FR 342 ( off of 650)

[sloanstavern]

Morning,
Just finsihed the FR 172 to FR 650 arround Montana Mt in the Superstitions. Was thinking about taking FR342 that leads to top of the world, but choose against it ( ran out of time). Any reports on that stretch of road?

here are s couple pics of the trip
Thanks

 

[inkpot]

Howdy! Montana Mtn is always a good scenic drive. The FR 342 loop can be a problem at the east end, right before it connects to the US 60. IF the gates are open, the exit passes thru a private mine. IF the gates are locked, the bypass is long, narrow, loose, steep, and much more entertaining/challenging/difficult that the rest of the run. I would recommend a minimum of 1 locker and 33's, especially if you are running solo. When I ran it several years ago, the east side had lots of loose cobble/boulders, and the west side was steep with very sharp turns which had some serious washouts on the downside. I have not heard from anyone that has run it this year. John

 

[sloanstavern]

Thanks John,
I know one of you guys would have the scoop. Glad I did not try it, I was pretty whooped. By the way I am finally going to make the cruise in this month. I tried earlier this summer, but something always cam up - Sept meeting is on the calendar in ink.
see ya
Scott

 

[murf]

Cool that you had the chance to photo the Gila Monster .

 

[sloanstavern]

Cool that you had the chance to photo the Gila Monster .

That chubby little bugger ( ~ 16 " long and as thick as my fore arm) was on the side of the road and by the time I got out to look he was sampering up a really steap bank, I never realized how quick they are.

 

[Lc80series]

I've been in Tucson my entire life and have never seen a Gila Monster out in the wild. Guess I haven't been looking hard enough. Pretty cool.

 

[DSRTRDR]

we saw a Gila Monster when we were canoeing/camping

it was monster slow - we had like 25 minutes, and the thing only went about 15 feet in that time until it disappeared in a cave