AZTW Arizona Peace Trail Expedition

Day 1 –AZTW Peace Trail

So, 2020 was quite the year. Suffice to say that the last time I had spent a few days with these guys, back on the 2nd Annual AZTWBDR, was just before lockdowns were imposed and the virus had grown to the level we are all now familiar with. If only we had known!

Despite all that, we were determined to make our 3rd Annual AZTWBDR happen in late February of 2021.

There was just one, teensy-weensy, problem. Most of the sections of the AZBDR we had to conquer were above the Mogollon Rim, at much higher elevations than Phoenix, and as a result of the time of year, many of the crucial roads were closed.

Danny @Sapnjack was quick on his feet to suggest an alternate trip, as many people had already scheduled time off work for the AZBDR. So, after a brief discussion online we decided to reroute the trip to the Arizona Peace Trail, specifically from Dateland, AZ north to Kingman, AZ.

Lots of information is present online surrounding the Arizona Peace Trail, but one important fact became clear as we traversed the trail. It is mainly designed for UTV’s, not full-size (or even mid-sized) trucks. The rating system goes from E1-E3, then M1-M2, then D1-D2. We conquered nothing harder than an M1 and my 3rd Gen Tacoma with stock suspension did not come away unscathed.

If attempting this trail be wary that you should have a lift, skids, sliders, and a lack of care for your vehicles paint. Pinstriping galore!

I’ll also add that while the desert is a beautiful place in its own right, this particular trip did not lend itself to especially noteworthy photo taking locations. This is unusual for my trip reports, as I often stop to take in the scenery and snap photos of it all. But this route simply doesn’t offer that luxury, and this trip report reflects that. This area is certainly engaging to the eye, but it is best experienced by being there!

I’ll also, also add that I personally started an overland rental company, Overland Flagstaff, where people can take my fully equipped Tacomas out on adventures such as this one, so that’s what the decals of the side of my Inferno Tacoma are all about.

I'll also, also, also add that this trail has an incredible amount of offshoots and history to explore. You could easily spend 3 months covering the trails we did if you stopped along the way to explore it all. Definitely something I will keep in mind when I feel the need to adventure.

This trip was comprised of a few different parts and pieces. I’ll attempt an accurate breakdown below:

Day 1 – The journey from Flagstaff to just north of our meeting point in Dateland, AZ. Attendees: Michael @MR E30 in his 3rd gen Tacoma and Will @Sixthelement in his 3rd gen Tacoma

Day 2 – Connecting with (5) additional travelers in the morning, with (1) more joining that evening. Attendees: Morning: Todd @xtremewlr with his 4th gen 4Runner, Erich (and his father Ken), who is co-worker of Todd’s and is not a member of TW with his 3rd gen 4Runner, Danny @Sapnjack with his 3rd gen Tacoma, Chris @chrslefty with his 1st gen Tacoma, Clay @Nukeproof and his 1st gen Tacoma. Evening: Andy @Ace115 and Megan with his long travel 1st gen Tacoma.

Day 3 – Departure of Clay @Nukeproof in the early morning. We left him behind at camp at his request.

Day 4 – Lunch time departure of many of the group, with (4) of us continuing on northward before finishing another portion of the trail and heading home that evening.

With the details of the trip discussed and solidified online I grew excited as my departure date arrived. I would be heading down one night early, as I usually do, to be ready for the official meetup the following morning. I normally do this because I live far away from the start point, but I also like to start getting in the camping groove early.

I was leaving Flag on Thursday the 25th to camp near Dateland that night. Will @Sixthelement would be joining me, but due to his work schedule he wouldn’t arrive at camp until after it was dark, and I had retired to bed.

I found an offshoot to camp on and logged the coordinates to share with Will. There was no signal where camp was (or so I thought), so I headed back towards Dateland to get the text off to Will.

Camp that night was really simple, and I prepped my rtt for the evening and items for the morning. Took a short hike around camp to take in the sights and found I had great service just a few hundred feet from the truck up on a hill.

No fire this evening, and as the sun went down, I climbed into bed to sleep.

Will arrived sometime around 10 PM and quickly climbed into the bed of his truck to sleep.

Day 2 –AZTW Peace Trail

We both awoke sometime around 7 am, just as the sun was rising. Having slept well, a nice windless night (unlike a particularly brutal night later in the trip) gave me the ability to rest and wake up naturally with the sun.

My morning routine when I don’t have somewhere to be right away revolves around the preparation and ingestion of lots of food. Since we were only a few miles away from the start and had a few hours until then Will and I spent the morning getting to know one another, as this was just the second time we had ever met, despite living just a few miles from one another in Flagstaff. Both of us served in the USMC, with Will departing as I joined in 2008, giving us lots to chat about.

Before we knew it, it was time to pack up camp and head towards the meeting point in Dateland, a tiny town on the 8 freeway.

I snapped a couple of quick photos while Will finished packing up, his highly modified Tacoma putting my stocker to shame!

AZTWPT - Day 1 - 1 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

AZTWPT - Day 1 - 2 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Wish they would have stayed this clean the entire trip! That’s another thing about a multi-truck trip on these dusty trails, every single truck except for the lead truck gets hammered with dust. But more on that later.

We arrived at the Chevron gas station as just about everyone else arrived, right on que. Tanks were filled and greetings were shared, some between new acquaintances and others between great friends. I grabbed some dates (we were in Dateland to be fair) as well as a ‘world-famous date shake’ and chatted with the group, glad to be around like minded folk, reveling in the fact that we could all get together again.

It was 10 am, and pleasantly comfortable outside, as we all set off down the road, CB’s set to channel 21. This first day would take us from the 8 freeway to just north of the 10 freeway.

AZTWPT - Day 1 - 3 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

We followed the paved road Will and I camped off of until a turn off took us onto a dusty trail. It was here where we all fulfilled that crucial part of overlanding, airing down.

Here you can see Danny @Sapnjack, Mike @MR E30, Todd @xtremewlr, Erich, Chris @chrislefty, Will @Sixthelement, and Clay @Nukeproof

AZTWPT - Day 1 - 5 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

The desert in this part of the world is predominantly flat, with mountains shooting up out of the surface in the distance. We aired down near a solar farm.

AZTWPT - Day 1 - 4 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Aired down, we began tackling each section of the AZ Peace Trail one by one.

Most of the time was spent with views like this, hemmed in on either side by scratchy bushes, the 'not quite wide enough' trail and vehicle in front of you all that you really see.

AZTWPT - Day 1 - 6 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Danny and Will both had Gaia running on iPads, so we were always certain of where we were and where to go next.

This part of the trail was not overly difficult, just tight, with numerous dry river crossings and several steep descents followed by steep ascents, the bottom not long enough to level the truck before climbing, which ultimately lead to some not so fun situations or results for the stock Tacoma loaded with 500 lbs. of firewood!

We stopped at one point to stretch our legs a bit and chat. The trail thus far had been quickly traveled, apart from the numerous washes and ditches.

AZTWPT - Day 1 - 7 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

The rest of the crew rolling in, this taking a bit as we had strung out quite far due to the pervasive and dirtying dust.

AZTWPT - Day 1 - 8 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Before we knew it we were on the trail again, with brief sections of it opening up, relieving our paint from the ever constant limb dragging of bushes growing close to the road.

AZTWPT - Day 1 - 9 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

At one point we went a few hundred feet passed our turnoff and had to turn around.

This is where Clays @Nukeproof vast knowledge of Arizona’s dirt roads was apparent. He knew exactly where we were and that the two trails in front of us linked up a mile or two ahead, with the right route being much more fun to drive. At this point we all became aware that he was sharing an abundance of information with Will via GMRS/FRS comms at the back of the pack. Definitely cool to have that much intimate knowledge of the land and trails in your memory.

AZTWPT - Day 1 - 10 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Obligatory slightly dirty truck pic

AZTWPT - Day 1 - 11 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Some desert beauty

AZTWPT - Day 1 - 12 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

After we got situated, we drove on a bit of trail that offered some elevation, so I hung back and grabbed a few photos of the group from a vantage point that wasn’t simply flat and boring.

Here you can see how the trail cuts through a land full of plants that want to cut and hook themselves into your skin. Not a pleasant place to wander around in the dark!

AZTWPT - Day 1 - 13 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

AZTWPT - Day 1 - 14 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

I fell in behind Erich, the ever-present dust stirred up by our passing hanging in the air.

AZTWPT - Day 1 - 15 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

We came across an area that wasn’t filled with jumping cactus and everyone got out to snap a few photos.

AZTWPT - Day 1 - 16 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Will and Clay chatting while Clay’s dogs stretch their legs a bit

AZTWPT - Day 1 - 17 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Ken, Erichs father, Erich, Chris, Todd, and Danny

AZTWPT - Day 1 - 18 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Obligatory ‘down the line’ shot while Chris struts his stuff like the badass he is. Lots of upgraded tires and aftermarket front bumpers in this group.

AZTWPT - Day 1 - 19 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Chris @chrislefty 1st gen

AZTWPT - Day 1 - 20 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Overland Flagstaff looking dirtier every minute

AZTWPT - Day 1 - 21 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

The rest of the day was exciting, as we covered a lot of dirt miles. We drove through the tiny town of Salome, AZ, got gas, communicated with Andy @Ace115, and headed out west of town towards BLM land.

We ended up finding a great campsite right around 5 pm at a huge cluster of rocks.

We all quickly found our desired places to set up camp and got about the business of setting up our sleeping quarters and preparing dinner. Our quick stop for lunch while on the trail (in a riverbed of all places) meant we were all hungry for dinner.

After I set up camp and had dinner warming up, I climbed atop the rock cluster to snap a few photos of our home for the night.

AZTWPT - Day 1 - 22 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

AZTWPT - Day 1 - 23 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

AZTWPT - Day 1 - 24 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

After eating my dinner of baked chicken, spiralized sweet potatoes, olives, and basil pesto sauce (as delicious as it sounds, plus one for prepping food at home in a full kitchen and simply reheating it on the trail) I went around snapping photos of everyone’s setup.

We have Danny @Sapnjack, the fearless leader of this expedition. Guys done way too many mods since our last trip, leaving folks like me in the dust, with even moreon the horizon. He’s even got 5.29 gears with 31.5” tires!

AZTWPT - Day 1 - 25 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Clays @Nukeproof rig, with one of his puppers looking for a snack. I may have shared some of my dinner with this one, so we might have been good friends for the evening. Definitely a cool setup he has to go along with his vast knowledge of Arizonas back roads.

AZTWPT - Day 1 - 26 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Chris @chrislefty with his new setup, he would be testing it out for the first time this night. Happy to report that he found it to be excellent.

AZTWPT - Day 1 - 27 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Erich and his father Ken cooking up bacon burgers as the moon rose behind their 4Runner

AZTWPT - Day 1 - 28 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Mike @MR E30 and Will @Sixthelement tucked away near the base of the rocks

AZTWPT - Day 1 - 29 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Stopped partway through my rounds to try and take a good photo of the sunset behind me with the moon rising in front of me. Maybe Danny was able to get better photos with his more powerful camera.

AZTWPT - Day 1 - 30 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Todd @xtremewlr and his 4Runner

AZTWPT - Day 1 - 31 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Another shot of the moon.

AZTWPT - Day 1 - 32 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

After finishing my rounds I climbed partway up the rock cluster to snap a final photo

AZTWPT - Day 1 - 33 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

And with that, the sun went down, and I went about unloading ~200 lbs. of firewood from the back of my sagging Tacoma and getting a fire started. Danny always brings Duraflame logs, and I always pack a butane torch, so getting the fire going in the pit at camp was a piece of cake.

As always, with fire, comes conversation, and it wasn’t long before everyone was gathered around to chat life, trucks, and gear.

Everyone had a camping chair, except Will, but thankfully we were able to take a busted lawn chair that was left near the fire and prop it up with a piece of wood. It was quite the sight.

The night was a bit cold, but not painfully or even uncomfortably cold. Still, Danny pulled out his propane fire pit and placed it near the wood fire pit. Perfection.

Great conversations continued as the fire was fed new logs from the pile.

Andy @Ace115 arrived near 9 pm, and we were excited to see him. We stayed up for another hour or so, late for this particular group as I recall, before we all retired to our beds for the night.

It was another windless night with the promise of many more dirt miles to be conquered the following day. We knew the trail would be tight and technical, and it definitely delivered!

 

Perfect! than you!

 

Day 3 –AZTW Peace Trail

Another restful night ended with stirrings around camp happening around 7 am, a bit after the sun started to rise in the sky.

Unlike the previous morning, Will @Sixthelement and I were situated in a way that the sun warmed our bodies as we went through our morning rituals.

The morning was slow, but not delayed, as I cooked bacon, eggs, butter coffee, sweet potatoes, and a couple other breakfast foods. Some of us wandered around camp, making small talk with each other, offering food, strengthening friendships, and enjoying our vacation.

The pups were busy strolling around camp looking for people to pet them, and more importantly, people food they could munch on!

The propane fire was relit for a time as Danny @Sapnjack enjoyed his morning. At some point we had a discussion about where to travel that day, and a site that I had just been to early in December 2020 came up as an option. Aware of how cool the place was I gave the recommendation a big thumbs up. We’d be stopping there at lunch.

After a very relaxing morning it was time to pack up camp and be on our way.

It was here that we learned that Clay @Nukeproof would be departing from the group, his preferred pace of travel not conducive to the timeline the rest of us had to face. While sad that we would lose the wealth of knowledge that he possesses we all understood completely.

As the sun got higher in the sky it became clear that the first day’s travel left their mark, literally, on the Overland Flagstaff Tacoma.

AZTWPT - Day 2 - 34 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

The tight trails and almost infinite number of scratchy bushes turned the entire side of the truck into a striped mess. This is something to keep in mind if you decide to do this trail. If I ever do it again, on a looser timeframe, I’ll bring a pair on long-handled shears and I’ll cut everything back to avoid this issue.

Or my GOAT armor will have arrived, and that ingenious product will help protect the paint!

No serious scratches are present in the paint, but it will require another full detail.

As is usual with this group, someone fires up their rig and actually moves it to let the rest of us know that it’s time to get a move on. Todd @xtremewlr took that honor on this particular morning.

AZTWPT - Day 2 - 35 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Good shot of Will’s highly modified Tacoma. This guy (along with Todd and Andy and Danny) shared a wealth of info with me and I don’t think my Tacoma will ever be the same again!

AZTWPT - Day 2 - 36 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

This day’s trails were similar to the previous days although there was a bit more elevation to play with. Still, the trail was tight and technical, so great photo ops just weren’t available to us.

At one point, before a technical descent in which the passenger side rocker did its job along its entire length, and I completed the super sweet maneuver of pushing my driver’s slider into a rock and pivoting ~20 degrees around it (I was very proud of this) we stopped and I snapped some photos.

Chris

AZTWPT - Day 2 - 37 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Todd

AZTWPT - Day 2 - 38 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Erich with Will behind

AZTWPT - Day 2 - 39 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Will with Andy @Ace115 behind

AZTWPT - Day 2 - 40 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Chris snapped some photos from behind the steering wheel of me navigating the tight section of trail. You can see them in post #79 of the following thread: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/arizona-peace-trail.707911/page-4

The trail continued on and at one point a short offshoot up and then right back down a steep appeared on the left-hand side.

AZTWPT - Day 2 - 41 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Will and Andy were the only two to tackle it, 30 degree climb and descent IIRC.

AZTWPT - Day 2 - 42 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

We ended up meeting up with a powerline road, which allowed for much faster travel, albeit much bumpier travel.

At one point, as everyone knows, Danny ran into his best friends.

AZTWPT - Day 2 - 43 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

I don’t have anymore pictures of this particular day, not even camp at night, but I’ll recall the tale with just words. I’ll include two pictures I took on my previous trip to this site.

We followed the powerline road for quite a ways, eventually coming to our turnoff for the Swansea Mine around 2 pm, where we stopped to take in the site and have lunch.

The Swansea Mine is a really cool place to visit if you are ever near Parker, AZ. It has three very deep mine shafts, with see through covers, that you can step on and look down. It offers incredible views of the surrounding landscape and has a lot of cool history to share.

DSC_2350 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

The wreckage of the main building on the property. It was fully intact until 1976. Now it is mostly a pile of rubble, but still incredibly cool to see.

DSC_2356 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

We finished up our lunch and our exploration of the site before making our way into our trucks and back onto the trail.

The trail out of the old mine was a bit steep and a bit bumpy, but nothing crazy.

I fell towards the back of the pack as we made our way deep into vast openness of Arizona. This was probably the most remote camp I have ever personally posted, apart from maybe one other site in Southern Utah.

At one point an errant boulder on the trail caught me by surprise and severely damaged my stock skid plate, even ripping a hole in it. Definitely time to upgrade!

We made camp in a very wide riverbed, setup on a raised center portion, like an island within the river. We all went about our evening routines, setting up camp and having dinner.

Will dug us a nice fire pit in the soft sand that we were camped upon and I got to lighting a nice, hot fire. The fire sustained conversation for many hours, as the majority of the group knew this was our last night where all of us would be together.

More knowledge was shared, there was a ton of laughter, and we just generally had a great time together.

We called it a night around 10:30 pm, a light breeze blowing through camp. I made sure my tent was well secured and taut for the evening, as we had heard that the following day was going to be a windy one.

Just how windy was another question entirely!

 

Awesome!!!

 

Day 4 –AZTW Peace Trail

I fell asleep as I usually do in my rtt, fairly easily, as this bed is second only to my bed at home. I always sleep well while on adventures like this as I avoid junk food and don’t drink alcohol.

However, sometimes Mother Nature has different plans. And on this final night of the trip, around 3 or 4 in the morning, she decided to make her presence known to our entire camp through her wind powers.

I’ve slept through windy nights before, but this night was special. It was VERY windy.

Windy enough that I was brought out of my beauty sleep to a serious racket as my rtt was buffeted around like a windsock in the, well, wind! The rain fly was whipping around and making some pretty bad noises. I wasn’t liking it one bit, as I had already caused enough carnage to my rig in the past couple of days!

After attempting to fall back asleep a handful of times I finally realized that it was too early to begin the day, and that I wasn’t going to be able to fall back asleep in this wind. I also didn’t want to incur any damage to my rtt either.

So, I did what any sane individual would do.

I hopped out of the tent in my skivvies, pulled out two pillows and my sleeping bag, closed the rtt and latched it shut, and climbed into the backseat of my DCSB Tacoma to fall back asleep.

I initially thought that I would not be able to sleep. It took just a couple of minutes after I was situated (I’m a tall guy at 6’3” but the space just worked when I laid on my side and curled up naturally) to fall back into a peaceful sleep that lasted a few more hours.

I finally awoke, feeling more rested than I thought I would, to start our last day of adventuring.

Camp was slow to stir as the wind was still present, pulling any of the sun’s warmth out of you before you could enjoy it.

Still, it wasn’t bad, especially due to our remote location.

Another breakfast affair was in order, a big one for me as I did my best to gobble up every breakfast item that was still in my Canyon Coolers super cooler.

More morning conversations took place, Danny @Sapnjack and his rig always a good gathering place.

With about half of the travelers heading back towards their homes after we reached the main road, the morning was wrapped up quicker than usual.

We all cleaned up and piled into our rigs.

Will @Sixthelement let me drive his rig, a 6MT with 5.29’s on 34’s, to get a feel for how it drove and how geared 4Lo is. I was very impressed, as my truck is still stock in that entire department. Thanks Will!

All in a row, we left our temporary home for the evening and took an E-3 route out to the 95 freeway roughly halfway between Lake Havasu City and Parker AZ near the Cali border.

But, before we got there, we had to tackle many miles in the bottom of a sandy riverbed.

We started off slow, letting the trucks fully undulate over each bump, keeping the racket inside the cabs to a minimum.

AZTWPT - Day 3 - 44 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

However, it wasn’t long before @chrislefty and @xtremewlr accelerated and picked up speed. This of course caused all of us to pick up speed, with Will and Andy @Ace115 really killing it due to their highly modified suspension setups.

I gave the Overland Flagstaff Tacoma a good squeeze on the skinny pedal and before long we were all flying along at ~40 mph, the trucks no longer swaying over the bumps, but rather bashing through them, rattling the inside in a way I haven’t experienced before.

It was all tremendous fun, being out there in the openness, using our rigs in an unforgettable way on a sunlit day.

We stopped for a few bathroom breaks, the bouncing doing a number on our bladders.

AZTWPT - Day 3 - 45 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

I tried capturing a couple of videos, but they aren’t the best quality due to the extreme bouncing. Also, videos tend to dull things out, and the route doesn’t feel near as exciting as it did while we were driving it.

I suppose you’ll just have to go experience it for yourself.

Before noon, we arrived at the junction with Highway 95.

It was time for us all to air up (my Power Tank earning its keep while Danny’s dual ARB hummed away), Andy @Ace115, Erich, Todd @xtremewlr, heading south, while Will @Sixthelement, Chris @chrislefty, Danny @Sapnjack, and myself would head north, an M1 trail beckoning for our attention.

We said our ‘See you next times’ (another trip with this group is already being organized) as we parted ways.

A quick gas stop in Lake Havasu followed by a quick burrito stop was all that was between the remaining 4 of us and the M1 trail north.

Will took the lead on this segment of trail, with me in second, Chris in third, and Danny bringing up the tail.

Access to the M1 trail was gained by turning off of Highway 95 into a lot and immediately turning onto a dirt road that ran parallel to the highway, maybe ~40 feet from it. It’s Havasu, so our rigs climbing and descending steep grades right next to the road was nothing for drivers to get excited about.

We made it into the wash that signified the start of the trail and we all hopped out to air down.

We quickly set off; the smaller group easier to manage at stops.

We could tell this portion of the Arizona Peace Trail was much more traveled, an added benefit was all of the pinstriping branches having been recently cut far enough back to avoid all of our rigs. Score!

The wash continued for a few miles, lots of twists and turns keeping us on our toes.

We made it to the start of the trail marked M1 on Gaia, and it was quite the sight! A very steep grade disappearing between two large rocks was all we could see from the bottom.

Will @Sixthelement forged ahead and radioed down that it was doable, and to get a move on.

I went next, engaging 4Lo and crawling up the steep hill.

We all made it to the top with limited fanfare, Will taking a more difficult route, and Chris and I joking that we would have done that route too had he not been in the way!

The going was slow, as the trail routinely ascended steep climbs and then immediately descended down the opposite side.

At one point we stopped for a few pictures.

AZTWPT - Day 3 - 47 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

AZTWPT - Day 3 - 48 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

The beautiful landscape in this area did not escape our attention.

AZTWPT - Day 3 - 49 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Lake Havasu in the distance.

AZTWPT - Day 3 - 50 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

AZTWPT - Day 3 - 51 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Time outside of the trucks was kept to a minimum as the day was a windy one and the dust was easy to stir.

The trail was technical in many spots, some of the most technical ‘non-rocky’ terrain I have personally encountered. Lots of blind climbs followed by hard lefts or rights, usually off camber, sometimes incredibly off camber, and steep descents.

Only once did I require the use of my rear locker, and on that one a tiny bit of speed was necessary to crest a particular rock formation, wayyyy high up on a hill.

Danny proceeded to use his Crawl Control, which took care of the climb with ease.

Down one of the myriad hillsides.

AZTWPT - Day 3 - 52 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

We continued on, the pucker moments still occurring on and off, and the never-ending dust always stirring.

AZTWPT - Day 3 - 53 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

After a few hours we made it back to Highway 95 and a very crowded parking lot full of RV’s and side by sides.

We had a brief discussion, and all came to the agreement that we should break off and head back to our homes, the populated area and ceaseless wind and dust a big turnoff to a final night, especially when we were simply going to wake up and drive home anyways.

AZTWPT - Day 3 - 54 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Airing up once again, and another round of ‘til next times’ Danny and Chris headed south, cruising together until Danny’s exit, while Will and I headed east, cruising together until Will had to stop for gas ~40 miles from town.

All in all, this trail was explored rather quickly, though it has the capacity to be explored over many weeks, if not months, if done fully.

A route that I will have to return to at some point, though not so incredible that it has to be the next adventure. Maybe I’ll get back to it in 5-7 years.

There are many more trips in talks for this year and I am looking forward to all of them.

Until next time!

 

@TukeeTraveler The rest of the AZBDR in June is on the docket.

 

Excellent write up @MR E30
Same, I would love to spend longer time out there. Especially with @Nukeproof and his vast knowledge of Arizona.

 

Thank you. As Will mentioned above, we have another trip coming up soon.

You can tag along with me if you want. You'll just have to teach me how to shoot astro!

 

Its supposed to be super dark over by bryce arboretum . I love seeing the milky way!!

 

samyang/Rokinon makes a nice/cheap 14 mm 2.8f lens.