KOFA Overland March 2023

[shellback91 1,739]

The gang and I completed our KOFA Run this morning. It was good to see some familiar faces, even Louie the dog was along for the ride. Over the three days we were there we only saw 3 other people, we essentially had the place to ourselves. The weather was perfect, nights were a little colder than I expected but not a big deal. This was my first trip using a tent so I may have felt the cold a little more. Still awesome weather everyday. We ran the trails noted in the original post and added a part of the Hodoo Trail down to the cabin.

 

Those in attendance were:

@gearhead (Co-Lead and Tailgunner) @Ken Ford  @Mick Bowers  @Rawhyd

 

 Day 1- We covered approximately 25 miles to camp in the shadow of Polaris Mountain. We took King Road to Polaris Mountain road to where it J hooked an ended at an epic camp spot that had views for days. We set up camp, relaxed and took in the scenery. The trails were easy and in good shape.

 

Day 2- 46 Miles- We woke up to a beautiful morning and broke camp with a goal of making it to the Hovatter Homestead by days end.  We made our way back to King Road then went and explored the Polaris/North Star Mine, this area is pretty darn cool. The trail to Polaris Rd. is easy, Polaris Rd. itself is a short moderate trail. We visited the old cabin then hiked the old road to the mining area. Not much has changed here which is impressive. We explored the mines with core samples and the other debris on the trail to the big mine. 

 

After exploring we made our way out the KOFA cemetery where we stopped and paid our respects.  The rest of the day's trails were easy to moderate with no significant challenges. Mild off camber spots, rocky terrain, ruts, some steep climbs and epic scenery sum it up nicely.  This time I did not let the Hoodoo Wash beat me, I remembered where I got sideways last year and corrected my mistake. We made our way down to check out the Hodoo Cabin this year. It  is a pretty cool cabin, however, there is a warning about Africanized Bee's under the bathroom so that's kinda scary.

 

We arrived at the Hovatter Homestead a little before 3 for another relaxing evening under the stars. I visited the family graves, payed my respects the to Hovatter's again and thanked Mr. Hovatter for his hospitality. (I am weird like that)  We had the entire place to ourselves until it got dark, then the coyotes started making a bunch of noise. They kept the noise up overnight doing whatever coyotes do at night.

 

Day 3- 29 Miles-  We woke to another beautiful but colder morning. We took our time breaking camp then made our way out Hovatter Road to the Pilot on Vicksburg Rd.  The trail was just as bumpy and rocky as I remember from last year for the first portion then it evened out and was easy all the way up. The views on the way were just as awesome as l remember.

 

Thanks again to everyone that came along for the ride, I had a good time and hope you did too. I did not take many pictures myself this time and am looking forward to seeing everyone's pics. I did get this pic from @Mick Bowers.

Edited March 6 by shellback91

[Rawhyd 47]

Great trip, Marty. Thank you for planning and leading it!

[gearhead 408]

Thanks Marty!   I didn't take any pictures as usual, lol!

[shellback91 1,739]

9 hours ago, gearhead said:

Thanks Marty!   I didn't take any pictures as usual, lol!

All good Mike, I did not either.

[Curly 838]

I've always liked that the Kofas are so empty of people.  I hardly ever see anyone else there.   Except................ for hunting season.  Place gets seriously busy then!