Walnut Canyon FJ area Sunday 9/17/06

[oldhockeyvb]

Walnut Canyon Trail, also known as Battleaxe Trail
Difficulty rating- Moderate (5 of 10, Depending on the damage done from our recent rains, 4x4 required)
Scenic rating- High (9 of 10)
Estimated driving time- 6 hours
Meeting Date and Time- Sunday 9/17/06 7:30 AM (Leaving at 8:30 AM)
Meeting location- Los Hermanos Restaurant on US Highway 60 between milepost 226 and 227 in Superior, AZ. Address is- 835 W US Highway 60, Superior, AZ

We will gather at the restaurant for breakfast before leaving for the trailhead at 8:30 AM. The trailhead is the intersection of Highway 177 and Battleax road. Battleax road is between milepost 161 and 162 on Highway 177.

From the Trails.com website:
A photographer’s dream. Beautiful Sonoran Desert with towering red buttes on all sides of the trail. A fun drive offering real adventure. Hike into the nearby White Canyon Wilderness area north of the trail. Winding, rutted road with moderate climbs and descents. Narrow in a few places. Our group drove the trail following a period of torrential rains. Several places were badly washed out, which required some rock-stacking for several stock vehicles in our group. While the road is well defined most of the way, one section crosses a low sandy area along the Gila River. Rains had washed away previous tire tracks making route-finding difficult. Skid plates and high ground clearance recommended for stock vehicles.

[Crawldit]

That's a beautiful trail. If I didn't work on Sundays, I'd definitely join you. Take lot's of pics.

[corwyyn]

That's a beautiful trail. If I didn't work on Sundays, I'd definitely join you. Take lot's of pics.
With any luck (rubbing lucky neck charm furiously ;) ) I will have my new Nikon D50 by the time we go out on Sunday. If I get it you can bet I'll take LOTS of pics!!!

[AZ J20]

I'm interested in wheeling Walnut Canyon. I assume you are going to take the loop trail. I?ve wheeled Box Canyon to Battleaxe three times but have never done the loop as described in Well?s book where you loop back up at the Gila and go through the canyon. I've only wheeled the far western trail via Box Canyon to the Coke Ovens/Gila River to Battleaxe via White Canyon and exit Hwy 177. http://www.dakotacom.net/~jeepster/tipshades.gif

[ROKCRLR]

Put me down as tentative for this. I've wanted to run that trail for a while.

[oldhockeyvb]

I've not wheeled this trail before so you know more than I do. I've researched the Wells book and some others and have some GPS points plotted, but was planning on figuring it out once I get there and see the trail. Did the ovens before and on our way out the river ford we talked to some folks coming in to the ovens from Walnut Canyon. Sounded cool so I made a note to run it some day.
I'm interested in the loop and canyon as well as the route to the ovens. I'm open to what everybody's consensus is. If you are familiar with the trail I'd appreciate your help.

[AZ J20]

In my previous post I meant to say I’ve wheeled the far western trail. The eastern trail would be through Walnut Canyon. I know the western trail very well all the way through to the coke ovens and out Box Canyon or Cottonwood Canyon to Hwy 79. I’ve always gone from south to north as the trail goes uphill for a little more fun.

I haven’t been down the trail very far that takes you all the way through Walnut Canyon to the Gila. The loop back north from the Gila joins the same trail and I know where that point is. The loop shouldn’t be that hard to find lol.http://www.dakotacom.net/~jeepster/tipshades.gif

[oldhockeyvb]

Sounds good.
The loop was my first thought, and I would like to see the connection to the ovens route also for future reference. Wasn't planning to go to the ovens this time as I've been there recently.

[Allen]

I'd like to go wheelin sunday! Maybe I'll tag along. I've never done Walnut Canyon so I'm not much good as a trip leader:o

[AZ J20]

I’ll be meeting you’ll on Battleaxe rd Sun around 8:30. I’m not too hard to spot.

The trail to the loop continues to the coke ovens. Time permitting after the loop we could go to the ford on the Gila at Cochran and you can see the rest of the trail to the coke ovens from there. I’ve wanted to wheel the loop for some time. It will complete my knowledge about the area. http://www.dakotacom.net/~jeepster/tipshades.gif

[oldhockeyvb]

Sounds like a plan, see you then!

[Superjeeper]

I have a 98 XJ with a 4.5" lift w/ 32" MT's, no lockers, no sway bars, and a very careful and tenative driver.
Would I be a pain in the a*s if I came along or am I good to go?
Let me know plz.

[corwyyn]

I have a 98 XJ with a 4.5" lift w/ 32" MT's, no lockers, no sway bars, and a very careful and tenative driver.
Would I be a pain in the a*s if I came along or am I good to go?
Let me know plz.
Shee-yah, like your gonna have problems :p I'm still driving a stock-height Liberty and I'm gonna go! :D OHhh, and I don't have to work Saturday!!! I get to go try and win some money playing poker with some friends then get to bed early so I can get up at the ungoldy hour of oh-dark-thirty to drive to Superior for Breakfast. Vern, if you get there before me order me some hot tea (regular ol' tea, not that fancy fru-fru stuff) and I'll be along shortly...

j/k, Superjeeper. C'mon along!

[corwyyn]

Hey Vern, I just checked the Los Hermanos website (http://www.loshermanosrestaurant.com/) and they only show being open from 5:30pm to 9:30pm. Should that be 5:30am? Just want to make sure they are going to be open for breakfast cuz I'm gonna be hungry!

[oldhockeyvb]

You should be fine superjeeper. Everything I've read about this trail says it's pretty tame. You never know until you get there especially with our recent rains but you should be fine. Come join us.

Kevin- That's a mis-print, they open at 5:30 am. See you soon!

[AZ J20]

There are a couple places that a low clearance vehicle will need to be spotted but the trail is not that difficult and will be a lot of fun. The switchbacks at the beginning of the loop are petty cool. There are drop-offs in and out of the washes. There are places to play, too. Battleaxe has some washouts that will get you if you don’t pay attention. This one is a little past the turn to the loop. The biggest obstacle is the boulder at the beginning of Battleaxe (north) and is a great place for some poser pics on the way out. That’s it in my avatar.http://www.dakotacom.net/~jeepster/tipshades.gif

Battleaxe Rd.
http://www.dakotacom.net/~jeepster/100_1031-1.jpg

[Superjeeper]

thanks guys, I'm new to wheelin' in this type of environment, (twice so far), I just moved here from Philadelphia on July 7, So, Not much of a lead driver here because I REALLY don't know the area.

:D :D Lou:D :D

[dflip]

so how many jeeps are definite and how many are tentative on this run? might be doing the crown king run saturday and possibly this one sunday. just nice to know if its going to be a large or small group

[corwyyn]

Looks like we have four definite -
Oldhockeyvb
Corwyyn
Superjeeper
AZ J20
and a couple of tentatives. Vern, nice to see it was a misprint; I figured you had eaten there before.

See everyone Sunday.

[AndyB]

If I can get some things taken care of on Saturday, then I will join you guys.

[Floyd Schave]

Sounds like a great run- See you Sunday

[Allen]

Count me in!

[Superjeeper]

I'm a definite

[Superjeeper]

I meant to say attentive

[ROKCRLR]

I'm a tentative for breakfast, but a definite for the run. If I don't see you guys at the restaurant I'll be at the 177 and Battleaxe(if I can find it.)

[corwyyn]

ROKCRLR, if you have a GPS the coords are N33 10 45 W111 02 22 (or N33 10.75 W111 02.366); otherwise it is 9.6 miles (according to Google Earth) south of the 60 on 177. It is on the left just before you get to the open-pit mine down that way. Listen on CB ch4 or FRS ch4, whichever you might have. I have both...

Hey, another Kevin:D

[corwyyn]

Well, guess who isn't out getting ready to run Walnut Canyon today? C'mon, take a guess...

I had loaded up the Jeep and gone to get gas, after filling up I decided to check my lower ball joints since they have the recall out on them. I had packed my floor jack in the rear passenger area just in case so I pulled it out and jacked up the right wheel, the ball joint had about 3mm of play which is twice the max allowed according to DC. The left side was probably right at the 1.5mm max. Sooo, tomorrow I will be calling a dealer to get the recall done. Anybody got any recommendations on an east valley dealer with a good service department, preferablly close to either Gilbert and University (home) or Priest and University (work).

OH well, it will give me a chance to fool around with the USAPhotoMaps software I downloaded the other day; thanks for the heads up David C, it looks like a killer program for wheeling!

[David C]

OH well, it will give me a chance to fool around with the USAPhotoMaps software I downloaded the other day; thanks for the heads up David C, it looks like a killer program for wheeling!

Sorry to hear about the mech problems. My vote for dealers would be Airpark since we have Jason there always helping us out. And USAPhotomaps is simply the best mapping software I have ever used (OK Google Earth is great but I can't use it without a connection to the net). I own 5 different mapping programs all costing about $100 each but none is as good as the free one! Glad to hear someone else is trying it out. PM if you have any questions about using it. :D

[corwyyn]

So Vern and all, what did I miss today? Was it as fun as I thought it would be, and more important, do you think my KJ would have made it? Vern has seen me on the trail so he can probably answer this one best :D :eek:

Hope to see lots of great photos!

[Superjeeper]

I had a blast, vern brought a KJ,He seemed to do fine, there were eight of us total,(I'm not good with names), but I think we all had a good enough time:D

[ROKCRLR]

That was a cool run! I had heard that it was a very scenic trail, and I wasn't disappointed! That's on par with the Martinez Cabin/Loop. It's a pretty mellow trail(2.5ish) but the scenery is outstanding. The only hard part I found was when I tried to flop my Heep going for a poser shot, no flop, but a great pic. I had a great time and met some cool folks. I'll post some pics up in the morning.

Hey Lou, it was good meeting you, and everyone else on this run.

Kevin:D

[YELACON]

I had a great time as well. I am glad that you folks came up from tus and hope to wheel with y'all again sometime soon. will have some pics for everyone soon.
John

[Allen]

Yes it was awsome scenery up there.

http://photos.imageevent.com/frag_o_matic/main/walnutcanyon/websize/Walnut%20Canyon_09-17-06%20009.jpg


A 2-2.5 trail with not much to get stuck on, but I did manage to center out once while looking away from the trail:eek: Perfect trail for those stock rigs!

http://photos.imageevent.com/frag_o_matic/main/walnutcanyon/websize/Walnut%20Canyon_09-17-06%20017.jpg

It was a fun easy day of wheeling! It was great to meet everybody!

http://photos.imageevent.com/frag_o_matic/main/walnutcanyon/websize/Walnut%20Canyon_09-17-06%20012.jpg

I did find 1 rock to flex out on! Got a poser pic!

http://photos.imageevent.com/frag_o_matic/main/walnutcanyon/websize/Walnut%20Canyon_09-17-06%20018.jpg

OMG look at me flex!!

[stuart]

Great run. Thanks again Vern for coordinating/leading this run. Had a great experience considering it was my first Moderate (the upper limit of) run with he new vehicle.

If anyone is interested here are the TOPO and Garmin files with the tracks from yesterday's run:

http://www.stulevine.com/Walnut Canyon Jeep Run.tpo
http://www.stulevine.com/Walnut Canyon Jeep Run.gdb

And, some pics:

http://www.stulevine.com/The White Ghost (my rig).jpg

http://www.stulevine.com/The Line Up.jpg

http://www.stulevine.com/Kevin's Rig.jpg

http://www.stulevine.com/Pausing for some pics.jpg


I'm thinking perhaps we can coordinate a run up to Rice Peak (Make a right at Peppersauce on the Mt Lemmon Control Road) in the next week or so. Let me know your thoughts on that.

Stuart

[ROKCRLR]

Pics from yesterdays run:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b7/skiinaz/Walnut-Cyn01.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b7/skiinaz/Walnut-Cyn02.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b7/skiinaz/Walnut-Cyn03.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b7/skiinaz/Walnut-Cyn04.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b7/skiinaz/Walnut-Cyn05.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b7/skiinaz/Walnut-Cyn06.jpg

I have much higher resolution copies of these as well as others. If anyone would like copies, send me a PM with an email address to send them to.

[oldhockeyvb]

I had a great time!

Thanks everybody for coming out and joining us on a beautiful day and trail. I am continually impressed with the quality of folks I have met through this board.

It was a real team effort in navigating this beautiful and sometimes confusing trail, but we made it with only a few small mis-steps. The Wells book does a good job of describing this trail although I would make a few clarifications. I'll post up a trail report for the archives asap.

Here's some pix of the fun:

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/672767/4

[AZ J20]

Thanks everyone for a great trail ride through Walnut Canyon and keeping track of our position.

Here are some pics.http://www.dakotacom.net/~jeepster/tipshades.gif


http://www.dakotacom.net/~jeepster/100_3813-1.jpg

http://www.dakotacom.net/~jeepster/100_3797-1.jpg

http://www.dakotacom.net/~jeepster/100_3810-1.jpg