T-Day in the Desert

[curtis]

Looks like another great trip! Chuck which course did you play?

[dirtman13]

Dinosaur. It was a little challenging being target desert golf. The 15 mph winds didn't help much but it was a great day. I actually got paired with one of the owners and the course knowledge was quite useful.

[Russ Chung]

Thanks to Sergio and Mike for planning and organizing a great and memorable T-Day holiday weekend in Florence Junction. Since my daughter lives in Scottsdale, I stayed at her place which is about an hour away from FJ instead of camping with the rest of the group. After T-day dinner at her house, I drove over to FJ to join the campfire and bring some dessert, but everyone was so full from their turkey dinners that they saved it for the next day.

On Friday, while the MJR group ran Elvis and Axle Alley, I decided to do a milder trail, so I joined a group from Offroad Passport. We ran Rocker Panel Pass in the Tonto National Forest northeast of Phoenix. The first part of the trail crosses Sycamore Creek several times.



A short series of dry waterfalls and rock squeezes are the only major obstacles on this trail. We are inspecting the first obstacle and discussing our plan of attack.



The run leader chose the left side of the obstacle:



This Bronco was next and he chose the right side:



The short wheelbase vehicles generally took the left side of the waterfall:



There were a couple more ledges and squeezes just above the dry waterfall:





In all the wheeling that I have done, I've NEVER seen an airbag deploy, but it happened on this run. Here's a link to a video taken by one of the other members of the group:

http://youtu.be/9Rr0udB5bKc

The rest of the trail was fairly mild, but there were some steep hills with ruts and washouts. Shortly after this picture was taken, the YJ's rear passenger tire went further into the rut and he got even more air. We got a strap on his front bumper to get him safely out of the rut:



(continued)

[Russ Chung]

On Saturday, I re-joined the MJR group in Florence Junction. I was late getting to the camp, so I met them at the start of Upper Ajax. Mike and Chuck already posted pics of Saturday's run, so I'm only going to post a few more. Here's a link to some more: http://s17.photobucket.com/user/UF92...nce%20Junction

Justin on Upper Ajax:



Mike on Upper Ajax:



The mill near the Ajax Mine:



The rest of the pictures are on Highway to Hell. Chuck:



Sergio (notice the smile):



Chuck and Mike:



Mike inspecting the double waterfall:



Chuck:



Mike:



Justin:



Sergio:



Cliff:



Sergio:



Cliff:



Chuck:



Mike:



Justin:



Sergio:



Cliff:



(continued)

[Russ Chung]

On Sunday, the group from MJR headed home but I joined a group from Jeep Expeditions on a run to Crown King, AZ via the "back way" from Lake Pleasant. The first part of the trail crosses BLM land and some private land. The last part of the trail goes through the Prescott National Forest. Most of the road is graded, but similar to Cleghorn Road in the SBNF, there are optional obstacles which present a challenge to experienced drivers while novice drivers can stay on the easier road.









A view of Lake Pleasant as we climbed toward Crown King.



We reached Crown King in time for lunch at the Mill Restaurant, bought some fudge at the Crown King General Store, and then drove down the "front way" to I-17 where we aired up and headed home.

[4xfiend]

Great area, great trails, and great people means I had an awesome time this weekend. Big thanks to Mike for all of the planning and trail leading, and Kurt and Chuck with the u joint. Axle Alley is definitely among my favorite trails, and the entire area was just beautiful. Definitely an area that needs to be returned to. Thanks for all the pictures so far, and looking forward to the edited video.

[50yj]

always alot of fun running trails with this group. cant wait to run table mesa in april.

http://s241.photobucket.com/user/pel...y/2013%20T-Day

[RAT]

Number 6 is in the can... The Florence Junction area is awesome! Going back for sure. I had some crappy luck but is was still fun as Hell. I didn't take many pictures but got reams of video. Putting together a DVD now but here is a shorty and some pics that i did take.











Film Noir group pic




No one home


AHH! PHOTO BOMB

[dirtman13]

Love the Dream Theater. Look forward to the rest.

[Mike]

Nice pics and vid. I hope to have an Axle Alley video completed tonight.

[curtis]

Love all pictures.

So do you guys still want to go to Table Mesa in April?

[Mike]

Love all pictures.

So do you guys still want to go to Table Mesa in April?

YEP! Count me in.

[sarah]

That looks so fun, and so warm... you guys are a riot and always crack me up with the campfire pics! HAHA!!!

[CVD]

...

So do you guys still want to go to Table Mesa in April?

Absolutely!

[aw12345]

Set a date Curtis so I can schedule vacation for it