Coke Ovens

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sounds like the more recent rains have been bad to it,,, my run (or slide) was a couple months ago.

when i ran it it was a big V with a couple boulder starting to show, remember the walls were about 5ft high? but the run was smooth? this last time my rig felt like it was way down in there, maybe 8ft deep and i was completely on my driver side with the tires firmly planted on the other side. i could see how little more rain would take it to the next level.
 
Howdy! Sounds like Shotts is gunna organize a trail fixin party. Hmmm, I've got some sledge hammers and pry bars in the Piggy. I've go some 40" x 1" anchor pins, and some 40" x 2.75" pipe that looks a lot like bumper stock that I could bring along. I suppose rebuilding the cabin is out of the question, but how many bags of mortar mix can Rhino fit in his trailer?? We have any mining engineers in the crowd? It's been many years since I fused a cap, but I am familiar with a certain noisy method of moving those rocks real fast!! John
 
Well it looks like my dad (FJC OME medium with stock tires), my bro (FJ80 OME J springs with 33's), and I (FJ62 OME Heavy w/ 33x12.50's) are going to head out from Gilbert around 7:30/8:00 AM to Florence Junction. Plan on running from the southern entrance through Box Canyon and then heading towards Martinez Cabin. If it's really bad we're going to see if we can repair the trail to make the bypass passable. If we are unable to repair the trail we're going to turn around and head north. If anyone wants to meet up let me know. Not too familiar with the Florence Junction' or if I'm not giving the run enough time, let me know.
 
IDK Shotts. From what you've told me repair needs to be done. When are your LR buddies going out to do some repair? My family and I are heading out to Florence Junction and just playing it by ear. If everyone wants to get a trail repair trip going that day my family is down for that.
 
The section that needs repairing is the Luge, if I'm understanding what's been said. That section is part of the loop that lies beyond the cabin. It's a fairly challenging trail that takes several hours to complete- and the Luge is the end of that loop, so if you do the trail and can't come down the Luge, you're gonna be backtracking all the way back around the several hour, challenging trail. You cannot go up the Luge, so you can't run the trail backwards to tackle that first.
The Luge is an extremely steep downhill run that was originally a bypass for an even nastier descent. The original obstacle can barely be seen today as a viable trail. The Luge is essentially a 45* or so run down a long hill, with a right turn in the middle. To go down, you basically stand on your brakes and try not to slide too badly. It is made of decomposing granite- slick as ball bearings on a sheet of ice. The underlying surface is extremely hard, and the explosives mentioned in an earlier post were not a joke. It's gonna take some serious power to carve a path back into the mountainside. Apparently one side of the trail has eroded to the point that a vehicle will be in extreme danger of falling over on its side, as well as sliding down the mountain. If you still feel like tackling that, at least you have some idea of what you're getting in to.

-Spike
 
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I guess I need my buddy to come out with his newly trained skills in wire sawing in the mines to make an adequate trail. JK. I guess I'll make it to what's left of the cabins and maybe hike further down to see how bad it is and post pictures. Like I said anyone is welcome to join my family and I.
 
If you want to hike, the trail leads past the cabin, normally you'd bear right to take the trail. Look for the left path, drive that as far as you can, that should be the bottom of the Luge. Take a shot at climbing it on foot- and let us know how that goes. :D It's possible, but difficult. Pics of what we're dealing with would be great.

-Spike
 
CKaya84 said:
IDK Shotts. From what you've told me repair needs to be done. When are your LR buddies going out to do some repair? My family and I are heading out to Florence Junction and just playing it by ear. If everyone wants to get a trail repair trip going that day my family is down for that.
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I'm watching their boards and will let ya know what I see.
 
-Spike- said:
The section that needs repairing is the Luge, if I'm understanding what's been said. That section is part of the loop that lies beyond the cabin. It's a fairly challenging trail that takes several hours to complete- and the Luge is the end of that loop, so if you do the trail and can't come down the Luge, you're gonna be backtracking all the way back around the several hour, challenging trail. You cannot go up the Luge, so you can't run the trail backwards to tackle that first.
The Luge is an extremely steep downhill run that was originally a bypass for an even nastier descent. The original obstacle can barely be seen today as a viable trail. The Luge is essentially a 45* or so run down a long hill, with a right turn in the middle. To go down, you basically stand on your brakes and try not to slide too badly. It is made of decomposing granite- slick as ball bearings on a sheet of ice. The underlying surface is extremely hard, and the explosives mentioned in an earlier post were not a joke. It's gonna take some serious power to carve a path back into the mountainside. Apparently one side of the trail has eroded to the point that a vehicle will be in extreme danger of falling over on its side, as well as sliding down the mountain. If you still feel like tackling that, at least you have some idea of what you're getting in to.

-Spike
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Exactly correct! Technically it's the Luge Bypass that's now impassable. The actual Luge has been impassable for almost a decade.

The Bypass was bad enough to scrape up and 80 and a 4Runner on our last trip out. It was so off-camber at the top/start that your body was tilted into the rock. Not good.

Luge Bypass:

52631096_bVmUR-L.jpg
 
NOW...BACK TO THE COKE OVENS!

Info from my Rover buddies. The erosion is worse where you-all rescued the FJC earlier this year. FYI:

John-

The Gila River just north of the railroad trestle and south of the Coke Ovens. We wanted to run by the Coke Ovens and out through White Canyon/Battleaxe Road but the trail has eroded severely (20 foot wide x 10 foot deep hole) down by the other river fording area. So we doubled back and went south of the coke ovens to the other fording spot (which is usually only 2 feet) so we didn’t have to drive back 3 hours the way we came in. Unfortunately, another group got there before us and with each vehicle they got through the hole got deeper and deeper. When Jayson attempted the crossing his entire front end went completely under water in a BIG hole just before the bank. He was able to get his front wheels up on the bank but he was taking on water and just digging in deeper. He backed off and joined us back on the other side. We ended up driving back out the way we came in.

I guess no one has been out that way in quite some time. I did the coke ovens/white canyon/battleaxe road trail in the spring and it was passable after we did some trail building. Now you’d need a D9!
 
ShottsUZJ100 said:
NOW...BACK TO THE COKE OVENS!

Info from my Rover buddies. The erosion is worse where you-all rescued the FJC earlier this year. FYI:

John-

The Gila River just north of the railroad trestle and south of the Coke Ovens. We wanted to run by the Coke Ovens and out through White Canyon/Battleaxe Road but the trail has eroded severely (20 foot wide x 10 foot deep hole) down by the other river fording area. So we doubled back and went south of the coke ovens to the other fording spot (which is usually only 2 feet) so we didn’t have to drive back 3 hours the way we came in. Unfortunately, another group got there before us and with each vehicle they got through the hole got deeper and deeper. When Jayson attempted the crossing his entire front end went completely under water in a BIG hole just before the bank. He was able to get his front wheels up on the bank but he was taking on water and just digging in deeper. He backed off and joined us back on the other side. We ended up driving back out the way we came in.

I guess no one has been out that way in quite some time. I did the coke ovens/white canyon/battleaxe road trail in the spring and it was passable after we did some trail building. Now you’d need a D9!
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Howdy! So is this big 10 x 20 hole on the route that we used last spring? I don't remember anything near that big or bad. Or is this on a different trail? John
 
ShottsUZJ100 said:
Technically it's the Luge Bypass that's now impassable. The actual Luge has been impassable for almost a decade.
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well now i'm confused again cause i've run the luge a few times up till my next to last visit a few months ago when i opted for the sheet metal slide we call the bypass instead. i guess its just a difference in what impassable is. either way your gonna get body damage these days.
 
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inkpot said:
Howdy! So is this big 10 x 20 hole on the route that we used last spring? I don't remember anything near that big or bad. Or is this on a different trail? John
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It's past the Ovens on the way to the SE. The ford is a popular way out to the south or fun play area. Not right now though. :)
 
RHINO said:
well now i'm confused again cause i've run the luge a few times up till my next to last visit a few months ago when i opted for the sheet metal slide we call the bypass instead. i guess its just a difference in what impassable is. either way your gonna get body damage these days.
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Really? The Luge? I know of nobody who has run the Luge since I've been 4-wheeling. The drop into it is several feet down with a huge twist to the left, and it's well past the point of taking a strap on the rear-side to provent an endo. My old '93 had the most amazing app and dep angles and could never have tackled it.

Maybe you have done it. Amazing if so, and you should be in the record books.
 
'Impassable' is a relative term. I've seen buggies climb boulders that I would never have believed possible. It's not all equipment either- it's also no fear of damage and knowing what your equipment can do. The original Luge looks bad, but not impossible- at least the last time I saw it.

-Spike
 
ShottsUZJ100 said:
It's past the Ovens on the way to the SE. The ford is a popular way out to the south or fun play area. Not right now though. :)
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Howdy! When we left, we went back to Box Canyon, so I think we would have missed The Hole. Well, we could make a trip to fix that too!! John
 
RHINO said:
i dont know about that, ive seen others besides myself do it.

here a pic of a runner doing it in '05? i think, complete with full body, IFS and 33's.
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I'd double check on the '05 date. In '02, then 04, and again in 06 the initial drop was near vertical and off camber. Add in the fact that it was so tight that turning while dropping was near impossible. It was so snug that a mini truck like that wuold barely fit. That pic above looks like my 100 would go down it with ease. Hell, there's room for an H2.
 
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