Sycamore clean up 9/29/07

[Fire Ball]

Mesa, Ariz. (September 12, 2007) – In honor of National Public Lands Day, the Mesa Ranger District on the Tonto National Forest will host a clean-up on Saturday, Sep. 29.

“As one of the busiest recreation spots on the Tonto National Forest, the Lower Sycamore OHV area hosts thousands of visitors every year. Unfortunately, many of these visitors leave their trash behind, creating an unsightly and dangerous mess,” said District Ranger Art Wirtz. “Enhancing and preserving the outstanding recreation opportunities in the Lower Sycamore area is one of the missions of the Mesa Ranger District. We really need the public’s help to clean up these heavily-used OHV riding areas.”

Event registration is 7:00 to 8:00 a.m. at the entrance to Lower Sycamore on Forest Road 403. The clean-up begins immediately after registration and will continue until around 3:00 p.m.

A majority of the clean-up will occur in and around the entrance to Lower Sycamore and the creek. Trash bags and drinking water will be provided. Participants are urged to wear close-toed shoes or boots that can be worn in and around heavy vegetation, as well as sun screen, hats, and gloves. Please bring your own lunch. All forest visitors are encouraged to join in the clean-up.

“All support we receive from the public for this event goes a long way toward maintaining the Lower Sycamore,” said Wirtz. “This is a great opportunity for those who truly love our forest to give something back by restoring this area to its natural beauty and helping us preserve this great recreation site for the future.”

For more information or to pre-register a group, contact Debbie Becker at the Mesa Ranger District at 480-610-3300.



For more information, visit the Tonto website at www.fs.fed.us/r3/tonto or call the forest’s information desk: 602-225-5200 (M-F, 8 am – 4:30 pm)

http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/tonto/news/2007/091207b.shtml

[SHNIPE]

Ill more than likely be there for the morning shift!

[YJunk]

I'll be there too... I take it the barriers will be down and we can acutally get into it?

[Fire Ball]

I haven't talked to anyone over there yet, I'll have to wait till monday. Problem is we are scheduled for the Desert Wells cleanup on the same day. Typical government SNAFU, scheduling 2 or more events on the same day :(

[ademster]

Bill,

Tell me which one your doing and I will be there with trash bags, and more then enough Water for everyone...



Adam

[Fire Ball]

I would rather do the Sycamore since it is more of an area we go. We are committed however of doing the Desert Wells area with the peer patrol group. It is our first oficial outing. :)

Carrie and I will be out at Desert wells. I'm bringing her truck to haul trash and stuff.

We have been asked to bring our own tools such as shovels, rakes, fence pliers, hammer....

I'm not sure about the rest of the peolpe involved. Might have to check the link for info.

See ya there :)

[SHNIPE]

Theres no word so far as to whether or not they will provide a dumpster. Ill have my truck so we can fill that.

[Fire Ball]

I was asked to bring a truck to help haul trash back to the dumpsters so I'm assuming there will be some there. I'll find out. I'm not sure about the Sycamore one. I wish they were on separate days. :(

[ademster]

Bill.... Should I meet you at your house or what?

[Fire Ball]

Let me talk to Troy. I'm not sure how it is going to run. Our group is meeting at 0800 at US 60 mile marker 207. Looking at my map I was sent, it looks like there will, be a dumpster there. :)

***EDIT***

Here is the link for the official site.

http://www.azgfd.gov/inside_azgfd/edits/volunteer_opps.shtml

[ryan rich]

sycamore sounds good to me the barriers are only blocking the cross over not the entry you have to go to 4 peaks and flip around and come back see u all out there

[Fire Ball]

As I said, I'll be at desert wells. Wish I could do both but I had already committed to Desert Wells. Guess all the agencies aren't talking to each other as much as we thought :D

[Number 7]

We will be at Sycamore @ 7:55.

=)

[Fire Ball]

Don't forget about Desert Wells too. Seems like the quad croud isn't as interested in saving trails as we are. :(

[Number 7]

Don't forget about Desert Wells too. Seems like the quad croud isn't as interested in saving trails as we are. :(

Yeah, I was originally going to go out there b/c I ride a quad too. But since Sycamore is in my backyard, I'm opting for this one. Less gas to get there, you see.

[Fire Ball]

Yeah, too bad the 2 govt agencies weren't talking to each other. It would have been nice to have them on different days .

[Number 7]

Yeah, too bad the 2 govt agencies weren't talking to each other. It would have been nice to have them on different days .


Amen to that! Maybe they'll get it someday. By all rights I should be out at the one by you, but since this one is so close . . . I figure it all adds up!

[GLEN REAMS]

i would love to make it too the syc one but guess since im considered tresspassing and get arrested if i go onto any tonto national forest land cant do it....Where is the desert wells clean up bill?

[David C]

I'll show up for the Sycamore cleanup. It's been my play area for almost 25 years. See ya there, and thanks in advance for all of you that help do this and at the Desert Wells site also.:)

[Fire Ball]

i would love to make it too the syc one but guess since im considered tresspassing and get arrested if i go onto any tonto national forest land cant do it....Where is the desert wells clean up bill?

Here is the original post from the forest service site. Since you are coming out by invite, I'm sure you will be exempt from getting arrested. :D


Desert Wells Multiuse Area Clean-up and Maintenance
When: September 29, 2007, 8 a.m.

Where: Desert Wells Multiuse Area - East Valley, near Florence Junction (Highway 60, Milemarker 207) Description: This project will involve the new Off-highway Vehicle (OHV) Ambassador Program volunteers patrolling designated routes to greet fellow OHV users and maintenance of designated OHV route signs and fences in the area. Other volunteers will assist in sign maintenance and clean-up of litter at various sites on State Trust Land. The new OHV Ambassador Program is a partnership between multiple entities (Arizona State Parks, Arizona Game and Fish Department, United States Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Arizona County Sheriffs, organized OHV groups, and volunteers) to enhance and preserve motorized recreation opportunities in Arizona. Road access is good for all types of vehicles, but please brings pick-up trucks if available to assist with hauling of litter to dumpsters. Volunteers are asked to bring their own tools (shovels, rakes, fencing pliers) and gloves. RideNow Powersports (www.ridenow.com), a popular powersports dealer will be on-site and provide drinking water and food.
Contact: Tim Holt at 602-359-1502 or by e-mail at tholt@azgfd.gov

[Number 7]

i would love to make it too the syc one but guess since im considered tresspassing and get arrested if i go onto any tonto national forest land cant do it....Where is the desert wells clean up bill?

If anybody needs to show up at the Sycamore Clean up, it's you, my friend. Nobody's going to arrest you - they're not even going to ask you for an I.D. You have some pay back dude.

[ryan rich]

what did u do glen

[YJunk]

Actually Glenn probably owes syc less than many of us... he's helped on vehichle extractions etc that weren't scheduled here. As far as I'm concerned he's got some credit left on his tab...

[SHNIPE]

yeah well im adding to my debt from syck. Pulling a morning shift tomorrow so i can do some family stuff in the night.

and yes Rosco doesnt owe the area anything since hes carried out more than ive seen anyone do (mainly just because his xj has more space) remember the rusted old dirtbike?

[YJunk]

thats okay bro... I'll just work twice as hard when I'm out there...

[Number 7]

Ok dammit, I just wanted to bust 'iz chops. :p

[YJunk]

7 what time are you all coming out... i might try to get there a little early

[Number 7]

7 what time are you all coming out... i might try to get there a little early


Like I said: 7:55. J/K We're planning on being in the jeep backing out of the driveway no later than 7:30. :p We'll do our best. d

[David C]

Well, I'm working LATE tonight with the new job. I'll get home probably 3:30am or so. Just how early do you want to go Yjunk?:D I might just go on out there right after I get home and catch some Z's in the Jeep. That way I know I'll be on time. So if any of you see my Jeep sitting near the entrance, come wake me up please.

[YJunk]

I'm thinking around 7... should be nice in the morning... if you guys aren't there (dave you should seriously get some rest at home bro)... I'll just run around until everyone shows up...

(dave if you do make it out lets do some esploring before everyone else comes out - dere be some things I wanna look at).

[David C]

Hey Yjunk ,7 sounds good - I'm up and I can be there by then. We have to go up to Four Peaks Rd/Sugarloaf to either turn around on the 87 or take a trail to lower. Where do you want to meet?

[YJunk]

What a crazy day… after I got the call that my lunch date was on I decided I better pull out of syc and get cleaned up… before I did that though I thought I better make at least one quick trip down the wash.

When I arrived at the new gully I found a young (early 20’s) lady sitting on a rock and a brand new FJ Cruiser in the gully where we extracted Glenn… the difference was this vehicle was all the way against the rock (almost against… like one inch from it).

Now its pretty obvious this girl is about scared chit-less… she’s all alone in the middle of the desert and she had no food and no water, and some dude she doesn’t f’n know just pulled up driving a jeep that looks like it belongs in “the hills have eyes”… you could almost hear the “deliverance” banjo’s picking in the background…

Turns out she was with a group last night when they got stuck… and for whatever reason the other jeep they were with left early in the morning and her boyfriend and his buddy decided to hike out to get help, leaving her there alone… I’m not going to pass judgment on that, but she was out there over two hours by herself alone in an area that is fairly remote with no water etc… If that had been my daughter that dude would be receiving a first class arse wooping today… let one dude hump out and let the other stay with the girl… you don’t leave the wimmins alone in the desert… (did that sound judgemental?)

I got some food and water to her and tried to radio for help, but we were too far in; I decided I would blast back out and told her she could stay there or ride out with me… she took the ride; which at one point she screamed, “this is the most fun I’ve had in 24hrs”… Yeah I know :)

Almost to the end of the trail we spot a big red suburban clodding through the rocks… I wave em down and it turns out to be a friend of her friends… we start shooting the chit about getting the fj pulled out and… Pooof… just like that I’ve got problems…

On the blast out the ground fell off the electric fan… and the engine started to overheat… it’s happened before but this time I hadn’t caught it soon enough and something was leaking bad.

I sent the girl and the ‘burban on their way and told them to give me a few minutes and I would try to get back down there to help; in our brief convo it didn’t really sound like they knew what they were doing.

In trying to get the ground back on the fan I managed to pull the power wire and the thermostat wire off their connectors as well… now I’m batting 1000… Finally I got everything re-wired and poured one of my spare gallons of water into the rig and head back to the gully… The rig ran cool all the way but as soon as I stopped it started to pee… This was going to have to be a quick extraction; and it was. We got the ‘burban hooked to the rear giving some tension so the fj wouldn’t spin into the wall… I hooked the front, just a little off center away from the wall, and in about ten minutes we had him pulled out… I poured some water and beer into the radiator (saving my emergency water just in case) and said later…

Got the rig all the way home and when I turned it off it just peed and peed and peed… looks like its coming out of the water pump but I can’t be certain…

On my blast back out I passed Matty (lilbluj) and Corey (odessy) and a friend in another rig… Matt had his tire off and needed a pump but I couldn’t stop moving… I know they have one good rig but if your headed out that way it wouldn’t hurt to check for them… the were right in the very beginning of the wash from the main entrance but they were much closer to the west “shore” of the sand…

On a different note; I won’t be wheeling tomorrow and I’m not even gonna bother to try and fix it this week, I’m just gonna be too busy… Got a BBQ to go to tomorrow and am looking forward to having some bears and just chillin…


Oh yeah I managed to drag some garbage and a refrigerator out of syc today…

There weren’t many of us jeepers out there (only five or six) but there were quite a few people between the Hummers and kids etc…

[Number 7]

Hey John, we wondered why you went flying by! Glad you got home okay after your adventure. Did you see that guy in an Excursion pulling a Toy-Hauler stuck down in the wash? I wonder if he ever got anybody to pull him out. We sat & watched for a while. He was good & stuck.

For such a small turn out the clean up was very effective. We filled up a ginormous dumpster plus a smaller one the Forestry brought. The area looked a lot cleaner when we left - but there are still areas that need it bad. You know how it is out there. I don't think I've ever been as dirty as I was when we left. Lots and lots of dust out there today.

Nice to finally meet you David C. Looking forward to seeing the picture of 'my buddy' the hungry snake!

[SHNIPE]

thats okay bro... I'll just work twice as hard when I'm out there...

Does that mean you get to sit and watch me bust my butt on the next one? will you at least hand me a water bottle?

[YJunk]

sorry for not stopping... It was just a race against time at that point and everytime I stopped it just started pouring out...

I can't be certain, and to me this doesn't really make sense, but it almost appears to be the water pump... If an engine over heats I would think you would blow a head gasket... don't know but it certainly appears to be one of the weep holes in the water pump... I'll replace it and find out soon enough :eek:

Dennis I'll hand you anything you want if you COME to the next one :D

Me and dave took a scenic drive to Syc AA.. I don't think so bro... not in a short wheelbase. LKD TJ maybe but that first climb is going to be wicked tough... I'm not even sure he's got the track to keep himself out of the cracks. It may be a "buggy" line, but I don't thing its a Juggy line...

[SHNIPE]

****Y! :D yes you know what that says!!

[YJunk]

****Y! :D yes you know what that says!!

Smarty... ?

[SHNIPE]

haha yeah thats it.. :D

Ill still give it a go. Ill have a few more inches though so maybe thatll be the difference. I bet you ran it though and just when i think ive beaten you to something youll bust out pics and crush my soul. Typical Junky Ambush

[David C]

Damn YJunk!:eek: I went down to the wash looking for you and also for any appliances to drag out. Didn't see you, but I pulled a pile of junk out of there. Details later. I have pics but no time!! Gotta leave for work now but tonight should only be until midnight. I'll post the pics of the rattler with others then. Nice to meet you too Number 7! ....




Damn, YJunk!:eek: Don't forget you saved my butt from flopping this morning too!:eek:

Edit: Ok, one pic of the rattler eating the lizard.

http://www.virtualjeepclub.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=14090&stc=1&d=1191117092

[YJunk]

haha yeah thats it.. :D

Ill still give it a go. Ill have a few more inches though so maybe thatll be the difference. I bet you ran it though and just when i think ive beaten you to something youll bust out pics and crush my soul. Typical Junky Ambush

don't know... just can't see it; the left side is gonna be the tough part... happy to watch you give it a go... at least I'll have enough grunt to pull you out of hte crack :)

[YJunk]

Damn YJunk!:eek: I went down to the wash looking for you and also for any appliances to drag out. Didn't see you, but I pulled a pile of junk out of there. Details later. I have pics but no time!! Gotta leave for work now but tonight should only be until midnight. I'll post the pics of the rattler with others then. Nice to meet you too Number 7! ....




Damn, YJunk!:eek: Don't forget you saved my butt from flopping this morning too!:eek:

Edit: Ok, one pic of the rattler eating the lizard.

http://www.virtualjeepclub.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=14090&stc=1&d=1191117092

hahaha I thought we were gonna keep that under wraps!!!

okay that pics is just kick arse!!!! There is good news here; that lizard is about to save a bundle on life insurance. How did you ever happen to ge that shot?

[SHNIPE]

We will see. Im sure it can be done. If not, make sure you have my camera rolling :D

[YJunk]

... Im sure it can be done...

Oh I'm sure it can be done with the right rig... I'll get the camera rolling!!!

[David C]

Number 7 gets the credit for finding that shot - I just had a camera ready. Pretty cool to see, but I think the snake was terrified. Caught with no way to defend himself - he froze. Took a couple pics and left him alone.

Now I'm off to work. I'll take my laptop and maybe I can find a WiFi to use a little later. If not then after midnight tonight.:)

[Number 7]

okay that pics is just kick arse!!!! There is good news here; that lizard is about to save a bundle on life insurance. How did you ever happen to ge that shot?

I almost stepped on the poor guy as I was going for a gatorade bottle and a beer can in the brush. Luckily I saw him before I took that step. Actually, I think it's amazing that I saw him, because he totally blended in with the underbrush and he wasn't moving at all.

After I stepped back and composed myself George came over and saw the lizard, who must've just been bit. Then the snake started to chow down . . .:eek:

He held perfectly still for a few shots.

d

[GLEN REAMS]

sounds like you guys did good...I couldnt make it i had to get out too are camp spot out by flagg and move are camper because they had a perscribed burn right next too it and my dad couldnt get off work so i got too go. Ill get out and do my own little clean up here once i get my rig ready too drive.

[YJunk]

sounds like you guys did good...I couldnt make it i had to get out too are camp spot out by flagg and move are camper because they had a perscribed burn right next too it and my dad couldnt get off work so i got too go. Ill get out and do my own little clean up here once i get my rig ready too drive.

I'd try to reply to this but I'm just too jrunkenstien... fun day, nuff said... woo hoo!

[David C]

Man, this has been a busy weekend for me. I've put in quite a few hours at work. I just haven't had time to post my pics yet. And I'm not even home at the moment to do it now, but soon. Stay tuned...

[David C]

Pics:

John - YJUNK http://www.virtualjeepclub.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=14171&stc=1&d=1191252827

Biggest Saguaro: This thing has tertiary arms meaning 3 stages of arms. It has primary arms that have their own secondary arms which have their own tertiary arms. Arms with arms with arms. I've never seen anything like it - it must have 25 - 30 arms total, and must weigh TONS!
http://www.virtualjeepclub.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=14172&stc=1&d=1191252827

http://www.virtualjeepclub.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=14173&stc=1&d=1191252827

George - 1/2 of Number 7
http://www.virtualjeepclub.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=14174&stc=1&d=1191252827

Another Dave - Gill T. Azell in my rearview
http://www.virtualjeepclub.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=14175&stc=1&d=1191252827

Here's the pile of stuff I hauled up from the main wash: A car hood, washing machine, frame of a car seat, section of exhaust pipe, a car battery, a child car-seat, and what was left of a medium-size TV. I had to stop about 26 times to adjust and re-secure the load.
http://www.virtualjeepclub.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=14176&stc=1&d=1191252827
http://www.virtualjeepclub.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=14177&stc=1&d=1191252827

And last pic: FS Ranger and other volunteers
http://www.virtualjeepclub.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=14178&stc=1&d=1191252827

[David C]

Well, that's my pics of the cleanup. We only had a few members from the group out there, but we managed to fill a pretty good sized dumpster plus another trailer about the size of a 2-horse. I finally met George and Diane and found we have lots in common. YJUNK and I met early and took a trail from upper to lower Sycamore, prerunner style. We stopped briefly to look at what I think is the most massive Saguaro cactus in existence, and YJUNK saved my butt from flopping when my back left tire slipped of my line and into a deep rut on a steep downhill. Suddenly, my left side was facing downhill and did not feel stable at all. It must not have looked stable either cause YJUNK offered me a strap very urgently and I accepted without argument:rolleyes:. He pulled me back up out of the washout which would have most likely rolled me right down to the bottom - thanks John!

Here's my other pic of the rattle snake eating a lizard:
http://www.virtualjeepclub.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=14179&stc=1&d=1191254709

[SHNIPE]

nice rims junky :P

[Number 7]

Hey David, thanks for sharing the pics you took. It was nice to meet you - hope you finally got a little sleep!