Tip Top Mine

[rsliman]

My parents are in town and my dad wants to go see some real ghost towns. I thought Tip Top Mine would be a good choice, as I have been there before and its not too difficult to get to, though VERY BUMPY. I think we will go out there on Wednesday morning around 9am. Anyone who wants to go with us is more then welcome. If I remember correcty its roughly an hour to Tip Top once you cross the river @ Table Mesa RD. If anyone has any suggestions for a better ghost town please let me know!

[xFallen]

My parents are in town and my dad wants to go see some real ghost towns. I thought Tip Top Mine would be a good choice, as I have been there before and its not too difficult to get to, though VERY BUMPY. I think we will go out there on Wednesday morning around 9am. Anyone who wants to go with us is more then welcome. If I remember correcty its roughly an hour to Tip Top once you cross the river @ Table Mesa RD. If anyone has any suggestions for a better ghost town please let me know!\

Have you been to Packer? It is not far from Tip Top and the buildings are more preserved or were the last time I was there. That whole Bradshaw Mountain area is pretty interesting really.


Barry

[Wind_Danzer]

I *might* be able to join you on Wednesday depending on certain plans that are in the works. I'll be tenative. :)

[rsliman]

Ive never been to packer, though ive heard of it... where is it, and could i make it with an xj on 31's

[RokNRich]

Here's a whole forum dedicated to ghostowns.

http://forums.ghosttowns.com/index.php

A couple Jeepers on that forum as well, btw, Tip Top is for sale if anyone has the $$.

[xFallen]

Ive never been to packer, though ive heard of it... where is it, and could i make it with an xj on 31's

Packer is past Tip Top maybe 5 miles. You'll have to use the readily available tools to find it's precise location, tools you really need to become familiar with anyway if you are going to be doing this sort of exploring. You can also start with Google or maybe one of the popular Arizona trail books.

I can't tell you what you and your rig are or are not capbale of doing. I see no reason why it couldn't be done since 2WD vehicles run up and down those roads. I never use 4WD on those routes but I alwso have a rear Detroit locker and 37" tires. A friend goes up there in 2WD high range with me at times in his stock S-10. You do not require a 4WD or even particularly high clearance. But, I also know that the roads can be changed from erosion and other factors and that sometimes stuff happens which makes 4WD and a locker or two very handy things to have. I haven't personally been up there for a while (before the rains for sure) so I don't know the condition of the roads today. Packer was quite accessible the last time I was there in the summer.

There is a bit of a climb to get over a ridge as I recall but if you got to it and did not feel comfortable doing it you could always park (safely, and off the road) and walk the rest of the way. It is largely a one-way road and periodically I have encountered ranchers and miners using it so it would be a mistake to assume the very remote location equates to no people back there.

It is very much worth it for the scenery in my opinion should you choose to go.


Barry

[rsliman]

I *might* be able to join you on Wednesday depending on certain plans that are in the works. I'll be tenative. :)

Awesome.. i hope you can make it.. I always feel better going out that far with other rigs...

[joedokes28]

I rode my 4wheeler up to Tip Top on Saturday 9/23. The road has been graded all the way to tip top and several miles past. I'm not sure why, but I would love to know. I'd Rate this trail as a 1.0 in its current state.

[xFallen]

I rode my 4wheeler up to Tip Top on Saturday 9/23. The road has been graded all the way to tip top and several miles past. I'm not sure why, but I would love to know. I'd Rate this trail as a 1.0 in its current state.

Graded huh? Fire access maybe? Renewed mining activity? Rancher's access? Hrm. There was a mine past the (active) corral and the times I have been back up there I have routinely seen what Iwould presume is non-recreational activitiy either trucks or quads heading in and out. There are a pile of mines in that area but most of them were over near the Humbug side, still, not far away from the Tip Top road really.


Barry

[joedokes28]

I have also been to the large mine where all of the equipment still resides, about 7 miles past Tip Top. I was there about a year ago and everything was still in pretty good shape, very little vandalism, etc...

I was trying to make it there on Sat, but my buddy was having problems with his dirt bike, and we elected to turn around. Probably best.

I would really like to go back in the area with someone who knows their way around, learn some history, and do some exploring before it's gone. Though at 23K and acre, it might take a while.

Xfallen, anyone else, up for it in the near future? I wish I could go tomorrow, but I gotta work during the week.

[Spongebob]

I wouldn't mind doing a trip up there. I would like to also pay a visit to Gillette. Gillette is where my grand father and great uncle grew up. As a matter of fact, my dad has a couple of pictures of them on horse back in the 1920's.

[xFallen]

I have also been to the large mine where all of the equipment still resides, about 7 miles past Tip Top. I was there about a year ago and everything was still in pretty good shape, very little vandalism, etc...

I was trying to make it there on Sat, but my buddy was having problems with his dirt bike, and we elected to turn around. Probably best.

I would really like to go back in the area with someone who knows their way around, learn some history, and do some exploring before it's gone. Though at 23K and acre, it might take a while.

Xfallen, anyone else, up for it in the near future? I wish I could go tomorrow, but I gotta work during the week.

I'm afraid I don't have a good picture of the history other than what I have gleaned form the internet, trail books and a few Arizona museums. I would really like to hit the Prescott archives sometime.

23K an acre huh? If I had a quarter mil sitting aorund I'd scoop 10 acres so I could move away from all this riff-raff.

I am not sure I can make a plan for that sort of trip for a while. I have been back there and it isn't difficult to find, as you know since you've been there too. Left at the corral is the Humbug and vicinity mining area and right takes you to Packer and beyond. Lots of places back in there to enjoy and learn about for sure.


Barry

[westy]

Past Tip Top near the corral/trail is a 3-way intersection. If you take the road that goes straight you will pass a sign saying 'hard hat' past here I would recommend a 4wd vehicle and maybe even a rear locker depending upon how washed out some of the ledges are. There is a mine at the end of this road and if you go to the top of the hill you can over look Columbia and alot of the other mines. Be very careful as you approach the mine, last time out the road was washed out badly along the hillside, almost too dangerous to go through.

[joedokes28]

I wouldn't mind doing a trip up there. I would like to also pay a visit to Gillette. Gillette is where my grand father and great uncle grew up. As a matter of fact, my dad has a couple of pictures of them on horse back in the 1920's.

Sounds good. I'm sure we can find some other takers as well when the time comes. Maybe sometime early Nov?

[Wayco]

I'm definately in on this one! I just looked up Packer on Terrain Navigator and it looks like a great adventure. I used my new Toughbook on Terminator last weekend and it did great, marked the trail and you could see all the features on the digitized TOPO maps while wheeling! Thanks Stu, another great idea, it should be RAM mounted in Hijak in another month.
Lots of mines west of Tip Top, Lizzie Lee mine, Seventysix mine and several walk-ins without names.

[rsliman]

Ill be at the airdown spot @9am tomorrow if anyone wants to come.

[Wind_Danzer]

I should be there!!! :)

[Spongebob]

Sounds good. I'm sure we can find some other takers as well when the time comes. Maybe sometime early Nov?

Early November works for me. I haven't been to Gillette in years. I will take a look at my calendar and try to get a trip scheduled.

[joedokes28]

Early November works for me. I haven't been to Gillette in years. I will take a look at my calendar and try to get a trip scheduled.

I'm looking forward to it. I'd really like to see packer and some of the other mines. As you know, there's a lot of 1.0 trails, but there's a bunch of side trails that will entertain most wheelers...except maybe Barry:)

[joedokes28]

Ill be at the airdown spot @9am tomorrow if anyone wants to come.


I feel a cough comming on...don't think I'll be able to go to work tomorrow:D

If there was any way, I'd join ya.

[CjCarl]

Early November works for me. I haven't been to Gillette in years. I will take a look at my calendar and try to get a trip scheduled.


Isnt Gilette right on the agua fria north of the table mesa exit? If it is what im thinking theres almost nothing there anymore. Used to be a couple buildings, but now just one thats almost totally crumbled. The spot im thinking might not be Gillette though, im sure someone else will clarify.

Btw, post some pics of tip top if you can! Its a really cool area! :)

[Wayco]

Yes, Gillette is on the north side of the river. We drive right by it on the way to Terminator. The red ring is on the site, the red track was from running Lower Terminator Sunday. Not much to see, you might find a foundation if you are lucky.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y126/allands/gillette.jpg

November would work for me too, but I might be up there sooner.

[Spongebob]

Yup....that's Gillette, or what's left of it. My dad has an article written in the 60's by some yoyo that said you can still find gold dust underneath the floors of the buildings. This was totally false, but it prompted a bunch of folks to head out there with 4x4's and winches to tear the buildings down looking for it. My grand father and great uncle were both born there. As a matter of fact, when grandpa was 3 he got extremely sick and his dad rode horseback into phoenix to get medicine for him. On the way back (I gather a couple of days later) due to the weather and rain, he contracted pnuemonia and died a little while later. My grandpa never even knew him. To make matters worse, my great-grandmother was pregnant with my great-uncle at the time. She was a single mom raising two boys out in the middle of the desert. She eventually moved to Phoenix, but I cannot imagine that kind of a hardship.

[highjeeps]

Past Tip Top near the corral/trail is a 3-way intersection. If you take the road that goes straight you will pass a sign saying 'hard hat' past here I would recommend a 4wd vehicle and maybe even a rear locker depending upon how washed out some of the ledges are. There is a mine at the end of this road and if you go to the top of the hill you can over look Columbia and alot of the other mines. Be very careful as you approach the mine, last time out the road was washed out badly along the hillside, almost too dangerous to go through.

I was through there a couple weeks ago. If you go left, that is south, at the ranch area and over the saddle back (you have to open a gate near the little trailer), it then bears west and down a really steep hill (lots of wash out spots), past an abandoned mining works on the hill side (not sure if this is the Columbia mine), down into the bottom of the canyon below a house with a couple big trucks (looks abandoned). There are some old ruins down around the creek area. The trail heads westerly, then turns south and intersects with the Cow Creek road (you can turn right on Cow Creak and head up to Crown King). At the creek bottom, there is a trail that follows the canyon towards the north. I didn't explore it but it looks interesting.
Also, before getting to Cow Creek Rd. there is a trail up a steep hill and at the top is look out spot with a tree for shade and a great view of Lake Pleasant.
Nice area to explore.

[Wind_Danzer]

Larry,

That's what I was trying to find today but jsut didn't go far enough to get to the ranch ouuse. I've been that way before once, it's a great ride!!!

[rsliman]

Larry,

That's what I was trying to find today but jsut didn't go far enough to get to the ranch ouuse. I've been that way before once, it's a great ride!!!

NEXT TIME I WONT BRING OLD PEOPLE! haha... so we can go all the way!

[Wind_Danzer]

Oh christ.... lets see how fast this one goes straight to the gutter. LOL

Got the topo yet?

[rsliman]

sho nuff.. ill post on the other thread