10/16 & 10/17-Campe Verde To Mogollon Rim Trip Report

[shellback91 1,851]

The gang and I just completed a 135ish mile "overland-style" run from Camp Verde to the Mogollon Rim.  I must say I had a blast and I hope everyone else did as well. I got to meet 2 new members of the ORP family and catch up familiar members of the ORP family. We had a hiccup along the way and the consensus was that the recent rains have tore up these trails too. It seems to be a common theme on a lot of trails this year. I did not take a ton of pictures but will post a couple I have below.

 

Those who attend were:

@Ken Ford @Cullen McCarthy @Large_Marge @Trail Toy @mynr1

 

Day one had mud, lots and lots of mud, the rigs definitely got their mud baths. There was also rocks, ruts and wasps among other things. Cedar Flat Road  was moderate as listed but a little more worn out and bumpy than reports from a previous run. Here's a couple of pictures from that trail.

 

 

Quick stop for lunch in the shade.

 

From Cedar Flat we ran Apache Maid east to Lake Mary Road. This section of the trail was a muddy mess for a good portion. There were mud holes of all sizes and nastiness everywhere. If you tried to avoid them there were just more waiting you some where else. I got to slippin' and sliding around more than once. We all made it through without sliding into tree's or each other. It was too much of a mess for me to get out and take pictures.

 

The next trail we tackled was Willow Valley. Trails Offroad has this as an easy trail, we all agreed that this not accurate in the least. Once you bear right at their Waypoint 6(FR 109) this trail is pretty tore up and a high moderate in my opinion. It is really rocky and rutted out. It was slow going from here forward. This part is where @mynr1 inverted his sway bar link after hitting a nasty hole. @Trail Toy, @Ken Ford and @Cullen McCarthy jumped into action and got the link back in the right position. It was bent so they unbolted it and tied it up and got Al rolling again.  Thanks guys!

 

At the end of that trail we took Lost Eden  to East Clear Creek which was uneventful until got to camp. We were too tired by the time we made camp so we dealt with the weirdness.  See below for that weirdness.

 

This poor little fellar was dead in the tree, his brother was laying decapitated not too far away. 😬 We cremated him and left this guy alone. RIP little dudes. 😞 

 

Day two we woke up to a cool crisp 39 degrees. We broke camp leisurely because it was too cold to move any faster in my humble opinion. We headed out about 8:30  for the days adventures. These trails were all relatively easy with no major challenges along the way. We took East Clear Creek to FR 96(Part of the Cabin Loop Trail) on the way to Buck Springs Ridge, Rim Road, Battle Ground Ridge then back to Rim Road west to trails end.  Along the way we got see some great fall colors and some pretty cool scenery. Rim Road is now one of my favorite areas and I will be returning there as there is a lot to do and see.

 

Here are some dirty rigs visiting Buck Springs Cabins. These cabins are still in use today.

 

 

 

Epic View from Buck Springs Trail and Rim Road.

 

Battle Ground Ridge Monument.

 

 

[dzJeepChic 2,565]

Great trip report and pictures @shellback91! Except for the 2 little furry lifeless critters, looks like it was a nice run, thank you for planning, executing, and reporting!

[4x4tographer 2,923]

Nice work Marty! Sounds like you guys had a great time checking out the rim. 

 

It's definitely been the year for changing trails, hasn't it? It's interesting to hear about Willow Valley.

 

That photo you took from Buck Spring Road is *chefs kiss*. Love Rim Country!

[theksmith 4,143]

thank you for organizing/leading this and posting a trip report Marty - sounds like a great overnighter! ...and i agree with you, that portion of the Mogollon Rim is one of the best parts of AZ.

[shellback91 1,851]

52 minutes ago, 4x4tographer said:

Nice work Marty! Sounds like you guys had a great time checking out the rim. 

 

It's definitely been the year for changing trails, hasn't it? It's interesting to hear about Willow Valley.

 

That photo you took from Buck Spring Road is *chefs kiss*. Love Rim Country!

 

23 minutes ago, theksmith said:

thank you for organizing/leading this and posting a trip report Marty - sounds like a great overnighter! ...and i agree with you, that portion of the Mogollon Rim is one of the best parts of AZ.

 

 

Thanks gents, we did enjoy ourselves. I also learned a few things about leading one of these types of runs that will help me out in the future.

 

That view from Buck Springs Road was awesome to say the least. I was not expecting it or any of the other countless views and scenery up there.  Shame on me for taking so long to get up there. 😆 I will definitely be visiting again, there is a lot to do and see.

[shellback91 1,851]

1 hour ago, dzJeepChic said:

Great trip report and pictures @shellback91! Except for the 2 little furry lifeless critters, looks like it was a nice run, thank you for planning, executing, and reporting!

Thanks D! It was an enjoyable run that had a little bit of everything. We definitely gave one of those critters a proper Viking funeral. 🙂

[shellback91 1,851]

10 minutes ago, Trail Toy said:

EPIC views!  I agree, just awesome! 😎

 

Some other views, just after stopping for lunch on Sat. I looked up in the sky and behold...  A BALD EAGLE FLYING OVER US! 😲 Now that was an awesome site to see!  Then on Sun. I watched a large squirrel dart from the side of the trail and run completely under Al's rig to the other side without getting hit!  We weren't going slow either, trucking along at about 20-25 mph when this "stunt squirrel" pulled that maneuver, lol!  And this was a large squirrel, not like the small ground squirrels like what we have around here in the valley.  As we were going down Rim Rd. I saw a black tarantula walking across the road, I was amazed it didn't get squashed by one of the 4 rigs ahead of me, I was able to drift to the right a bit to avoid hitting it, but...  Not sure it survived after Sarah's beastly rig came along. 😬 When we reached the air up/reconnect spot I noticed what sounded like gunshots way off in the distance, after a bit I started seeing woodpeckers and realized that was the "gunshots" I thought I heard, lol!  Most of the woodpeckers were the more common black/white/red ones but there were a couple/few of the bigger blues ones, another awesome site to see! 😎

I forgot I saw those "blue birds" Saturday & Sunday more than once. I wasn't sure what they were but they were pretty big, now I know what they are. I also noticed the Ravens/Crows are a little bigger up there, spooky bastards! 🤣

[WILL E 423]

Great report and photos!  Thanks for sharing.  I am happy you all had a great time. 

[shellback91 1,851]

21 minutes ago, Large_Marge said:

Absolutely beautiful trip!  Exhausting in a GREAT way!  This is exactly what i needed, a brain break from the corporate wheel. 

 

This weekend was the first overland trip for the family!  Nice to have another truck out with us! Also cool to see a RTT (roof top tent) in action.  @Cullen McCarthy had a great setup!

 

The views were just amazing!  The best across all our trips thus far!  My second favorite part of the trip was at about 500am Sunday morning I opened the rear hatch to watch the morning rays bring light to the dark skies to hear the elk calling.  Marilyn and I repositioned ourselves and enjoyed listening to the unique elk calling.  The dogs definitely had their ears perked in curiosity!

 

Great trip @shellback91! I GREATLY appreciate your planning and effort for this trip 🙌

 

The company and laughs were to be remembered!  Thanks for sharing so many bucket list trails @mynr1 ! I have those saved in my phone for future planning!  @Ken Ford thanks for bringing underbite Louie!! What a character! 

 

Photos and videos: I didnt get many photos of day 1 as the terrain required both hands at pretty much all times and I was already traveling at the rate of a snail so...didnt need to add to the snails pace by stopping for photos and vids. 

 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/goC3FJtFaVsdEsqT6

Great pics, thanks for sharing them!

[shellback91 1,851]

4 minutes ago, Trail Toy said:

I thought it would be fun to start off Marty's run with a little "sexy flexy" action but alas, I don't think the rock was quite big enough...  🤣

 

 

 

 

I'll give you an A for effort! 🙂