Ghost Town Hunter

Gunsight pass and Lopez pass in the Santa Rita Mntns are both accessable from the Rosemont JCT turnoff on the Sonoita HWY. If taken from the top (the Rosemont JCT side) you will end at the Remains of the town of Helvetia and from there to Santa Rita Rd which dumps out near the intersection of Sahuarita Rd and Nogales Hwy south of Tucson. You can find photos of the area in the albums of Kinetic 1963 on Photobucket.

Gunsight Pass starting from the top. This was my first run that was anything more than easy. Did it in a stock 2004 Ford explorer with the wife and two of the kids alone. Blew a tire in one patch of rocks and hung the frame in another. Had to call a friend to pull us out in near dark. I learned MANY valuable lessons that afternoon.

How is that road now? I almost burried my stock 2004 4x4 Explorer on the way from Harshaw a couple of years ago. I've been wanting to run it again in my '88 4-Runner since it has a lot more clearance but the wife is sceptical (that was my second trail ever).

Nice pics, Did you take Harshaw Rd or Flux Canyon in?

That info really helps. Kind of hard to explain unless you've driven it. If you're planning on camping I would suggest a stop at Patagonia Lake. The camping is good and there.

The only way that I see is to cross I19 (if heading South) and take the frontage rd to Elephant Head Rd. Take that to FS143 Bull Springs Rd which will go past ALto to SR82. From there you can head into Patagonia to Harshaw Rd or if you like a rougher trail head S/W to Flux Canyon Rd. Either one will end you on Ghost Town Loop. Be careful in these areas. I travel some of these roads frequently and there can be a lot of unwanted traffic out there.

I'm from upstate NY (15 minutes from the Vermont / Canada borders) myself. The area is very beautiful but the woods can be rough going to even walk in much less drive. A definate must see if you get a chance.

That looks like a great trip. I haven't been on that side of the Sonoita hwy yet.

Let me know how it handles once it's broken in. This may be something I'd be interested in. I think I've got pleaty of height for where we go but more travel is always good and not so easy to acheive with the IFS. What was the investment?

Yes. Best to try to fold it over first but in a pinch jut clamping the vice grips on the line will help.

A lesson learned for the repair kit. My son in law broke a brake line yesterday on the trail. Thankfully he wasn't in anything rough and made it home on the e-brake. This week we will both shop for plugs that will fit the brake resivoir fitting outlets. Had he been able to remove the broken line from the resivoir and plug the outlet he could have refilled the resivoir and used the front brakes. A couple of plugs don't take up much room and could be a life saver.

White with black accents and trim. I'm using Rustolium thinned with mineral spirits shot through a Harbor Freight HVLP gun. Cheap and strong. It will also be easy to touch up.

http://offroadpassport.com/forum/newattachment.php?t=2295&poststarttime=1352942368&posthash=0d0f42c59fa78569c4922a5c3ad4755b

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Took these photos at Happy Valley before I started painting. It's not much to look at but very capable on the trails and it seems like a lot of work was done by th PO. All it needs for the light wheeling the wife and I do is new gearing for the 31's (4:10's in it now) and an Aussie locker for the Rear. http://offroadpassport.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=1301&stc=1&d=1352936338 http://offroadpassport.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=1302&stc=1&d=1352936392 http://offroadpassport.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=1303&stc=1&d=1352936444 http://offroadpassport.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=1304&stc=1&d=1352936493