After the mountain we made our way north on gravel to Polomas Gap. This is a sketchy trail that cuts across the mountain. Don’t go through here if heights scare you
Once you get off the spooky shelf road the road splits in many directions. I really want to explore more of this area but we wanted food so we broke for TC
More excellent New Mexican food in TC. More gas then we struck out northwest to see if the Monticello Canyon trail was still closed. Last thing anyone could find was a couple years old but when we got to Monticello there was a big sign that said road closed in 6 miles. We flipped s u-turn and I saw a sign pointing up into the national forest and said “why not?”
This turned out to be a fantastic turn of events as this took us through some of the most fantastic remote scenery of the trip. I can’t wait to see this section again.
Majestic views. No one around. Plenty of campsites.
The bad?
50 mph winds everywhere we tried to stop so we kept pushing until we found this great campsite tucked into a canyon. The winds roared all night but we were safe and sound in Springtime Camp
My route was unplanned so I was navigating on the fly when i rounded a blind corner and fell off on a wash
Pics don’t do this much justice but the passenger front was 1” off the ground. Driver rear, I could hand spin it
There was a tree behind me so if I could not back up with my own power I could loop the winch under the truck
First I tried low range. Reverse. Center diff. Rock mode. I tried to drive it with the pedal. It made some noise but did not budge.
I then switched to the Crawl speed knob and adjusted it in reverse from slow to faster. More crazy noises and then I felt it figuring it out. I slowly started working the steering wheel and boom. It literally went from stuck and stopped on the slider to put in a second or tow once the crawl worked the problem out. Super cool. Zero damage. Onward
I zagged a bit looking for my road into the mountain and marked some nice camp spots along the way. These grasslands were amazing when they stared getting into the hills especially
Finally I found my road and turned west and started climbing
It’s not much snow but it was a shelf road and the tracks showed once again, I was alone.
I did not take as many pics as I should have making my way to the top but I dealt with quite a few downed trees along the way. Once at the tower I finally saw other vehicle tracks that had come in from the way I was headed so that was good news on the log/limb removal front
The pull was real to visit the Very Large Array seem beyond on the desert floor but I also needed to explore
Some fresh areas and start making my way southwest toward Beno’s place
That afternoon I drove Down the west side of the San Mateo. I was sitting in a 1/2 tank of gas and was hoping to explore through the Gila NF and not backtrack through to TC.
Well there is no gas but I made it. Once again. No other people seen once off pavement. The
Drive was beautiful. I saw lots of wildlife and coasted into civilization at dusk with under 2 gallons to spare
You are welcome. Back home I’ve stopped posting tracks public in the Arkansas mountains because it’s gotten so busy. I’m sure summer is way busier in these spots but I wanted to share. So far on this trip I would not change a thing. I mess up a few times later and I’ll point them out. Follow these tracks with confidence.
I had not had a shower since Tuesday so I landed in a Hampton Inn at Lordsburg NM on I-10 for the night.
I checked first light on the weather app and decided for a 6:15 departure. The only thing I had planned was to see Tombstone and get to OLC at a decent hour
My bedside clock was 45 minutes fast and I did not realize it until I was fully awake and could not sleep. I hate driving new areas to see in the dark. Well, because I can’t see it. On these wanders its about seeing things versus having a place to be.
So I’m running hard south in the Whale on the NM/AZ line and this huge rat bolted out in front of me. For a Javalena this one is a heavyweight. Very very lucky all
I lost was part of the garbage plastic skid plate.
First light had me through Portal AZ into the Coronado
You ask me these things as if I don’t know my way around a Blake’s son. It’s all about the green chiles. Headed there now for a chorizo Chile burrito. I think I’ve eaten there 7 times so far
It’s a great trail across the northern part going east/west and it pops out at the entrance of Chiricahua National Monument . I rolled in there about 7:45 and soaked up the wild beauty of the place for an hour or so enjoying the drive.
From there I beat feet SW trying to stay on gravel all the way to Tombstone and almost made it. Awesome smooth fast gravel
Tombstone is a tourist trap. I just drove through. Would be fun for younger kids. Was funny but meh.
I messed this track up. Forgot to hit play at Portal AZ If you follow this track just enter the NF at Cave Creek Visitor center and you will pick up the track.
Beno has set up shop in the most amazing place called Overland Cruisers in Sonoita AZ. This place is situated on a grassy plain at about 5000’ so it’s got a great feel to it.
We toured the shop. Ate pizza. Drank hard cider. Local wine. Looked at more cruisers.
It was a full afternoon and after being alone for 4.5 days my throat was sore from taking and enjoying Onur, Johnny and Diana. www.olc4x4.com
