Hackberry Creek Trail (east of Superior) 4/12/2014

Went on a last minute trail run to Hackberry Creek trail. We did the "alternate route." There were three toyotas and three Jeeps. The trail leader was a nice gentleman with a heavily modified Jeep on 37s who was very familiar with the trail. He said the alternate route was "easy."

Well...maybe Easy For him with his heavily modified Jeep, LOL The entrance to the trail had a drop that I found quite difficult to do with IFS and scary. Not a big deal at all with a solid front axle with good articulation. But good lawrd....quite a different story with IFS. Then there was another drop after that called Old Chevy Hill. Not difficult or scary but reaaaaaaaaally steep.

The rest of the route did not have any more obstacles like that but it was pretty darn hard. I needed to be spotted several times along the way. I'm rolling on 33"s, locked front/rear and found it difficult. My impression was that the route was not very safe for mildly modified vehicles unless you like beating your truck and breaking stuff. Actually, I had the smallest tires in the group. All others had 35"s-37"s. Too many off-camber spots next to each other. Very steep climbs with nothing but loose rocks. The alternate route is also very slow and tight, more suitable for short wheel base vehicles with LOTS of ground clearance.

Oh, and you need lockers for this trail for sure. At least a rear locker. There is no way you can go through this with open diffs. This is not your typical dirt trail with a few climbs here and there. Again, this was all loose rocks all the way up and down and VERY STEEP.

The alternate route is not manual tranny friendly either. Gosh...from beginning to end I wish I had an automatic, LOL

I have to say the route is very scenic though, one of the pretties trails I've been to so far in the area. Some parts of it reminds me of Moab.

Didn't take many pics since I was busy just trying to go through the trail

Here's ZUKs tacoma on top of a hill. He stopped to spot me at a corner since I had no idea which line to take. Very nice view from there down.



The other Toyota was a SAS Toyota truck rolling 37"s





My truck and some others at a rest stop





My BFGs KM2s peformed well but I did get a good a mount of rock rash on the wheels. Again, the alternate route is more suitable for people rolling at least on 35" tires.



Poser shots after we came back from the trail



Look how tiny my 33"s look next to those 37"s, lol





Overall it was a good learning experience but I would not do the alternate route on that trail again.

 

Did that trail before I put the 255-85-16s on with Bill Burke and friends.
Had skids and bumper but with the stock tires we took some damage but it was fun!

 

I got a little beat up on that trail years ago. For any hikers out there, hiking down Hackberry Creek proper is pretty cool and then hiking down Devils Canyon a bit is one of the more amazing places in AZ.

 

From the jeep forum:

http://www.virtualjeepclub.com/showthread.php?82371-Hackberry-2Runs1Group-gt-4-12-14

 

No kidding about the damage

It can be a fun trail if your vehicle is built the right way and with the right wheel base. No wonder why you mostly see Jeeps there. I imagine 2nd gen tacomas having an even more difficult time there since they are bigger than the early tacomas.

Correct, great hiking opportunities down there.

THanks for the link. I guess they were making a little fun of us on that post It is true that we did not finish the entire trail

Here's the borrowed pics of our group from that link



My reg cab descending on Chevy Hill. That thing is way steeper than what the pic really shows



The SAS toyota on the same descent. Pretty awesome truck BTW, very well built



The other tacoma in the group



Going down this hill took a little time and patience. Lots of off-camber spots



Reg cabs rule



Again, I think that to have real fun on that trail you need a short wheel base vehicle with AT LEAST 35" tires. Otherwise, you'll spend half the time worrying about damaging your truck (many sharp rocks hitting stuff under, not good), thus not fully enjoying the experience.

Lots of ground clearance = fun

 

It was funny. I have a CJ5 (tacoma is the DD) so I look at both sites. I read this post and then saw the pictures on the jeep site and thought some of the trucks looked the same.