AZ Wheeling trip 12/23/06 Martinez Canyon *** POST YOUR PICS HERE ***

[MaxPF]

So, a whole bunch of us went wheeling in Martinez Canyon yesterday. This is a trail in the Florence Junction area about 60 miles SE of Phoenix, rated 3.5 or so. Let's see if I can remember who was in attendance (I am terrible remembering names of folks I have just met):

Myself aka Greg and my buddy Todd
Pauly aka Pauly383
Nate aka NateInChandler
Allan aka Justhorsinaround and his family
Shawn aka supersize75k5
Colby aka colbystephens and his wife Claire, who are visiting from Oregon
Marv aka marv_springer
Brian aka BadAss90K5
Dustin aka blazenwhip and his wife Melanie
Brent aka bdozeraz and family
TJ aka 4xcrazy (That was you in the burb, right? )
rhino105amx (don't remember your name or what you were driving )
Did I forget anyone or screw up names, etc? Let me know

Sorry in advance for the long load times... I don't have a lot of upload bandwidth on my internet connection

Anyway, it rained pretty steadily on the 22nd, leading to fears that we wouldn't be running. Luckily the rain stopped and the sky's were clearing by midnight. According to the forecast the 23rd was to be clear and sunny. However. the rain left us with a high dew point. Couple that with relatively low temps and you get soup:



So, we met up at the air down spot at around 8:30. It was so foggy that we nearly blew right by it



Here's Marv getting the Marvzda ready...


We started out with Marv (not shown) leading the way. In front was Pauly, then Nate and myself...



followed by Allan, TJ, Brent, Shawn, Colby, and the rest who aren't in this pic



The fog and cool air started causing condensation on the camera lens...



It didn't take long for us to get up out of the fog...



But as this spectacular pic shows we would soon drop back down into it...





continued...

 

[colbystephens]

martinez canyon run pic post #1

ok, i'll be posting about 80 photos, so bear with me. i narrowed these down from the 600 we took yesterday. and for what it's worth, it was the 23rd, not the 22nd as the title do this thread would suggest.

Incase my thread posting gets interrupted, i'm going to label my posts so that you can follow the trip relatively chronologically. just check out the title of the thread. i hope that's helpful.

we went thru the most beautiful place i've ever been. the pics don't do it justice, as it was quite bright out and the colors just aren't as vibrant as real life. you'll see a pic later of my rig and the dirt around it is vibrant red - imagine all the cliffs you're about to see as that deep red color. this was a canyon full of old mine shafts and service areas... historically/creationally speaking - incredible. claire and i were out for 14 hours yesterday!

here's a bunch of the trucks airing down and getting all set up.

it was a super foggy morning, which made the dirt roads out to the trail rather boring, but (2nd pic coming up) it made for some incredible views at times...

raindrops on tree limbs near a cactus...

teddybear cholla... suckers hurt like hell, i was once out shooting in the desert (when i lived here) and got some stuck in my ankle bone. about made that leg useless for a bit.

shawn pulling some teddybear cholla out of his hand

marv/kert/buggy

mining cabin...

morning.

and some trucks at the first small bit of rock, on our way into the canyon (this was just a dry river bed.)

 

[colbystephens]

#2

unfortunately since claire was with me almost the whole time, not many pics of the first 5 trucks of the pack, but there are some thru-out. i tried to sort pics out so that everyone at least got in the thread.

more canyon scenery...

this would be one of those bright red cliffs/rocks...

pretty true colors here tho...

back to the rigs...

 

[colbystephens]

number 3

and continuing on...

look close, you'll see some passerby's. they were way far away in the hills, thus the blurry photo. their location can be seen in the photo following the close up, right between the two sides of the canyon on the hill in the distance.

allan's nephew sitting in an old mine-shaft opening. in at least one of these shafts, it was still open a few hundred feet into the rock, but most were had been demolished...

 

[colbystephens]

number 4

shawn getting a wheel off the ground...

me going thru some rocks.

"Who wants a ride?" asks marv...
"I'll go!" says colby...
"Keep your hands/arms/legs inside the cage," marv continues...

"i think i know what's coming" thinks colby...

yup...

it's all good...

 

[noahrob]

Wow, looks like fun...great photos.

 

[colbystephens]

number 5

well, after they got marv upright, claire and i took a walk up the trail to see the structures up ahead while a couple guys repaired allan's rear end, as he busted his locker while breaking his back glass going up into the first real rock bed... someone else has pics of that. here's a couple of the pics we snapped during that time.

continuing down the trail... think RED rock.

kert (L) marv (R) - our resident spotters and all-around great guys.

claire didn't get quite as exciting a ride in the buggy but... she enjoyed it.

we were aiming to climb to the top of this canyon now, but you can't really see it due to the white out...

here's brian getting himself stuck in a ditch and wishing for a real locker out back...

here's shawn pretending like he can help, but then getting himself within inches of rolling as well..

my rig, waiting for the situation ahead to clear.

the yellow truck was able to pull brian out after we got his front end up on a hi-lift. the hi-lift didn't come out so well after being crushed under pulling brian's blazer forward over the top of it.

 

[stockk5]

looks like a great time.

 

[colbystephens]

number 6

ok, here's the red that you're supposed to have been imagining for the rocks/cliffs... BEAUTIFUL.

allan... tisk tisk tisk... j/k!

finally at the top! still gotta get back down tho.

here's a couple crummy shots of us trying to save the white truck's perfect paint and body as it went down the "luge".

shawn - your face is priceless in this one. i have a nice ass, believe you me!, but i wouldn't want my head to be where yours is either, so i understand.

 

[colbystephens]

well, i'll close with a couple shots of sunset on the canyon as we tried to get our asses outta the tougher stuff before dark.

ARIZONA: THE WHEELING IS JUST BETTER HERE!

So, much thanks to all who showed me your state. I count it as one of the best days of my life so far. definitely the best wheeling i've ever done. thanks a ton. marv, kert - you guys did FANTASTIC! thanks for your patience.

Met a ton of cool people. Shawn decided to help me build some sliders into my truck, so look for that thread in the garage soon. really is looking nice - we're halfway done - its basically cutting out the rockers and bringing the clearance up substantially.

 

[MaxPF]

#2

Here's some of the gang taking in the view...



Here's some more pics of a fog filled valley in the background...



Finally some actual (albeit minor) wheeling pics Here's Nate working his way down a hill...



Here's Colby working his way down, staying nice and close to the rock face...



Here comes Pauly...



Is that Dustin



Now were back in the fog. One good thing about the rain and fog is that it kept the dust down. Surprisingly the ground wasn't wet and muddy. Just a few puddles here and there...



Eventually we broke out of the fog as it began to burn away in the morning sunshine...



We finally made it to the cabin. That was the easy part. The loop that runs to the mine and mill starts here, and it is much more difficult than the trip to the cabin...



Here's the old cabin, in a minor state of disrepair. All it needs is a coat of paint and a couple screen doors



Continued...

 

[MaxPF]

#3

Here's the crew at the beginning of the mine loop getting the scoop from Marv on what to expect further on...



C'mon TJ, the curbs at tha mall are bigger



Ahh, an audience just waiting for a spectacle. Note the hole off to the left of my truck...


Here I am going around a little s-turn. Most folks hit it more straight-on and had a bit of difficulty. I went in further to the right and just snaked around the boulder near my fender...



Here's Marv goofing off...



The canyons down here make for really nice scenery...



Pauly works his way over an obstacle. It isn't difficult, but you don't want to blow it and let your tires slip into the crack...





Here's TJ going for a more difficult line on one of the more major obstacles. After he makes it up this ledge he needs to go through the rock garden that follows it...



Most of us took the easier line to the left. There is a bypass far off to the right, but even it proved to much for a Jeep Rubicon - he had to stack rocks to make it . Anyway, Allan took the same line as TJ, and this is where he shattered his back window and broke his locker He ended up needing to be strapped up, and he half drove and was half pulled through the rock garden.

I went up the easier line, but the rock garden proved too much for my stock height, open diffed rig. Boulders would hang up the diff, and the loose rocks just didn't give enough traction without lockers. I ended up taking a strap rather than holding up the group...



Continued...

 

[MaxPF]

#4

Here's Shawn entering the rock garden. His rig made it through easily...



Here's Marv trying a real hard line...



but he makes a minor miscalculation



While Marv is busy flopping his rig, others are busy replacing Allan's QuickLok with a set of spiders kindly donated by Pauly



Most rigs opted for the easy line on the right, but Shawn decided to play in the rocks off to the left...







We finally made it to the old mill!


Here's Allan heading toward another obstacle...



Nate going up...



continued...

 

[MaxPF]

#5

A view down the canyons...



Here's Colby tackling another obstacle..







Colby is giving his MTR's a good workout...



Brian put his truck in a hole



Shawn tried to sneak past, but he couldn't quite make it. Unfortunately, as he backed out he slid toward the dropoff I hooked a strap to him and pulled while he turned his wheel hard right, saving him from certain doom </dramatic music>...




After we saved Shawn's butt, Nate backed his truck down and strapped onto Brian's rig. After a few failed attempts to pull him out (he was really stuffed in that hole) Marv jacked the front of Brian's truck up with a hi-lift. Nate gave a mighty tug with his truck and managed to yank him up and out

We also provided entertainment to a couple guys in a Land Rover and a Jeep who were following our convoy up the trail...



Another view of the canyon scenery...



Hey Allan, you're supposed to turn right before you drop a wheel off the ledge



continued...

 

[1BadK-30]

very nice guys, i hope to wheel with you some year

 

[MaxPF]

#6

Here's a view down a mini-luge. The real luge is yet to come...



Here's the rigs at the bottom of the luge run...



Here's a view from the bottom of the luge. I am edging my way into it...





Unfortunately, I entered the luge on a bad line and got too close to the wall . Marv hooked his winch to the back of my truck and, with the assistance of several people pushing from the top they managed to keep sheetmetal carnage on my rig to a minumum. Thanks guys



Tight fit



Pretty much everybody got some sort of damage on the luge. Colby got in on a much better line. I don't think he got anything more than a scratch...



Just a little damage from the luge. If it hadn't been for the help of Marv, Shawn, Colby, Kert, and the others the whole side of my truck would have gotten wiped out. Pauly knows what I'm talking about



I also caught my door on a rock when I took a bad line without the benefit of a spotter I should have went with my first instinct and tried the line on the right - Colby did and went right up with no drama. Anyway, here's the carnage...



I've already got the rockers somewhat straightened out. The rest of the bodywork will take a bit longer. Then I am going to armor everything - I plan on ordering the 2x6x.187 wall rectangular tubing for bumpers and rock sliders right after the holidays

All in all it was a great trip with a great bunch of people

 

[rhino105amx]

Those pics are great. Just have to throw out a little public service announcment. The BLM is actively trying to CLOSE this area, in my opinion one of the most beautiful spots in Arizona, to wheeling. Az wheelers especially need to get active in land use issues regarding this wonderful area so everyone can continue to enjoy this spectacular trail. Please on all trails TREAD LIGHTLY, pick up your trash, stay on the trails. Even move toads when you have to. Don't give the greenies any reasons to cut off access to places such as these. The stone cabin that you can see behind Blazinwhip's rig was SEVERLY damaged just recently by irresponsible offroaders and the red cabin was also damaged. I have been going to Martinez for almost 30 years now and until just the last couple years it has remained untouched. PLEASE, guys be responsible offroaders, clean up oil spills, pick up any trash on the trail, whoever left it there and leave the trails in better condition than when you got there.

 

[steve_kibbe]

Looks like fun, I'll have to make a trip out that way some time.

 

[colbystephens]

I've already got the rockers somewhat straightened out. The rest of the bodywork will take a bit longer. Then I am going to armor everything - I plan on ordering the 2x6x.187 wall rectangular tubing for bumpers and rock sliders right after the holidays

http://www.coloradok5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=193774 probably won't go quite so high, b/c i'm cutting out rust on the doors and the door sill... but... i'm going as high as shawn did on his cut. maybe it will give you some ideas - but probably not b/c your rig is so much prettier than mine.

 

[84CUCV]

Looks like a blast! Cant wait to got out there.