4x4tographer

Thanks for the photos man! Here's a few I grabbed throughout the day. @gearhead @Ladybug & @ob1jeeper followed by @SonoranWanderer as we pull up alongside the Monte Cristo Mine with the moon setting in the background. Here's another with @theksmith An old structure @ the Monte Cristo Mine Back on the trail with @gold digger & Sadie with the Monte Cristo Mine in the distance. This is a very small portion of the Gold Bar Mine. There was a great little overlook and pull off area that gave sweeping views of the area and showed just how expansive the operations were. Behind this outcropping of redrock is the hidden Buckhorn Springs which were FLOOOOOOOWING with water from the recent 4 day spree of rain we had. After we left the springs it was about 2 hours of non-stop water crossings. Here's @gearhead going down the lazy river! The boundaries of the Hells Canyon Wilderness Area.

Home safe! Thanks for coming out everyone! I hope ya’ll had a great time. Photos coming soon!

No problem man! We’ll catch ya on the next one!

Sorry for the delay. Yup! I’m on a 100% stock Rubicon suspension and factory A/T tires. I am skidded up though with a decent plate system. I’m not one to take unnecessary risk, and my Jeep is my daily driver. That said, please don’t feel pressured! That said, there are a lot of veteran trail riders that will be with us on this run, so that makes me feel better. I’ve never run this trail system, so I can’t form an opinion on difficulty/wet challenges. We’ll all be experts on this trail tomorrow though! 🤓 If we come across anything impassable or dangerous, we’ll turn around for sure. If we find the trail is too tough, we can certainly opt for an alternative route. I’m not the biggest fan of splitting up for safety reasons.

This looks siiiiiiiiick!

Gotcha!

Done! Looking forward to hanging out again!

Fell into the "lightbars before lift kits" trap - but I already had a 40" Black Oak LED from my previous Jeep KL, so I still maintain my cool points, right? I mean, the JLUR has lockers and a 1" factory lift. 🤓 The bracket is low profile and made by Rugged Ridge, and with the single row LED it sits low enough to not block the spray from my windshield sprayer nozzles. Also tried my hand at installing a custom blackout panel on the hood. Hand shaped/cut with some 3M knife-tape and 3M deep matte black vinyl film. Really interesting experience, and I learned a LOT about vinyl wrap work. My daily commute is 1 hour into the sun, both ways, and I'm half blind by the time I get home. 😫 Original plan was to have it follow the contours of the hood, outside of the hood vents. The JL hood is very shapely and, unfortunately, I applied a little too much heat when apply the vinyl around the left-hand vent and tore a small hole in it. I ended up falling back to just covering the "power bulge" in the center of the hood so as not to waste material. I might try again someday. This 3M vinyl is VERY forgiving and I highly recommend it.

Totally agree! *fingers crossed*

Here's a video of the "crown jewel" I hope to see this weekend: Buckhorn Springs. Pot O' Gold at 4:10 into the video.

Hello my friends! I'm excited to see/meet you all this weekend! TRIP UPDATE: So I'm keeping an eye on the weather for this Saturday. Looking like we'll have a nice day with some hopefully dramatic clouds for beautiful scenery. CURRENTLY I'm still planning to move forward with this run - subject to change with weather. That said, we'll be dealing with obviously wet trails. If we come across a flooded wash or anything dangerous, we'll turn around. I'm not risk tolerant. The majority of the trails are rated easy, based on what I've read. Robert's Camp (below in blue), is supposed to be notably more interesting in the wet. I've notated the planned route with the black arrow. Should we run into problems, we can simply backtrack down Constellation Road and take Buckhorn Springs, a notably easy trail. For detailed information and videos from all of these trails, please see below: Constellation Road: https://www.trailsoffroad.com/trails/3260-constellation-road Corner Spring: https://www.trailsoffroad.com/trails/3261-corner-spring-trail Roberts Camp: https://www.trailsoffroad.com/trails/3262-roberts-camp Buckhorn Springs: https://www.trailsoffroad.com/trails/3367-buckhorn-springs Castle Hot Springs Road: https://www.trailsoffroad.com/trails/26-castle-hot-springs

We’ll take 219! PayPal’n shortly!

Count myself and the family in!

Newly rescheduled run here - hope to see you there!

@shellback91 @Rubicon 18 @CAVU2 @johnpa Here's the rescheduled run if ya'll are interested!

CANCELLED: Saturday, March 28, 2020: Boulders Exploration, 4x4 Exploratory *** Run cancelled due to general lack of interest and current COVID/social distancing concerns *** I'll keep this route on the back burner and we'll try it later this year! Was at the Scottsdale Offroad Expo way back in 2018 and grabbed a fat stack of maps from the BLM who was out representing the OHV crowd. They have periodic runs called "Show-Me" rides where they tour our beautiful lands with new off-roaders. This run is modeled after one of their runs I recreated in Gaia GPS, but I took a few liberties. The route cuts through the Hieroglyphic Mountains and skirts the Hells Canyon Wilderness border. TRIP INFO: Meeting Location: Boulder's OHV Staging Area (map) 33.845156, -112.442581 State Land Trust Permit Required: This trail crosses back and forth between BLM and State Trust land https://asld.secure.force.com/recreationalpermit/ Trail Information: GPX/KML files attached to this post. I've never run this route before, so my knowledge is pretty limited. Trail length is 35.07 miles Max ascent: 3,850 ft Trail duration is unknown. I'm treating this as a full day trip. Trail difficulty is unknown, however based on satellite, it looks to be wide and easy. Certain areas of the trail, however, do have a good amount of brush. Vast majority of this route is in various washes (Piccacho, Horse Creek) that litter the area, and a segment on Castle Hot Springs Road. About 1/3rd of the route back to the staging area follows the Hieroglyphic Mountain Loop which is pretty easy to traverse. If things get tough, we'll turn around! I'm in a stock daily driver Rubicon and have no desire to break anything. Some points of interest along the route Big Reef Mill Cedar Basin Old structures and windmills Horse Creek Tank Additional Considerations: Dress for the weather Bring a chair! Bring a lunch, snacks, and plenty of water Recovery gear/traction aid Emergency supplies / Med kit Don't forget your camera! VEHICLE REQUIREMENTS: Vehicle Minimums: All vehicles are required to meet state legal requirements, (i.e.: current registration and insurance) Have functional seat-belts for each occupant Must have suitable recovery points front and rear Each vehicle must have a CB Radio or a Ham Radio in good working order High-clearance 4x4's with low-range 30"+ aggressive all-terrain or mud-terrain tires COMMS: CB Channel: 4 Ham Frequency: 146.46 MHz SIGN UPS: Rig Limit This trip is limited to 8 total rigs. Once the limit is reached, anyone asking to sign-up will be placed on the standby list. Please don't hesitate to sign-up as a standby because people often do drop-out so you may get to still go. Post a reply in this thread saying you'd like to go and I'll put you on the roster! Attending: 1 - 4x4tographer (Ryan) - lead 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - On Stand-by: 1 - GPX File: Boulder_Show_Me_Loop.gpx 20200209153635-50193-data.gpx Boulder_Show_Me_Loop.kmz

Now ya got me paranoid! The ARBs come with a dipstick that you lay next to your old cover and mark the depth of the fill hole with a hasp or file. Hopefully I did it right! If the diff breathers barf, is it just a matter of replacing them? Or can they be blown out?

Beefy birthday differential covers! A reusable gasket made it pretty easy, though it took me a min to figure out I had to jack up the Jeep on one side to get past the pesky trackbar front and rear. My first time ever swapping out diff covers. Did a test drive and everything seems good, no leaks so far. Real test will be on my commute tomorrow!

Thanks guys!!! I really appreciate it!

Hi guys, look like we’re going to get swamped with rain all day Saturday. I’m going to postpone the run to a later date for safety reasons. In the meantime, please check out another run I’m leading out here in just a few short weeks! @johnpa @shellback91 @Rubicon 18

Yeah I need this in my life. 🤤

March 14, 2020 / Wickenburg Mountains Triple Threat! / Moderate 4x4 How about a triple-threat of trails for a day of wheeling? Actually, we’ll be on 5 “trails”, using 2 of them as access roads to the day’s triple threat through the Wickenburg Mountains. What is this magical triple threat, you may ask? Corner Spring Trail Roberts Camp Buckhorn Springs We’ll access this network of trails by way of Constellation Road near Wickenburg and then leverage Castle Hot Springs Road to part ways and head back to the Lake Pleasant/Peoria area or into Morristown/Wickenburg, depending on where you live. Short Hike: A major point of interest along this trail are the Buckhorn Springs along a short hike. The natural spring flows through a narrow rocky canyon where a couple of crystal clear water holes can be found. Meeting Time & Location: 7:30am @ Constellation Road Trailhead Coords: 33.98748, -112.69342 Map: https://goo.gl/maps/JKwGhKsobqKcMwXW6 Near the intersection of Constellation Road and Smoke View Ranch Road Trail Details: This run is 44 miles from the Constellation Trail Head to the end of Castle Hot Springs Road near Lake Pleasant. In terms of timing, I’m treating this as an all-day affair. I have not personally run this system of trails. For detailed information and videos from all of these trails, please see below: Constellation Road: https://www.trailsoffroad.com/trails/3260-constellation-road Corner Spring: https://www.trailsoffroad.com/trails/3261-corner-spring-trail Roberts Camp: https://www.trailsoffroad.com/trails/3262-roberts-camp Buckhorn Springs: https://www.trailsoffroad.com/trails/3367-buckhorn-springs Castle Hot Springs Road: https://www.trailsoffroad.com/trails/26-castle-hot-springs GPX file attached Triple_Threat_Corner_Spring-Roberts_Camp-Buckhorn_Spring.gpx This trail criss-crosses from Federal to State Trust land and through private property. STATE TRUST PERMIT REQUIRED: https://asld.secure.force.com/recreationalpermit/ Difficulty: Moderate (per available trail information) Constellation Road, Buckhorn Springs, and Castle Hot Springs are considered the easiest parts of the run. These trails constitute the vast majority of our trail distance and should be doable in 2 wheel drive with high clearance. The moderate portion of our day will be on Corner Spring Trail (rocky wash areas) and Roberts Camp Trail (narrow shelf roads, steep climbs, rutted trail, loose rock, mild-off camber). ***WEATHER UPDATE 3/12*** So I'm keeping an eye on the weather for this Saturday. Looking like we'll have a nice day with some hopefully dramatic clouds for beautiful scenery. CURRENTLY I'm still planning to move forward with this run - subject to change with weather. That said, we'll be dealing with obviously wet trails. If we come across a flooded wash or anything dangerous, we'll turn around. I'm not risk tolerant. Should we run into problems, we can simply backtrack down Constellation Road and take Buckhorn Springs, a notably easy trail. Vehicle Requirements: Vehicle Minimums: All vehicles are required to meet state legal requirements, (i.e.: current registration and insurance) Have functional seat-belts for each occupant Must have suitable recovery points front and rear Each vehicle must have a CB Radio or a Ham Radio in good working order High-clearance 4x4's with low-range 30"+ aggressive all-terrain or mud-terrain tires Rear locker advised Vehicle Recommendations: Skid plates on important areas such as transfer-case & gas-tank, rock-rails, aftermarket differential covers, high-clearance metal bumpers, trimmed wheel wells, low axle gearing, upgraded axle shafts, 4:1 transfer case, 33"+ tires. Other Considerations: Water Lunch and snacks! Dress for the weather Hiking Boots or sturdy shoes (for the hike to the springs) Folding chairs Camera Recovery Gear / Traction Aid Emergency supplies / Med Kit No facilities, plan accordingly Comms: CB Channel: 4 Ham Frequency: 146.46 MHz Sign-Ups: Rig Limit This trip is limited to 8 total rigs. Once the limit is reached, anyone asking to sign-up will be placed on the standby list. Please don't hesitate to sign-up as a standby because people often do drop-out so you may get to still go. Post a reply in this thread saying you'd like to go and I'll put you on the roster! 1 - 4x4tographer (Ryan) 2 - @ob1jeeper 3 - 4 - @SonoranWanderer 5 - @gearhead 6 - @gold digger 7 - @theksmith 8 - @Rubicon 18 Standby List: 1 - 2 - 3 -

Will do - hope you get the Jeep sorted out!