down to the creek bed below...

Click to expand...

Haha, this is what I just posted in the other thread:

gotdurt said:

Ha, it never looks as steep. The best part of that section, though, was at the end of the video where the big ledges are, before it bends to the right. Man, I wish I had the Gopro footage from that day

Click to expand...

Congrats on the PE exam success & my hats off to you for the pre req. Physics for Engineering classes. I took those classes after retiring in '11 & lost all my hair....

Tourmeister said:

You can kind of see that here

Click to expand...

Just a cautionary note for those reading this that are not familiar with Arizona...

This is not the kind of place you want to be in if it has been raining upstream from you. Even if that rain is 10+ miles away. The flash flood will be on you before you even know it's coming. Always have a plan for a way out if running water appears.

I rode into Florence one day when it was dry and sunny, but it was raining out past the Coke Ovens which is 12+ miles, so the rain was probably hitting the ground a good 20 miles away. The Gila River is normally dry and it was bank to bank and running fast.

Notice in this example that the road is dry...
https://youtu.be/-5jkFcRXG1I

Texas T said:

Just a cautionary note for those reading this that are not familiar with Arizona...

This is not the kind of place you want to be in if it has been raining upstream from you. Even if that rain is 10+ miles away. The flash flood will be on you before you even know it's coming. Always have a plan for a way out if running water appears.

I rode into Florence one day when it was dry and sunny, but it was raining out past the Coke Ovens which is 12+ miles, so the rain was probably hitting the ground a good 20 miles away. The Gila River is normally dry and it was bank to bank and running fast.

Click to expand...

Definitely, this is true in any desert area; west Texas experiences the same phenomenon. Pretty much anywhere with more rock than soil and little vegetation; the water runs off the hills/mountains in large volumes and fills the washes FAST.

The Gila River at Florence is a slightly different situation though. The Gila isn't actually dry, in fact it's a pretty high volume river (see our '07 trip), but there is a diversion dam up-river from Florence (toward the Coke Ovens), out Price Rd. The dam diverts water to the Florence-Casa Grande canal, which results in a mostly dry bed at Florence, but they can control flow into the old river bed as needed. The old dam is pretty interesting and worth the dirt road ride to check it out.

Edit: Here's the dam:
https://goo.gl/maps/ApMXF
I don't remember if you can access it on foot from Price Rd, but we came up from the east on the south side of the river using a 4wd trail. I don't remember how we exited though, or if the "Diversion Dam" road shown on the map is accessible by the public, but I know we didn't go back the way we came.

Scott, congratulations on the PE certification!

Great start of a report . . .

Day One: Continued

So Casey bee-bops on down the hill and out of sight. It's my turn next. Despite understanding the physics of faster spinning wheels making the bike more stable, my brain struggles with just letting the bike roll down the hill at a speed that will make it stable. The part of my brain responsible for controlling the brakes is constantly freaking out and trying to slow me down. My fear is not the ledges so much as it is hitting a big rock with a glancing blow and losing the front end, something that happened to me a LOT with the KLR. The mental tug-o-war rages but I manage to get on down the hill with MUCH less trouble than I had the first time through here all those years ago. I find Casey waiting part way down but I continue to the bottom and get set up to catch pics of everyone else coming down the last bit.

Roger gets down before I can get the camera out


This picture is deceiving. It only shows the last part of the descent. There is more back behind the hill to the right. That is the section that starts where Casey disappears in the video and it is pretty gnarly until it reaches the start of what you see above. When my wheels were not turning, there was quite a bit of sliding involved... Often the back of the bike felt like it wanted to lead the way down

Drew


Casey


The road is ALL solid rock with loose rocks scattered about


Once everyone is at the bottom, we stop for a break. By this time on the last trip, I was nearing exhaustion from the exertion and the heat. Today, the heat is not so bad and I am not working near as hard on the KTM as I did on the KLR. So I am still feeling pretty good. But there are two more hill climbs coming up... and they hold a special place in my heart...

It is hard to describe the real nature of the climbs and descents out here. No, we are not fighting thin air like we might be if we were doing the high mountain passes of Colorado. I think the difference here is that it is harder for me to maintain momentum going up because the climbs are pretty rough and they are LONG. Even with a good rest before starting a climb, arm pump can set in before reaching the top. Add to all that the fact that there can be some sharp corners and it makes for a technical ride. The hills we are about to attempt got the best of me during the 2007 trip. I am determined to even the score this time...

Casey leads the way and I bring up the rear. I sit for a few moments at the bottom of the hill watching the lines taken by the other riders and contemplating how I want to attack the hill. I don't know why I put much thought into it. Most times the line I take is rarely the line I intended to take Anyway, I slip the clutch out and feed in the gas, confident in the mountain goat nature of my bike.

The climb has several turns along the way to the top. The "road" is V shaped from erosion. The sides are loose and fairly steep. The center is full of the big rocks that wash down the hill. Crossing from one side to the other in order to negotiate the corners can be tricky. The first section is pretty much straight up until we reach a sharp right corner with a ledge right in the corner. Before I get there, I hit a smaller ledge just before the corner and almost lose it. Somehow I manage to keep the bike upright, but I am pointing the wrong direction... Getting pointed in the right direction involves a lot of grunting and huffing. The weight of the luggage really makes yanking the bike around a real chore.

Pointing in the right direction, I sit facing the tight corner with no momentum. I take a moment to survey the situation and then decide to cut the corner instead, riding over some rocks next to the ledge. It takes me a few moments, but it works and I am happily on my way to the top of the hill. Memories of laying under the shade of an Ocotillo cactus near the top while gasping for air flash through my head. But, it's not over...

After a while, the roads and hills all start to blur together. At first, I don't realize that the hill I am now climbing is the same hill where I finally ground to a halt on the KLR. It starts out fine. I round a right hand corner and lose my momentum, stalling in the process. I thumb the starter and the bike doesn't want to refire I sit and catch my breath for a minute and then try again... nothing. Well, I do have a kick start, but I am in a bit of a precarious spot to be trying to balance on the bike so I can kick start it. There is no point in panicking so I just sit a bit more. Eventually I see Roger higher up the hill looking back down to see what is keeping me. I hate the thought of him walking all the way down here and then having to walk all the way back up, so I try kick starting the bike. After several tries and thumbing the starter at the same time, it finally fires and I restart the climb.

There are a few more corners before the top. Near the top, I clear the ledge that put me on the ground last time. It was MUCH easier this time around. At first, I still wasn't sure this was the same hill. Then Casey reassured me that it was. I may have stalled it this time, but I didn't go down and I wasn't heat stroking. I'll call that a victory

At the top, we start the run toward the Coke Ovens. When we reach the turn Casey is waiting. He informs me that this is an out and back run to the Ovens, with us returning to this intersection. The Ovens aren't far, but my memory of the roads getting there is that they were pretty tough. I don't recall if that was because I was physically whipped at that point, because the road really was that hard, or both. Regardless, I opt for stopping here and relaxing while Roger and the others head to the Ovens. I am not as spent as last time, but I am winded and tired. So I shed my riding jacket and find a comfy place to lay beside the road in the shade of my bike.

The view at the top




I don't know how much time has passed, but it does not take too long for the guys to return. When they arrive I go to start my bike and once again it does not want to start. It spins, but just won't catch. We are about to start a pretty tricky descent and I could coast down, but I do like using engine braking. I have a short stretch before the ugliness starts so after a few tries at kick starting, I go for a bump start. That eventually works and down I go.

This descent was at the end of the day last time. I was in survival mode. It wasn't about having fun anymore. It was just about getting to the place where I could finally get off the bike and just collapse. I had to fight the KLR all the way to the bottom and barely had the strength to hold on to the bike. This time is better, but it is still a technical drop. The ground is loose and the bike really wants to just slide, even if the wheels are turning. However, I eventually drop down and reach the silty road below that follows the Gila river to our camping spot from the last trip.



Our camp spot last time


I spent a day and a half lounging about in this spot


The river is up almost as high as the last time


The place where our rescuers appeared last time


This time, we are just stopping to rest... and apparently to fix a flat on Casey's DR. Drew and Casey seem to have things in hand with the tire repair, so Roger and I recline on the bank of the river in the shade and just relax. I have a quick snack and make sure I am hydrated. By the time Casey's bike is ready to go, I am feeling much better and reenergized. The job now is to find the way out on the Battle Ax trail that we did not do last time.

Once we leave the camp area by the river, the road crosses a dry wash area. It is strewn with baby head boulders. I set my eyes on a spot on the far side, stand up and just stay on the gas. Even with the extra weight of the luggage, the suspension soaks up the hits and I am soon on the far side. The road becomes hard packed dirt and is relatively smooth for a while.

Casey and Drew checking directions




The nice smooth road continues for maybe a few miles, lined by the dreaded Cholla Cacti. You do NOT want to crash into these!! The smooth road eventually gives way to a long series of steep and rough climbs. This is where we turned around on the previous trip, but this time we are pushing through.

Roger heading up


The inside line is crazy rocky, the outside smooth but narrow and on a ledge


It keeps climbing for some time around the back of that hill, eventually passing through a gap in the mountains




Once through the gap, the road starts to drop back down to the rolling desert floor. The road becomes soft sand and twists and winds its way through washes and around rocky outcroppings. It almost takes on a roller coaster feel as it rises and falls. Now that we are here, it is hard to believe how close we came last time before choosing to head back to the river where we knew we had shade and water.

Roger starting the descent into the desert below




The Cholla...




I really settle into a nice groove for the remaining few miles out to the highway. I am tired, but it is a good tired at this point. The riding has been hard, but it has also been fun. I still have a few miles left in me to reach our campsite and enjoy a relaxing evening. Once we hit the highway, Drew says good bye and starts the trek back to Superior where he left his truck. We start up the road toward Globe... Or at least that's what I thought we were doing...

Casey pulls over at a gravel road. He tells us there is a little road here that he wants to explore to see if it goes through. Casey has this disease that makes him go mad if he sees two roads on a map that point to each other but appear to not connect... I share that disease, just not quite as bad Believing Casey's claim that this would indeed be a short road, Roger and I agree to go check it out and see what it's like.

At the beginning


It starts out simple enough


The road begins to wander back into the hills away from the highway. It gently twists and winds, dropping through a dry creek bed, and eventually we come to this...

See how it climbs to the right at about a 30 degree angle?


It is very narrow and rocky


At this point, the fatigue of the day really sets in all at once. It almost feels like someone just flipped a switch. We debate for a few minutes about pressing on, but finally we come to our senses and decide to just head back to the highway before someone gets hurt. I lead the way...

Refreshed by the knowledge that there is only a short bit of dirt riding left before we hit the highway, I kind of relax and just cruise back to the pavement. As I approach the little dry creek bed, I start to set up for the turn that happens right in the creek. As I start to tip into the corner, the front end just flies right out from under me. The next thing I know, I am laying face down in the creek bed with the bike laying on top of my right leg. I am not in any pain, because the boot is holding the weight of the bike, but I am pinned in a position where I can't get the leverage to move the bike and I can't get my leg out from under it. Thinking the other guys will be along momentarily, I just relax and lay in the shade...

Any moment now...

Any time... Yep... Surely they will be here soon...






Where the heck are those guys...!?

I think maybe ten minutes go by before I finally hear the faint sounds of motorcycles. Eventually Casey zips around me and pulls up on the far side. I quickly motion to him that I am fine and let him know that I am just stuck. He and Roger lift the bike off me and we are soon back on our way. Apparently one of them had an issue when turning around

Roger sitting where I washed out


My view while laying down was up the creek...


We are soon back on the highway and heading North on Hwy 177 back to Superior. Once there, we head East on US 60 to Globe. It is actually a pretty drive.



But the fun is not over yet...


Casey's rear tire is flat again We find a place on the side of the highway with lots of room and set about getting it fixed. This when I first notice something amiss with my bike

A leaking counter sprocket shaft seal


Repairing the shaft seal with a new one is not that hard... if you have the spare seal... which I don't. The issue here is that these bikes don't have a large oil reservoir. The engine and tranny have separate oil and each only has 900ml. So I don't have much to spare in terms of letting it leak. I am carrying spare oil with me, so I can keep it topped off. But it is going to just get messier and messier. This is only the first of six days of riding...

Time to dig out the tools and get to work


A handy little jack stand... I need to get one.


Casey LOVES fixing flats... just ask him


We finally get back on the road and roll into Globe. We are hungry and stop at a local Wendy's for dinner. It is pushing 7:30pm and starting to get dark. Once sitting down and stuffed with food, we soon reach the point where the thought of riding out into the middle of no where to find a campground and get things setup is not that appealing. Roger and I convince Casey to just grab a hotel room for the night and we'll pay for it. He reluctantly agrees and tells us he knows of a good one up the road. Once checked in, we hit the hot tub and soon ALL agree that this was a great idea! It does not take long before we are heading to bed...

I had my struggles in a few places today, but overall, the ride today was so much better than the ride seven years ago. Part of that was weather related. It was HOT when we came out last time because we had to delay the trip a few weeks. It was MUCH cooler this time. The heat makes a huge difference. Also, this time I had seven years of dual sport riding experience under my belt and was riding a much more capable bike. The combination of experience and better bike meant that I was not having to work as hard. Last time, most of my energy was spent trying to fight the bike's short comings, the biggest of which were the poor suspension and weight.

As I close my eyes and try to fall asleep, all I can see are rocks coming at me, almost like the stars shooting toward the window of a space ship going to warp speed

+

Awesome pics and write up. I'll have to get something smaller than the Tenere if I plan a trip like that. It may can handle it, but I couldn't...

Five more days to go... Stay tuned

"Most times the line I take is rarely the line I intended to take"

Ain't it the truth!

Alpine Loop first time on a KLR. Second time on a 530. I'd have sworn they had came in and dozed all the roads flat in between. Go figure...

Just going through the pics again and thinking about how glad I was that we decided to take FR4 (Telegraph Canyon), it was fun going south (I had only gone north on it before). I was worried that time would have made it too challenging to climb-out on. Of course, I probably didn't tell y'all that

Tourmeister said:

Jo Smee had graciously allowed us to leave the truck and trailer in a nice secure place where she and her husband (Dennis?) could keep an eye on it for us. Brian "TexasT" helped is hook up with them. She is a VERY active dual sport rider in Arizona. So we took them out for dinner at one of Casey's favorite places. Really nice folks!

Dennis, Jo and Brian

Click to expand...

I couldn't remember either. Turns out you were real close... it's Desmond.

Day Two

So after a great night of sleeping on a bed and another hot shower to loosen up the muscles, we hit the road again. We're pretty much done with the low desert and will now be moving into the higher desert and the mountains. We head North out of Globe on Hwy 188 toward Theodore Roosevelt Lake, where we pick up Hwy 288.

Roger at the bridge over the Salt River, just SE of the lake.


Once over the lake, the road changes to dirt a few miles later


Still LOTS of cacti of all kinds of variety






My Montana 600 GPS has been giving me fits with keeping consistent tracks. I don't know why. My trusty old 276C was great at keeping tracks. The 600 seems to lose signal or something that causes the tracks to be sporadic at best. It is very annoying because it means I don't get a good record of where we've been and I have to rely on my not always reliable memory. Anyway, not long after 288 becomes dirt, we cut off on Cherry Creek Rd. I'm pretty sure we didn't do this on the last trip. There is a short climb up over a ridge and then we drop down the other side into a valley.

Casey checking to make sure we are on course


A potentially slick water crossing... and it is starting to sprinkle...


]

Cherry Creek Rd basically runs North along and just East of Hwy 288. As the name implies, it follows the Cherry Creek up a long winding valley. The ride is excellent. There is next to no traffic and we have it all to ourselves.

Casey leading the way


The weather is still looking a bit "iffy"...


Another creek crossing... a wee bit rocky...?


Looks smooth... but looks can be deceiving and Casey is waiting to take pics...


Turns out, it was pretty smooth after all with a few easily spotted big rocks under the water. Here's Roger showing how it's done,


This is what the road is like for a little while, nice and smooth


I am not up on my snakes... any ideas?


Not far from the creek crossing, I think we got off Cherry Creek onto another road that follows Oak Creek? Anyway, it starts climbing and it starts getting kind of bumpy and rough. This is the first time we see other people.

Stopped at a relatively flat and smooth spot for a rest


Loose, rocky and steep around that corner... FUN FUN FUN!


The view from the top... and it looks totally flat


A little higher up and it get smoother and levels out, following along the side of the ridge


Looking South back down the valley




I have now assumed point, for no particular reason really. Sometimes I just like to get rolling before the others after a break so I can experience the road alone without any dust and just to look for places to take pictures.

Big Bike friendly once you get here






The guys catch up and I take off again. The terrain is getting twistier and more wooded, with actual trees instead of desert scrub and cacti. It starts to remind me of the endless twisty miles of forest roads in North Carolina that just go in and out of the sides of the mountains with creeks and waterfalls at almost every "in" spot.





As I come back out of the trees to a spot where I can see, I notice that the clouds have come together and things are changing for the worse weather wise... It looks like we may be getting wet!



Just a little something I spot on the side of the road. I haven't seen this type of ant and bed since I lived in Central Texas as a kid.


Roger catches up and we wait for Casey


Casey arrives... mumbling something about his rear tire and pressure


Just a really cool road to be riding. So glad I am here today and NOT at work!!


Roger navigating one of the "ins" and preparing to cross a small bit of water


Doesn't look like desert does it...?


I REALLY like this stretch of the road.


The foliage and views change rapidly within a very short distance - this gives a good idea of the steepness encountered in many places




Some kind of deer/elk tracks all along the side of the road... Make mental note to keep eyes peeled!


The gloom is closing in on us...


Roger and I had to stop again to wait on Casey


Everything going gray...


Ruh roh...


Yours truly modeling the KLIM Badlands Pro GORE-TEX jacket/pants and about to find out if the Gore-Tex is worth the $$




Not too bad yet right on top of us...


Roger snapping pics while we wait...


Hmmm... this can't be a good sign... "It's not holding pressure..."


Casey says he's got a slow leak... he thinks... We decide to pump Casey's tire up and make a run for it in the hope that we won't get caught in the rain. But...

The tire finally gives out and we have to stop


Note the tarp over the luggage... It is starting to rain


Casey is getting good at this






The rain comes and goes while we get the tire fixed. Then we are back on the road without any further problems. We soon turn West on a road that takes us down off the ridge in the direction of Young, our destination for lunch.

Casey stops to chat with some folks that look like they might be lost...


The roads twists and winds its way back down into the valley below


We manage not to get rained on beyond just the occasional short shower, not really even enough to get things really wet. Soon we roll into Young and look for the little restaurant where we stopped last time that had killer hamburgers! Must to our consternation, we arrive to find that it is CLOSED... as in out of business closed! After a few moments of wondering where else we might eat in a town that had one restaurant, we realize that they have simply moved to a new location!



Much bigger and fancier than the old place. I hope the food is still good...


The pitcher of water saves the waitress a lot of trips back and forth


She's a sweetie


The food turns out to be quite good and we are soon stuffed. The problem is that this makes us sleepy and lazy. It is always hard to get motivated to get up and get back on the bike when all I want to do is go take a nice nap somewhere... Casey is talking about trying to find some road just North of town and where we are gonna be getting gas... blah blah blah...

Tourmeister said:

My Montana 600 GPS has been giving me fits with keeping consistent tracks. I don't know why. My trusty old 276C was great at keeping tracks. The 600 seems to lose signal or something that causes the tracks to be sporadic at best. It is very annoying because it means I don't get a good record of where we've been and I have to rely on my not always reliable memory. Anyway, not long after 288 becomes dirt, we cut off on Cherry Creek Rd. I'm pretty sure we didn't do this on the last trip. There is a short climb up over a ridge and then we drop down the other side into a valley.

Click to expand...

Just in case someone is trying to follow along/recreate the route, 288 is still pavement where we turned off to Cherry Creek Road. Yes last trip was different; we took 288 all the way to Young... remember the pavers up the mountain? What we did this time was kind of skirt around the mountain (still ascending though). We were supposed to go this way last time, and camp in a special spot, but our unplanned 2 day "adventure" changed things...

Tourmeister said:

Looks smooth... but looks can be deceiving and Casey is waiting to take pics...
...
Turns out, it was pretty smooth after all with a few easily spotted big rocks under the water. Here's Roger showing how it's done,

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Actually, there were 2 places to cross at that part, and after watching me plunge into the first (main) crossing, Roger opted to try the smaller one upstream. I was videoing; unfortunately that's the card that got destroyed

Tourmeister said:

I am not up on my snakes... any ideas?

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http://www.snakesofarizona.com/regal_ringneck_snake.htm

Tourmeister said:

Not far from the creek crossing, I think we got off Cherry Creek onto another road that follows Oak Creek? Anyway, it starts climbing and it starts getting kind of bumpy and rough. This is the first time we see other people.

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Cherry Creek (FR203) all the way. Oak Creek splits off east before the second crossing, near FR202, which we did not take.

Tourmeister said:

Casey says he's got a slow leak... he thinks... We decide to pump Casey's tire up and make a run for it in the hope that we won't get caught in the rain. But...

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It was a fast leak, and that was the problem; I kept having to stop every 1/4-1/2 mile and pump it with my mtb pump I finally just said screw it and rode the flat tire until I caught up with y'all. We tried Roger's pump thinking I could buy a few more miles with high pressure, giving the slime a chance to clog. Didn't work though.

Tourmeister said:

Soon we roll into Young and look for the little restaurant where we stopped last time that had killer hamburgers! Must to our consternation, we arrive to find that it is CLOSED... as in out of business closed! After a few moments of wondering where else we might eat in a town that had one restaurant, we realize that they have simply moved to a new location!

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It wasn't closed... it was GONE Waitress said it burned to the ground. It was rebuilt up the road under new ownership (Antler Cafe).

Tourmeister said:

Casey is talking about trying to find some road just North of town and where we are gonna be getting gas... blah blah blah...

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gotdurt said:

Cherry Creek (FR203) all the way. Oak Creek splits off east before the second crossing, near FR202, which we did not take.

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See... fuzzy memory and no tracks. I was going off the route you sent us before the trip. Mostly posting pics for this trip without my typical commentary because I just can't remember all the details.

Tourmeister said:

See... fuzzy memory and no tracks. I was going off the route you sent us before the trip.

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Yea, we were originally going to go that way.

Nice country.

Day Two: continued

So after lunch, we headed Northish out of town in search of some tiny little might exist road that is supposedly on the map... Casey has a real knack for finding such roads. Sometimes this is a good thing. Other times... Today we're looking for FR868.

We find it and it starts out looking nice




However, it soon fades away into rocks, trees and pine needles. We stop, check the maps, have a look around and try to figure out where the road goes, if indeed it actually continues to go anywhere

Roger waiting patiently


You see a road over there anywhere?


This is the view straight ahead and I don't see ANYTHING that looks like old tracks... but we hike across for a look anyway


Casey and I wander around looking for any signs of an old road...


And we find it... right to the left of where my bike is parked


Wondering how on Earth we could have missed the obvious tracks right next to the bike, we turn and follow the faint tracks a few hundred feet where they dump us back onto a more recently used road. I guess maybe we got off on an old original section that is no long used or maintained

The new road


We do a bit more poking around trying to find roads that are shown on the map and eventually decide to just get back on the main road (FR512) because we aren't having much luck. About this time, the weather looks like it will be catching up to us again and might get a bit ugly...

A good sign or a bad sign...?




As gloomish and doomish as it looks, we get lucky for a bit and it doesn't rain.


Instead it just HAILS on us!!


Fortunately, Casey spotted this cover in a little parking lot on the side of the road


The hail finally passes and we continue on our way, soon reaching Hwy 260.


No leaves on the Aspens yet


A short way from where 512 dumps us on 260 we pick up the Mogollon Rim (Mo Go Yon or something like that...) Road. It is getting colder and the sun is heading for the horizon. We are supposed to be finding a camp site for this evening. So we head up the Rim Road to find it. But first, we stop at one of the numerous overlooks before the sun gets too low for pictures.

That is heavy rain in the distance


We camp up from the left side of the image - this is looking mostly South


260 running off to the West down below us


Looking West along the rim


It's only that first step that's bad, the rest is not so vertical


Roger posing for scale


Natural rock layers kind of look like a man made wall


Starting to rain off and on... setting up camp will be fun... not...




The darkness is growing as the various storms come together over us






After getting our pictures, we head off to look for the camp site, but...


We can spend the money to bomb other countries back to the stone age and send foreign "aid" all over the world, but we can't afford the minor millions in comparison to keep our National Parks open... Anyway, Casey and I walk over to what looks like the park manager's house trailer to see what our options might be. With no one home and daylight fading, we head back to the overlook in the hope of getting phone service so that we might do some searching for alternative lodging. Casey had mentioned something about a "lodge" in the area. Roger and I are all about that versus setting up and tearing down camp in the rain.

Meanwhile, a few more views from the overlook while Casey makes plans






Casey












When I head back over to the bikes, I see an RV driving by with a trailer behind it and instantly recognize the familiar look of a KLR. There's also a nice KTM 690 in the trailer. I give them a wave and they pull into the parking lot. We meet Andy and his friend (whose name I have long since forgotten). They are from New Jersey and come down here a few times a year to play. Andy owns the RV and just stores it down here. About now it is getting pretty cool and I am thinking that a warm RV would be a nice way to spend the evening. This is what these guys call "extreme" adventure riding They're heading up the rim road a ways to setup "camp", light a fire and have a few beers. We finally decide to head for the nearby hotel that Casey found.





Casey in the middle, Andy on the right


We say goodbye and hop back on the bikes. It is now almost dark and the temperature is dropping rapidly. That combined with the dampness makes for a not so fun ride up the highway. We find the hotel and it is nothing fancy, but it will do. The shower is hot so I am happy

We make plans for tomorrow's ride and call it a day.

Tourmeister said:

Wondering how on Earth we could have missed the obvious tracks right next to the bike, we turn and follow the faint tracks a few hundred feet where they dump us back onto a more recently used road. I guess maybe we got off on an old original section that is no long used or maintained

We do a bit more poking around trying to find roads that are shown on the map and eventually decide to just get back on the main road (FR512) because we aren't having much luck. About this time, the weather looks like it will be catching up to us again and might get a bit ugly...

Click to expand...

We actually made it through the intended route: 868->102->512:

What caused the additional confusion (after briefly losing the trail altogether) was that we got on 735 by accident, which joins/crosses 868 where we picked it back up (I discovered 735 on the mvum map after we got home). We figured out we were on the wrong path pretty quick though and returned to 868. 868 took us all the way to 102, which returned us to 512. Lots to explore in that area too, maybe some day...

Right handsome KLR.

Good stuff. More please

Day Three

Morning comes, too early as usual... We get the bikes loaded and head back to the Rim road. The storms have moved out and it looks to be a beautiful day for riding. The first few miles of the Rim road are paved but soon give way to a wide smooth graded surface.

Small lake near the beginning of the dirt section




Did I mention that is was smooth and wide?


We stop at various overlooks along the way


And I bet you thought Arizona was all sand and desert...












The last time we came out here, we missed this part of the ride because of fires. The remains are everywhere...








I'm guessing that is a power line or pipe line right of way in the distance




One forest on one side...


Different forest on the other side... Seems kind of arbitrary


More evidence of the fires


Gloomy clouds beginning to gather behind Roger...


Miles and miles and miles of this...




It is like riding on marbles.


Casey catching up. We've been leap frogging as we stop to grab pics of whatever catches our eyes.






We eventually reach the end of the Rim road and drop back out on Hwy 87 North of Strawberry. We decide to roll on into town and grab lunch. While getting gas, Casey realizes that he left his belt pouch open after one of his stops on the Rim road and some of his GoPro memory cards and batteries are missing! Well, we're obviously gonna backtrack and look for them because if we don't, he'll be a basket case for the rest of the week He thinks he knows where he stopped when he last got in the bag, so we at least have an idea of where we need to stop backtracking. Besides, it is a fun ride so going back will be good! We decide to grab lunch before heading back.

Cool bike in the cafe parking lot


This place has REALLY good breakfasts!


We opt for the outside seating since it is so pleasant outside


After eating, Casey discovers that now his front tire is low...


We are soon heading back East on the Rim road. We are riding slow and trying to scan the sides of the road for those little clear plastic cases that hold SD cards and possibly a battery or two... while watching the road... while watching for oncoming traffic... and while still enjoying the scenery again

The West end of the road is a nice run through a forested section.




I take point and run a little faster than Roger can Casey, hoping that I might get lucky and find the stuff sooner than later. I do eventually find one of the batteries in the middle of the road... or at least what is left of it. It appears that even though it might have survived the fall from the bike, someone has since run it over and destroyed it. Oh well, the batteries can be replaced. What Casey is really worried about is the memory cards because they have the video footage from the first day's ride in the desert. So... on we go...

Getting near the place where Casey stopped




The road just follows that rim for a long way...


It would have been nice to have seen it before the trees were decimated




We eventually reach the turn around point and none of us has seen the memory cards. We turn around to head back again, hoping that maybe seeing things from the other side will reveal them. Again I take point while Casey and Roger bring up the rear. We eventually regroup at a campground near the end of the road. Casey actually found the cards!! He just happened to switch sides of the road, thinking that the cards might have bounced to the outside of the curves, and right when he did that... there they were! However, their condition is unknown and we won't know for sure if he can recover the files until he gets home.

All the slow riding and backtracking has taken up a good bit of time, but it has still be fun. Now we press on to get back on our original route. We were going to head down to Fossil Creek road, one that we did last time which was REALLY fun, but it appears that it has been closed for some reason now. So we just take the highway into Camp Verde.

Rain again!?


Despite it looking like we might get rained on, we stay dry. We stop in Camp Verde to take a break and grab some drinks and food before heading out to the camp site for the night. Remember that pic from earlier in the report where I showed the front sprocket on my bike with all the oil on the chain and frame...? Well... it appears to be getting steadily worse. I have some spare oil, but it is even getting back on the tire, so it may become a safety issue for pavement riding. I should be fine on dirt though. I try to use the cell phone/internet to see if we might find someone local that might have the part and tools to get it fixed, but have little luck. So we decide to just head to our camp site and call it an early day. The camp site is just North of town off the East side of I-17 on West Beaver Creek and does not take long to reach. It is totally primitive though.



We have to carry the gear from the bikes to the actual camp site by the creek


Looking back toward the parking area


My tent is the center, Casey's left and Roger's right


I think Roger sat here until we went to bed, hehe...


Casey playing with camera settings


Just beyond my tent, the ground drops down to a small creek that is flowing nicely. It has that classic babbling brook sound that will make for great sleeping later. We were hoping to get lucky and have the camp area all to ourselves, but the other sights are full and not exactly quiet...

The creek behind my tent


The source of the "babbling".


One of the other nearby sites


LOTS and LOTS of wild mint growing! I smell it long before I get to it.


Something that looks like miniature bamboo grows in among the mint


We spend a relaxing evening just hanging out and visiting. There really isn't much in the way of firewood around but Casey manages to get some kind of small fire going so that we have something to play with until bed time. Soon after dark we call it a day and head to bed.

Day Four

I have all the routes Casey gave us before the trip and they are loaded into my GPS. Regardless, I really having been paying that close attention to where we are and where we are going. So often on these trips I am the one that has done all the planning and leads the ride, so it is nice to just sit back and be one of the followers and not have to worry about that stuff. Casey does a good job of it and I still occasionally get out front for short bits to take pics and just stay clear of the dust.

My maps and Casey's maps show different designations for the roads, so if you really want the details, see his report. All I know is that we are generally heading North along the East side of I-17.

This is what things start out like... nice and easy...




Nice and easy is a good thing. We are now on day four of me getting up WAY earlier than my normal schedule and of not sleeping really great because of that. So by day four, I am really starting to feel the cumulative effect of my disrupted sleeping pattern and being on the bikes all day. But nice and easy soon fades as we reach a particularly interesting dry creek bed crossing...

Casey, in his typical mountain goat fashion bounces and bangs his way to the other side while we watch. Then it is my turn. I head down the steep entry and get about half way across before losing my momentum and almost high centering on a nice big rock. I manage to keep the bike up, but can't get it going again. Casey comes back to give me a push and I manage to climb up the far side, spinning the back tire as I climb over the roots. Then comes Roger...

The rocks look small and it looks nice and level... right...




By the time we get all the bikes on the far side, I am pooped! My heart is pounding and I am wheezing like a five pack a day smoker. So Roger and I decide to kick back in the shade while Casey decides to go hiking in search of some Indian art... Works for me.

Roger is probably wondering what he's gotten himself into...


Looking down, a drop of probably 8-10 feet by the time you get to the middle even though it looks perfectly flat


Looking back the direction from which we came


The view upstream


Some of the rocks are 12"+ in diameter and length






Roger showing off his modeling skills and holding one of the small rocks


While Casey is off looking for the Indian art, Roger and I take a few moments to walk further up the trail. It looks like it starts getting steeper and the rocks don't let up. At this point, we are both reaching that point where the fun factor is dropping off. It's not because the road doesn't look doable or fun, but because the fatigue is setting in and the odds of getting hurt are going up... When Casey returns, we stage a mutiny and tell him we are going around on an easier alternate route that bypasses this section. Of course, that means we have to go BACK across the creek bed, but that gives you an idea of what laid ahead if we were to keep going. Casey eventually agrees and we turn around.

Roger and I head across first. Going back doesn't seem as hard as the first time across. I manage to not stall going across, but the bike really wants to wheelie as I climb out the far side. I get the bike parked and Roger gets across before I can get the camera out. I do manage to get a short video of Casey though,

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uS5BblvUhY"]MVI 9423 - YouTube[/ame]

Once across, we back track a short bit to find another road that runs up along the top of the ridge over looking the creek bed.

But first... some desert flowers




Looking back toward the creek bed


Roger


Casey bringing up the rear


More flowers


And now the view from above




Scenic and much easier riding...




We are soon running along a road that roughly parallels I-17. One of my maps shows it as Beaver Creek Rd. None of my maps show a name or number for the road with the creek crossing. It is just listed as an unpaved road. However, it would have come out on Stoneman Lake Road, which is where we come out. The plan from here is to hit FR 80 and run North. We run East a bit looking for it and soon find that it is locked, with no access. Time to reroute on the fly. Casey and I look at the GPS for a few minutes and decide to try a slightly out of the way alternate route that eventually loops back to the North end of FR 80 where we want to be.

We run Stoneman Lake Rd around the South end of the lake and then cut back North on FR 765. This road turns interesting and looks like it hasn't seen much traffic in recent years. At times, it seems to be barely more than an ATV trail. But it soon hits FR 239 which we run back West toward FR 80. This is a wider two track road over fairly rocky terrain. It is great fun!

Casey takes point




Cashing here would definitely hurt...




We don't actually reach FR 80, but turn North on FR 127, which I believe is back on our original track. Then we head North on FR 226 for the rest of the run until we reach I-17. The ground is now more of a nice brown dirt with incredible traction. We are in piney woods reminiscent of East Texas.



Apparently, this is Rattle Snake country and they like quiet... Who knew...


Can you see the snake here?


Time for a break and to refill camel-baks


Casey using my [ame="http://www.amazon.com/MSR-Miniworks-EX-Microfilter/dp/B002IAOOMA"]MSR MiniWorks EX Microfilter[/ame]



This is Roger's happy face, sad face, sleepy face, hungry face,...


This is Roger when he gets all excited... see the difference!?


A better shot of the mini filter... and the inside of my nose


That's quality water right there... boot flavored even!


We get the water bags topped off and keep heading North until we finally reach I-17. Here we cut under the freeway and start heading West toward Sedona on Schnebly Hill Rd.

It starts out like this






But soon turns to this!






Lots of incredible views




That is Sedona way down there below


A quick stop before the road starts to drop down off the plateau


The beginning of the descent




There is a lot of traffic here, so I REALLY pay attention on these blind corners!


Roger's helmet hides his happy face


Sand and rocks, great fun!




I thought the wall of white rocks was cool... almost like it was built.






Love all the layering here


WOW! That jacket makes my 34" waist look FAT!




Has to be an "obstacle" illusion, as my kids would say...














The lower down we get, the heavier the traffic is. There are all these pink jeeps that have the beds extended out the back so they can carry more people on tours of the road. They apparently think they own the ENTIRE road and are not real concerned about which side of the road they should be on when coming around corners.

We soon reach the bottom and roll into Sedona. If you have never been there, it is worth a visit. It is a real mecca for those that are into energies, crystal powers, harmony, blah blah blah... I just want to eat. So of course Casey takes us to the perfect place for this town...

The Red Planet Diner


The interior is pretty cool








It turns out that the food is quite good and it really hits the spot! After lunch we head over to a local grocery store to load up on stuff for tonight. Casey has a special camping spot in mind. However, while sitting outside the grocery store, I notice that the sprocket shaft leak on my bike has gotten really bad. I don't want to be out in the middle of nowhere if it decides to just completely let go. Flagstaff is just a short run up the highway and it has a KTM dealer. Also, I am not feeling the greatest. So I tell the guys that I am heading to Flagstaff where I will get the bike fixed in the morning, hopefully, and that I will just meet them on the route later in the day... hopefully...

[to be continued...]

Tourmeister said:

Can you see the snake here?

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No, thankfully

Tourmeister said:

So of course Casey takes us to the perfect place for this town...

The Red Planet Diner

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Still not sure why there was a "grand opening" sign, I'm guessing it must've been under new ownership? It was virtually unchanged from the last time I had been there, about 12 years ago.