Expedition Arizona - October 6th-9th

This will be a fairly easy/ overland Expedition style run that will cover a lot of offroad miles and take you from Pine, to Red rock, to historic mining towns and end up in Sonoran Desert by Lake Pleasant. This is a go-camp-go style run starting on Thursday night and ending Sunday afternoon.

The goal for this year is to be a mini-run as a trial and then next October will be a full blown- week long event covering even more of the Copper State - exploring the different terrain and getting away from it all. The trails will be moderate to try and stave off the breakdown’s and allow a variety of people to make the run. Your rig doesn’t have to be heavily modified to enjoy offroading and camping in Arizona. (although it doesn’t hurt)
*We would prefer attending trucks have a slight suspension or body lift, rock sliders, under carriage armor and good approach/ descent angles.

2005 “mini” Expedition Arizona itinerary:

Thursday, Oct. 6th: Meet at Schnelby Hill Rd and do a short night run to find a camp spot. Welcome dinner.

Friday, October 7th: Finish Schnelby Hill Rd - Broken Arrow trail - Lunch break in Sedona - Greasy Spoon or Oak Creek trail - Camp

Saturday, October 8th: Head to Jerome and set up camp on Mingus Mountain- Smiley Rock trail - Visit Jerome - Mingus Mountain trail - Camp

Sunday, October 9th: Use backroads to travel from Jerome to Crown King - Crown King (north to south) - Head home.

Meeting spots: The main meeting spot will be at the Carefree Chevron on Thursday, but if you can’t make it until Friday you could meet us at the Broken Arrow trailhead in Sedona. If you can’t meet us until Saturday, there is a spot in Jerome that you could join up with us.

Gas + provisions: You’ll need to carry your food, drinks etc but there will be plenty of opportunities for fuel along the way, so hauling gas won’t be necessary but feel free to if that’s what you usually do. Depending on how many people attend, we can arrange group food nights.
*If you’d like a sample checklist of things to bring / things needed, email me and I will get it to you.

Camping: It will all be free, but please note that there will be at least one night when a night time setup is scheduled - depending on our timeframe, there could be another so I would suggest organized packing, sleeping on a mattress or pad in your truck and try to be vehicle reliant.

Trails: None of the trails are too difficult. All can be done with stock SUV’s if you’re careful, although some ground clearance (and decent driving) will make sure you get through without body damage. Smiley Rock trail poses the most threat due to a stretch of a rocky area. It can be navigated by a stock vehicle and good lines.

Gabe will have more details Friday at the meeting, but please post up if you are able to attend.

A lot of offroading miles will be covered- It's gonna be fun!

Wow, that sounds like fun! Little short notice for me to get the time though...will have to see.

Do you have a list of participants, or is this just something you've put together on your own?

So far just me, Gabe and Dan but we just started. We're hoping for 5-10 as a trial for this year. Open to Nissan and Yota's

[Updated 9.15]
5 Xterra's - 1 Jeep -1 awesome Landcruiser (me! ) and 1 H3.

Nice group- If a couple more chime in, we'll be at the 10 we hoped for.

Hey this is all here in my home turf! I'm also off the first 2 weeks of October. I might not be able to do all the camping but I can sure run most of these trails with you. I've run them all and most of them many many times. It'll be a lot of fun!

cool- Representin' the Jeeps!

We may be able to meet up and do one of the trails with you. I'm hoping to do Broken Arrow and see what a difference there is between my '03 and new '05 with the locker. So far night and day.

You got the locker after all, eh? Good call!

Thanks! Now I'm ready for Martinez. Just kidding. I don't think I'll get there for quite a while. Need about several Grand in Lift, Armor, Sliders, etc. Probably not one the wife would even think about and I can hear the complaining now. "You broke your $38K Xterra!"

You'll like your locker. 4X4 with a locker vs 4X4 without is about the same as 2X4 vs 4X4 with open diffs. There's that much improvement in traction. I ran Broken Arrow on the rear locker in 2Lo! Take it into the right places and you'll be impressed.

So far I am VERY impressed. I tried an obsticle that I couldn't make it up in my '03 and the '05 walked right up and on the way back I stopped and then backed up it. No tire spin whatsoever! Now I just look forward to trying gnarly stuff, but need sliders for insurance first.

Hey, you two don't hijack the Expedition thread we want people to sign up and not talk about your locker (*jealous*).

Gabe

"... the spirit of adventure is a lot more, and more worthy, than the mere urge to do something dangerous or risky. It is the need for freedom, to be in charge, briefly, of our own destiny; the urge to explore, to do things well, to see the new and the unseen, to have time for kindness..."

Tom Sheppard, Vehicle dependant Expedition Guide, 1998

Yea- what he said!

Can someone make the X there yellow? Thanks

quote:

Originally posted by gbizzle:
Hey, you two don't hijack the Expedition thread we want people to sign up and not talk about your locker (*jealous*).

Gabe

I didn't bring it up, Hehe.