Bradywgn71 489 Posted February 14, 2021 Link to photos. Feel free to use any. Sarah's Photos 3 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
4x4tographer 1,687 Posted February 14, 2021 This run was originally going to be a route that took the group through the Wickenburg Mountains, through Boulder Pass, Minniehaha, and into Crown King. However, with snow, ice, and weather, hitting the higher elevations, we changed the route to a tour of the Wickenburg Mountains. The first half of the route will took us up the Morgan City Wash and past Copperopolis and Bradshaw's Grave. For the 2nd half, rather than going north, we connected to Robert Camp Trail, moving south through an area that was devastated by wildfires in 2020. We then connected up with Buckhorn Springs Trail which took us by Buckhorn Springs which is normally flowing with water. From there, we'll connected to Castle Hot Springs/Cow Creek and end up back at Lake Pleasant. I'd peg this particular route firmly as MODERATE. The way down from Copperopolis/Bradshaw's Grave had a few pucker-inducing off-camber areas, and Roberts Camp is pretty torn up from erosion, due to the fires stripping away all of the vegetation. The trail took all day, from sunrise to sunset, all in all we spent 7 hours and 40 minutes in motion, hit 4,500ft in elevation, and gained/lost 6,200ft throughout the day. Highlights included: Copperopolis Bradshaw's Grave Briggs town site Castle Creek Canyon Buckhorn Springs We had a solid crew for the day, including: @Trail Toy, @gearhead, @Stacey and Scott, @shellback91, @Bradywgn71. Here are some photos from the day! Overlooking Cedar Basin On the road to Copperopolis The ruins at Copperopolis Look closely down in the creek and you'll see a pretty large opening for a mineshaft Hitting the next trail to visit Isaac Bradshaw's gravesite. The grave of Isaac Bradshaw. Here's some great information from the folks that caretake this site and many other historical sites throughout the area. This forest of Saguaro cacti watch over the grave We then hit the road again, heading west, past the Crown Point mine (in the hills behind @gearhead in this photo) We then turned south, connecting with the Robert Camp Trail. A wildfire swept through this area in the summer of 2020. It's been completely wiped out. Because of this, the going was pretty rough as we climbed Table Mountain. Since the fire cleared all of the brush and destroyed some historic structures, it was pretty easy to spot some presumed storerooms from mining operations back in the day. We ended our at at Buckhorn Spring, nestled at the base of the Buckhorn Mountains. 3 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stacey and Scott 763 Posted February 14, 2021 Great run, fantastic people. Awesome pics. Thanks again for putting this together. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Trail Toy 927 Posted February 14, 2021 (edited) Absolutely awesome pics as usual! Here are a few Sarah took. Edited April 20, 2021 by Trail Toy 4 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shellback91 950 Posted February 14, 2021 (edited) Thanks again @4x4tographer for putting this all run together. Spending the day wheeling and seeing the area with some good folks is never a bad thing. The "Beast of Briarwood" was also out roaring along. I would agree with the trail rating and say it was on the HIGH side of moderate in a few spots.(For me anyways) The trail was definitely very,very bouncy for some long runs but still a blast to run. All the bouncing around, and my headache today, has got me thinking about shocks, but that is for another thread. Some of it could be me picking sh#&&y lines so there's that. Here are some of the ones Stephanie took. Sunrise at the meetup spot. Mini Hell's Gate. The white in the rock looked like a cow or a horse to us. A helpful sign. A weird and random stack of rocks. Chillin' in the ruins. Edited February 14, 2021 by shellback91 4 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dzJeepChic 1,571 Posted February 15, 2021 Cool pictures everyone! I looks like it was a fun day. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shellback91 950 Posted February 15, 2021 18 hours ago, Trail Toy said: Absolutely awesome pics as usual! Here are a few Sarah took, and videos in the link https://photos.app.goo.gl/zatjqYE1qScFg48H7 Great pics! I finally got a chance to watch your video's. That's some great camera work holding it steady as possible, I am impressed. I am not sure we would have been able to pull that off considering the bouncing around(hitting my head a few times too) we were doing. I'm going to use what I learned and re-evaluate my approach and lines on future runs. 3 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
4x4tographer 1,687 Posted February 15, 2021 (edited) For anyone interested, here is some history related to Copperopolis. https://www.apcrp.org/Copperopolis/Copperopolis_Text_Master_120207.htm We didn’t pop by there, but the link contains additional information about the small fenced off grave we saw on the way to/from the site. It was the Copperopolis cemetery. Edited February 15, 2021 by 4x4tographer 4 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
4x4tographer 1,687 Posted February 16, 2021 For those of you who drove Robert Camp Trail with me this weekend, and for those that joined me on that trail back in March of 2020 - here's an eye opening comparison. The 2020 fire season brought a lot of changes to a huge swath of the landscape out there. Photos from the same spot, 1 year apart. March 2020: February 2021: 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Trail Toy 927 Posted February 16, 2021 (edited) You should play the lotto! What are the chances of you getting a pic in just abut the exact same spot, just about a year apart and with 2 red Jeeps in BOTH pics... WOW! Edited February 16, 2021 by Trail Toy 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
