4x4tographer 2,923 Posted February 19 (edited) Another great annual trip on the Back Way to Crown King. One of my all-time favorite trails. We had a great group of people out for the trip, including @theksmith, @J2DXPLR, @K2man56, @Jbjr, and @d3lbort. A great mix of faces and rigs, both old and new! We met up at about 7am just outside of Lake Pleasant on Castle Hot Springs Rd. We were in for a gorgeous day of sun, fun, and challenges. Of course, no trip to CK can be complete without paying our respects to the CK Rock. The trail has seen better days in the past with our recent few years of wild monsoons and wildfires. However, we noticed that a good chunk of the trail had recently been bladed, likely ahead of the Jamboree in a few weeks. The road was still pretty rough though, despite the bulldozing. The trail has multiple optional challenges along the way ranging from mild to wild. The majority of the group did most of the obstacles - with a few attempting every one, including "The Escalator". From my annual snapshot perspective, all of the obstacles were a bit more tame this year than in years past (that or I'm just becoming desensitized!) Here are some snaps from obstacle 1. Obstacle 2 gives you 3 possible challenges - everyone walked right up the most difficult line! I also think this is the most photogenic obstacle on the entire trail. Look at that rig lineup! We trucked on, knocking over challenge by challenge. We only had 1 recovery up to this point where @d3lbort got a little high-centered on some soft dirt. Some repositioning and a tug from @theksmith and they popped free! Here are some more random photos from along the trail. The mine at Humbug Creek and Burro John has changed drastically - again. The operation really seems to have expanded. They had a number of earthmovers running as we drove through the re-re-re-re-redirected trail. We broke for lunch at about 11:15 just past the mine, right along a flowing Humbug Creek - a welcome site. I haven't seen it flowing since 2019. After lunch we started the last 1/3rd of the trail, which typically takes some time as due to the narrow nature of the trail (and SxS traffic) in addition to the ledges at Oro Belle Mine which always require from finesse and recovery. As we progressed deeper into the trail, the road became a nice slushy mess of snow and ice and mud, which I've not seen on the trail before. The Ledges: Some time between 2021 and 2022 someone created a bypass around the first ledge at Oro Belle. The ledge has gotten a lot worse since then. I used to be able to get over it in a stock Rubicon - not today on 2.5" lift and 35's. I was stuck pretty good, with my front passenger LCA bracket stuck on a dip in the ledge. @d3lbort attempted to pull me backwards off the ledge, but no dice. Out came the hi-lift jack and wheel lifter - stacking some rocks - another tug and BOOM - off the ledge. For a sense of scale on how torn up the ledge is now - the biggest member of the group (@theksmith) was defeated and he's on 37's and 5" of lift. Given a lot more time (and without a rabid pack of SXS's on our butts) we probably could have figured it out, but the ledge has become a real challenge. Here's @J2DXPLR from a distance giving it the old college try! The bypass isn't much better, complicated by running water, making for a slippery climb. As the crew was climbing, there was a lot of slippage to the driver-side with the possibility of smacking the boulder pictured below (far right). Once past the bypass, it was time for the 2nd ledge at Oro Belle. 2nd Ledge pictured in front of my Jeep We had to do another bit of recovery when @d3lbort got high-centered on an inconvenient boulder in the center of the ledge. Out popped the hi-lift, rock stacking, and a tug with a strap and she was free! Here's Jacq guiding Jeremy over the ledge. Note the rock face to the left and the 50ft drop to the right. A nerve-wracking spot for sure - and the snow didn't make it much better. @theksmith spanked it though - naturally! The last leg of the trail climbs up and up - with excellent views of where we'd been. We stopped in town for a well earned burger, fried zucchini, and the famous fudge from the CK General Store! Sorry, I didn't take any photos in town. On the way down Crown King Road to the I17, we stopped to "ooo and ahhh" over the views. We were aired up and on the highway by 6:15pm. A full day for sure of fun and challenges! Thanks again for everyone that could join us and make for such an excellent day. It was great seeing/meeting you all. Edited February 20 by 4x4tographer 4 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
J2DXPLR 141 Posted February 19 Thank you for the amazing captures and the detailed report! I loved the moment you pulled out the hi-lift jack for the recovery. It was awesome to see it in action and how well it worked for the situations. Sorry for photo bombing so many photos! HAHA! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
4x4tographer 2,923 Posted February 19 4 minutes ago, J2DXPLR said: Thank you for the amazing captures and the detailed report! I loved the moment you pulled out the hi-lift jack for the recovery. It was awesome to see it in action and how well it worked for the situations. Sorry for photo bombing so many photos! HAHA! It’s certainly useful! I have @SonoranWanderer to thank for that knowledge and hands on demonstrations. No worries about the photobombs. I always forget to get the people and not just the rigs! 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
English Al 48 Posted February 20 Looked fun! This was posted today from CK if anyone saw anything... FROM: CROWN KING GENERAL STORE!! I am sorry to inform you that at 4:45 pm today, Sat Feb 18 , when the store was packed, 2 Can Am side by sides pumped $150 worth of gas and left town. We have always had trust in our customers. If they, or anyone who knows who they are, tells them to call the Store at 928-632-7911 with their credit card information, no questions will be asked. At this time, we are going to have to turn on the pump for each customer and take their payment before the next customer can use the pump. We apologize for this inconvenience, but we can not take these kind of losses. 4 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
4x4tographer 2,923 Posted February 20 (edited) 56 minutes ago, English Al said: Looked fun! This was posted today from CK if anyone saw anything... FROM: CROWN KING GENERAL STORE!! I am sorry to inform you that at 4:45 pm today, Sat Feb 18 , when the store was packed, 2 Can Am side by sides pumped $150 worth of gas and left town. We have always had trust in our customers. If they, or anyone who knows who they are, tells them to call the Store at 928-632-7911 with their credit card information, no questions will be asked. At this time, we are going to have to turn on the pump for each customer and take their payment before the next customer can use the pump. We apologize for this inconvenience, but we can not take these kind of losses. Saw that on Facebook. Sucks to see that. In a subsequent post a group of people stepped up and donated above and beyond the loss, which was wonderful. The town was packed with people and UTVs. Lot of opportunities for bad guys, unfortunately. They way outnumber the full size 4x4s these days. They’re taking over. Edited February 20 by 4x4tographer 2 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
J2DXPLR 141 Posted February 20 Just wanted to throw in a short little clip I put together to share before the full video I will put together maybe months down the road. 😅 1 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dzJeepChic 2,565 Posted February 20 8 minutes ago, J2DXPLR said: Just wanted to throw in a short little clip I put together to share before the full video I will put together maybe months down the road. 😅 That's a cool video! 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
