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Jason I am going to have to back out on this one. We had snow and rain the last couple of nights so expect some wet, potentially snowy roads. Enjoy Brad -
Cherry Creek | January 2022: An Unbelievable Journey
Curly replied to 4x4tographer's topic in Trip Reports & Photos
That bridge pic is really good.- 1 reply
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T and A changed their profile photo
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Descriptions do NOT do justice to this trail. Photos can't really portray it accurately either. You see, Cherry Creek Trail is more than just visual splendor, it's an unbelievable immersion into everything that makes Arizona remarkable. When you're not diving thousands of feet deep into a number of red rock canyons, you're greeted with the the scent of autumn in the mid-west, and the rushing sound of water - literally everywhere. I've NEVER seen this much water in Arizona. Ever. There are several unexpected surprises as well, such as cabin hide-aways, flat grassy plains, and something new around every turn on which to feast your eyes. Unfortunately, this trail's days are numbered. Between impending closure under the Tonto NF Travel Management Plan and the irreversible doom of soil erosion - this trail will unfortunately fade away unless something is done about it. We noted a number of areas where the trail soil is loose and granulated, wearing away with each passing rain and some areas literally sliding down the mountainside in many places. My recommendation: Run it and experience it while you can. Like... now. Either by government action or the next Monsoon, this trail might be inaccessible the next time you think of it. The Group's Take: This is a wonderful trail that is a solid moderate. It's literally a once-in-a-lifetime trail due to many threats to its continued existance. Jeeps and 4Runners (and smaller rigs) should be good on this trail. No full-size rigs due to many width concerns. Gladiators and Tacomas may drag their tails in a few areas. There are a few "obstacles" that may continue to degrade over time due to soil erosion - however our group had zero issues. If you run this, don't go alone. Consider making it an overnighter and camp around mid-way through the trail. You can read the original trip planning thread here. Attendees: @4x4tographer @theksmith @Ken Ford @kaspily @Bradywgn71 Here's one of about 8 creek crossings we made with plenty of flowing water. Note the very healthy deciduous trees everywhere. Here's a wonderfully well-preserved cabin. The inside was pretty well provisioned with emergency supplies like water, propane canisters, lanterns, canned foods. There was a nice plaque on the wall that described the history (dating back to 1890) and stories about the grounds - a portion of which was farmed by the inhabitants of this little hideaway. Here is a prime example of the erosion occurring in many areas along Cherry Creek Trail. The erosion can't be easily repaired as you'd need to shore up the soil below (which in many places had 50-60ft drops). You also can't exactly "move the trail" away from the drop-off as there is a mountain in the way. The trail can be run with any "Jeep width" vehicles, but full-size rigs will not fit in quite a few spots. Off-camber was the name of the game in many places. This area is another good example of soil erosion. Every turn presents you with a new jaw-dropping vista and backdrop for some awesome photos. This area was the most "sketchy" due to a washout of the trail. However we found that with the right line you could make it across with minimal drama. As all of our rigs had good departure angles, it wasn't much of an issue. However our Gladiator and Tacoma-driving friends might drag a tail. A good look at the departure angle on this section. Again.... unbelievable views pretty much everywhere. This trail was Chris-Approved On the way out, we popped by a short 2.5 mile side trail to check out some 800 year old Solado cliff-dwellings that were incredible. From the parking area its "only 200 yards", which in ORP-speak means it a lot more. In reality, it's about a 2000 ft hike that is largely easy. To get to the dwellings, someone had built a stone cairne to mark where you should scramble up the rocks about 50-60 ft. I won't post directions to the ruins here in order to help preserve them. If you'd like directions on how to get to them, please PM me. Photo by @kaspily The rock face: Mysteriously, Ken's camera stopped working the moment he stepped inside! Many of the original timbers are still holding up some of the structure. It looked like it was multi-story at one point in time. \ Note the great condition of the stucco/mud on the interior walls. My own house doesn't even look that good and it's only 15 years old! Here's the view from the cliff-dwellings. I'd say that's a million dollar view. Can you imagine what it looked like 800 years ago? The drive past Lake Roosevelt home was amazing as well. Depending on elevation, in the distance we could see rain storms and snow storms occurring all around us. We even had a shot at a pot of gold. Roosevelt Bridge:- 1 reply
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- Yesterday
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It took me a while to learn that my Kenwood would only receive FRS frequencies. I have not tried GMRS (non-shared) transmitting on it. I believe technically GMRS requires a license to transmit. It appears that most of the runs use the frequency 462.700. This frequency (462.700) is a 'shared' frequency for both GMRS and FRS radios for simplex operation and a GMRS repeater 'output' for repeater operation. Our runs use simplex operation. The big differences is FRS does not require a license but they are technically limited to 1/2 watts of operation. GMRS can transmit up to 50 watts. A lot of handhelds will broadcast on this frequency using 2 watts of power (other will auto limit to 1/2 watt). This technically puts them in the GMRS category but realistically 2 watts is a low enough power that your transmissions are not going to get very far.
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At some point I'd like to mount a GMRS antenna up front in the hood area for my handheld Wouxun. I just need to noodle through running the cable etc. and of course the finances.
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2"x2" Trailer Hitch Mounted Offroad Lights
Trail Toy replied to Trail Toy's topic in Classifieds: Parts & Equipment For Sale
I pulled the trigger and built 2 sets of these trailer hitch mounted offroad reverse lights, they are available for purchase at $85 each. I wanted to offer them here before I post on Craigslist, Facebook Market Place, etc. -
I've seen new Baofengs with frequency restrictions so the cheap ones are being built like that now. Last month a member brought his new Baofeng and wasn't able to broadcast on 462.700 (channel 21 on GMRS), he could only listen. Later on he messaged me and let me know he learned it had restrictions built in, initially I though he got a bad radio.
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yes, that's a win for cheap chinese/korean radios like Baofeng. all the big brand ham units (Kenwood, Yaesu, Icom, etc.) will not do GMRS frequencies without being modified. for some it's a hardware mod, others can be setup for GMRS just by programming though.
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My handheld ham runs both ham and gmrs channels. Not sure of your ham radio also could pickup the gmrs frequencies.
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We are going to need to cancel for this one. Chris has a medical procedure on Thursday and won't be up to wheeling on the weekend sadly. Hope you guys have a ton of fun! -
a ham radio and license can still be an asset. however, most folks aren't willing to invest the time into studying-for and then taking the test to get that license. GMRS radios are common, inexpensive, don't require a test for the license, yet have comparable clarity to most 2m ham communications - so they've pretty much replaced CB in all but a few clubs. so yes, we're slowly moving to GMRS capable radios as a "standard" for the club. an external antenna would not be required, but is beneficial when the group gets really spread out
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Just asking if future ORP runs are going to require a GMRS radio with external antenna to participate? Are Ham radios no longer a useable form of communication? Thanks
- Last week
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TeenMee joined the community
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What a bummer! We're going to miss the snow by a week! Snowing in Prescott today, next weekend the weather is going to be partly cloudy and cold.
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Sarah wanted offroad lights for doing the occasional night run but didn't want anything permanently mounted to her rig so I came up with the idea of magnet mounted lights. They have a Tamiya style plug so they can be easily disconnected and stored when not in use. I'm offering to make sets of these light and selling them to those who want the option of lights for night runs without permanent installation. I'll have 2 different sets available, a 54 watt set for $85 and a 72 watt set for $90. The dual magnet base is very strong, I put them on my fridge to test the strength and when I went to remove them I had to hold my fridge in place with my foot! Here are the 72 watt (36 watts each) lights used for the $90 set. These are the ones featured on Sarah's rig. Here are the 54 watt (27 watts each) lights used for the $85 set. I have 4 of these lights (non magnet mounted) on my rig and these are the same lights used for the trailer hitch reverse lights I'm selling here. Sarah's rig featuring the 72 watt set. The Tamiya style plug used for easy disconnect when ready to store away. Magnetic base with soft rubber cover to protect the vehicles paint, measures 7.5" long and 3.4" wide. These are built to order and require a $40 non refundable deposit. Cash, Venmo, Zelle & Apple Pay are the forms of payment accepted and you will get a receipt, all sales are final. I can deliver to you at no extra charge or bring along to a run for delivery. If you have any questions or concerns please don't hesitate to ask. Turn around time 7-10 days with delivery.
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Room for more on 2 incredible upcoming Club trips!
theksmith replied to theksmith's topic in Offroad Passport News & Info
FYI, the 1 night Red Creek adventure is now taking standby sign-ups. There's still room on tomorrow's Cherry Creek day run for a few last minute folks to join though! -
Those trails are not in my comfort zone financially or whatever other "illy" you can conjure up. I am kinda boring that way.
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Free to good home My wife just completed her Technician License and no longer needs her dead tree edition of Craig "Buck" K4IA's "Pass Your AMATEUR RADIO Technician Class Test the Easy Way". The book is good for Technician License tests taken prior to July 1st 2022. It does show the wear of good (successful!) use. It is (in my opinion) an easy read and tells you exactly what you need to know to pass the exam and not one bit more. It is written on Craig's philosophy that you should only ever study the correct answers and never have ever seen the wrong ones (the test is 100% multiple choice). The first part of the book is all the questions with correct answers only in story form written as his journey into and through HAM Radio. The second part of the book is just the questions and correct answers only as review. I tell most people that you need only read this book cover to cover once and go immediately take the test. You will pass. I used an older version of this same book to pass my Technician test and also an older version of his General License the Easy Way book to pass my general. Parting note, the wonderful guys from the Thunderbird Amateur Radio Club (W7TBC) offer the tests for free on a monthly basis. -
Drone Laws world map and travelling with drones
SonoranWanderer replied to Surfy's topic in Photography & Videography
January 2022: Having acquired a drone (DJI Air 2s) and spinning up through all the legally required steps, you now not only required to have your drone registered with the FAA (registration number on the drone's shell, and a copy of your registration on your person) but you now are required to carry on your person a copy of your TRUST certificate which shows that you learned, or at least clicked through, all those part 107 exception rules and requirements that @4x4tographer listed above. -
X2 plus now it's so much closer for @Number7 and me, it's practically in our back yard. I really liked staying in Hurricane and going out to Sand Moutain every day, I'd do that again until I get a camper of some kind. We barely scratched the surface in the list of trails there and in the surrounding area. I've also seen overland routes from Las Vegas to St. George/Hurricane that look very interesting. The posibilities are endless.
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Mineral Mtn. Rd. to Cottonwood Canyon Rd. Between Superior & Florence - Easy to Moderate
Trail Toy posted a calendar event in Community Calendar
Please join us for another epic adventure of off roading fun! This run will encompass 4 trails, 2 of which are short out and back runs connected to Mineral Mtn. Rd. EVENT DETAILS & SIGN UP COMING SOON
