Tweet
Trail Report - Florence AZ Area
February 15, 2009
I usually go to Arizona for a large Living History event every February. As some of you saw from what I posted last year, the current site for the event is near some excellent trails in the Florence Junction area. This year I was determined to take the Jeep and check out some trails. I contacted Sergio (50yj) since he is living in the Phoenix area and he was willing to join Sharon and I for some trail runs on Sunday 2/15/09.
I took my copy of the Charles Wells Arizona Backroads book and selected the toughest trail he had listed in the book as our target: The Martinez Canyon. I know without a shadow of a doubt that this is not even remotely the most difficult trail in the area. Mr. Wells obviously kept his book more focused on the trails for lesser modified vehicles. The Florence Junction area is famous for its extreme trails with such foreboding names as Jawbreaker, Highway to Hell, and Axle Alley.
To get to Martinez Canyon, we would have to travel on a couple of other trails in the book to get there. Box Canyon Road leads to the Martinez Cabin Road. Once at the Cabin, the Martinez Canyon trail starts.
Getting There:
We met on Price Road just north of Florence AZ and aired down. We then followed Price Road until it headed into Box Canyon:
Once through the canyon, we then turned east on Martinez Cabin Road:
There were great views along the way:
We made a wrong turn and briefly ended up on the Coke Ovens Road. After playing on the Big Step near the beginning of the trail, we turned around and eventually found our way to the Martinez Cabin.
Things have changed a bit since Mr. Wells visited the area 8 or 9 years ago. His photo shows one of the cabins like this:
What we found was like this:
Martinez Canyon - Part One:
The trail up the canyon is soon rocky and mildly technical. Before long, the boulder field is reached:
View looking down from near the top of the field:
This area has a by-pass that has its own challenges, but we tackled the boulder field:
Above the boulders the old mill is still standing:
There are some awesome canyon views on this trail:
We found the optional V-Notch:
The base of the notch was filled with water:
Since I still needed to be able to drive 6 hours back to So Cal, I took a different line but will plan an attempt at this obstacle another time.
Instead of the regular trail, Sergio suggested a nice extra credit line:
That led to a cool step ledge:
To Be Continued….
February 15, 2009
I usually go to Arizona for a large Living History event every February. As some of you saw from what I posted last year, the current site for the event is near some excellent trails in the Florence Junction area. This year I was determined to take the Jeep and check out some trails. I contacted Sergio (50yj) since he is living in the Phoenix area and he was willing to join Sharon and I for some trail runs on Sunday 2/15/09.
I took my copy of the Charles Wells Arizona Backroads book and selected the toughest trail he had listed in the book as our target: The Martinez Canyon. I know without a shadow of a doubt that this is not even remotely the most difficult trail in the area. Mr. Wells obviously kept his book more focused on the trails for lesser modified vehicles. The Florence Junction area is famous for its extreme trails with such foreboding names as Jawbreaker, Highway to Hell, and Axle Alley.
To get to Martinez Canyon, we would have to travel on a couple of other trails in the book to get there. Box Canyon Road leads to the Martinez Cabin Road. Once at the Cabin, the Martinez Canyon trail starts.
Getting There:
We met on Price Road just north of Florence AZ and aired down. We then followed Price Road until it headed into Box Canyon:
Once through the canyon, we then turned east on Martinez Cabin Road:
There were great views along the way:
We made a wrong turn and briefly ended up on the Coke Ovens Road. After playing on the Big Step near the beginning of the trail, we turned around and eventually found our way to the Martinez Cabin.
Things have changed a bit since Mr. Wells visited the area 8 or 9 years ago. His photo shows one of the cabins like this:
What we found was like this:
Martinez Canyon - Part One:
The trail up the canyon is soon rocky and mildly technical. Before long, the boulder field is reached:
View looking down from near the top of the field:
This area has a by-pass that has its own challenges, but we tackled the boulder field:
Above the boulders the old mill is still standing:
There are some awesome canyon views on this trail:
We found the optional V-Notch:
The base of the notch was filled with water:
Since I still needed to be able to drive 6 hours back to So Cal, I took a different line but will plan an attempt at this obstacle another time.
Instead of the regular trail, Sergio suggested a nice extra credit line:
That led to a cool step ledge:
To Be Continued….
Comment