THIRD Annual AZBDR

https://youtu.be/oPoTng7LcZ4

 

I’ve heard about that one. That was on my list to map out after the BDR but let’s figure it out. Maybe we can start in the southern areas and avoid weather

 

that’s what I’m thinking... I’ll be researching this weekend.

 

Trying to import it to my Gaia now. Goes, then just stops.

 

hey sixth its worth a trip for sure, cool place.

i dont do spacer or lift blocks,,, but i dont have a winch. so, i'll be happy to let you follow me but i guess we cant wheel "together".

but dont worry, i'll pull ya out of you get stuck

the peace trail is pretty cool, it incorporates several interesting locations along the route, hits a bit of the KOFA (which is AWESEOME)!!!! it was put together by sxs guys, so there are some skinny sections, but its all doable in a yota.

 

Haha! Well have to figure out a date.
Kofa is pretty cool. I used to get lost all in that back in the early 2000s when I was stationed in Yuma. Before gaia an all the overlandy jazz. There's some interesting old mines back there. Plus lots of random shafts in the ground that you wouldnt see until your falling in em. Gotta stay on track and careful. But I havent been out there since 2006ish. Got so lost one time. Me and my buddies we climbed a peak, looked for lights. Found some, found a way through two tracks to the lights. Ended up in Quartzite. When we only set out for a day trip. Oooops.

 

wow! Glad they’re mapping it out better now...

 

Theres a old ghost town out there too. Last I looked it up. They restored it ish. Made it more touristy. Plus there was a old mine that you could drive down. Shaft was huge and spiraled down like a mile. Us guys thought it was pretty neat. Until we turned the headlights off. The girls didnt so much then. Oh, and dont honk the horn. Bats go nuts on that....
Shortly after, they blocked the entrance with huge boulders and could only walk it. Not sure if its still open or not.

Ya know, young Marines. Young dumb..ya know the rest

 

Don't forget the skull you can camp in. KOFA is a cool place.

 

I am in no matter what as well.

 

I made a very similar mistake outside of Winter Park Colorado when I was in College. Out messing around offroad up the divide on the East side of town. Wound up following an above ground natural gas pipeline with ATV tracks along it. Thankfully XJs are small! Got to a point of no return and had no water or food and nearly ran out of gas. Actually wound up all the way across the divide and came down into Blackhawk where the casinos are. On paper you "aren't able" to traverse the divide in that area. The look on peoples faces when we dropped down into the first remote campsite before Blackhawk was priceless.

 

So I think the AZ Peace trail would be great for us! This is what I’ve found so far. There’s an Atlas with lots of information available and GPX coordinates too!


1) Atlas Kindle: https://tinyurl.com/fj5tm6tu

2) Atlas Hard Copy: https://tinyurl.com/38vozjp7

3) GPX coordinates: https://tinyurl.com/14onfl6n


The GPX coordinates include a LOT of extra trails on GAIA and initially it looks like a mess but they’re all well labeled so you can select what you want to see. The main AZ Peace Trail is labeled AZPT 01-34 which correlates well in the Atlas telling you details about each of the 34 main sections. There’s also GPX coordinates for Bypasses (B 1-11), Connectors (C 1-21), and Trail Spurs (S 1-50) [These have less consistent correlation to the Atlas and are likely always changing]. Each of these trails also includes a difficulty rating. E 1-3 (Easy), M 1-3 (Moderate), and D 1-2 [Difficult]. Most trails are M1 and below

So the Trail numbering starts in Kingman, starts going southeast, and wraps in a circle ending back in Kingman. Trails 1-5 are high elevation (Hualapai Mountains), and likely also packed with snow. I looked at different options last night, and I really like what someone on youtube (links below) did as far as a route. It kept him relatively lower elevation (3500 and below) and starts in the south and ended in Kingman to get the most exposure. He also did it in February so it should work out. Not sure how much we’ll be able to do in a weekend, but it’s mostly BLM land so we can go as far as we can every day and just camp out as the day ends.


(10) Arizona Peace Trail Special - YouTube

Arizona Peace Trail Trip — AZOFFROAD.NET


So he started in Dateland AZ and went north on section 12 up through section 9. Then went west on C04 connector trail to connect to the west side of the AZ Peace Trail section 27. He finished off the AZ Peace Trail north through section 34 to Kingman.

There’s some areas that are state trust land, so I recommend getting a recreational permit at the link below:

https://asld.secure.force.com/recreationalpermit/


Thoughts anyone? Sound like a plan? If so I can set a meet up location/time for Friday morning and Friday evening.

 

Why not catch the AZBDR when it crosses the 87?

 

There’s some closures around flagstaff as well that I haven’t checked if it messes with the AZBDR further down. Would also be awkward for us who were planning to start Friday morning at the beginning of cherry creek rd. Then there’s the continued lockdown in the Navajo nation preventing us from off-roading there and visiting the Grand Canyon that just kind of all collectively spoil it for me. Wouldn’t feel like I was actually doing the norther half of the AZBDR. Makes more sense to me to push it back a couple months and do something lower elevation now in the winter at this point. I’m however down for the majority decision of course.

 

Yea FSR 211 north of 87 also closed

https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/coconino/alerts-notices/?cid=stelprdb5341627

 

Im still down to go.

If i may suggest. El canino diablo . Or the Mojave trail. I know California is kinda eww. But its still a cool trail and weather appropriate.

Also i like the suggestions on monument valley and Utah would be awesome too.

 

El Camino Diablo is cool. Just need to let BP dates and group size. For the range part, I think the permit is able to done online now. Hopefully not having to go to Yuma first.

 

yes, permits online now for Camino, however half of it has been graded and is being maintained for 18 wheelers bringin supplies in to the fence. basically everything between Tule well to Tinajas then north to I-8 is a hiway now

i was actually going to mention Mojave trail earlier, but it might be a bit of a push for a 3 day w/e

 

Well I've got a 5day block so.. im down for whatever to be honest.... i just need to finish putting my truck back together. Lol

 

Yea I’d like to stay away from CA if possible. El Camino Diablo seems interesting, and I’ll look into it. We might get similar issues with monument valley because of the Navajo nation lockdown, but it’s definitely on my todo list!

Any thoughts on the south to north Peace Trail route I suggested above?