Events/Trails Kevin Patterson Memorial Run 2025 - Saturday, November 29th

[DSRTRDR]

sorry for the late notice

this year's "Kevin's Run" on Saturday 29th (two days from now) will start at 9am at the intersection of the road from Rio Verde Drive to Needle Rock State Park and the turnoff to Box Bar Ranch - here are GPS coordinates: 33°44'35.2"N 111°40'17.6"W - https://maps.app.goo.gl/ym1Pd4pBaCDwQdmW9?g_st=im

the plan is to go through Camp Creek Wash up to Bartlett Dam Road, and across from there into the area called St. Clair https://www.fs.usda.gov/sites/nfs/files/legacy-media/tonto/St. Clair OHV Map.pdf - Kevin had worked with the Forest Service's Cave Creek Office for several years to get the area reopened - which finally happened this year, when the permit program took effect: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r03/tonto/recreation/opportunities/highway-vehicles-ohv; Tonto National Forest Ohv Permit Pass in Arizona - Recreation.gov - https://www.recreation.gov/activitypass/AP22844

as per Tonto National Forest website: "Permit options include a 3-day Permit for $10, a 6-month Permit for $60, or an Annual Permit for $80. Buy an OHV Permit at Recreation.gov. See step-by-step instructions in English or Spanish for how to buy your permit."

please plan on bringing your own lunch and on taking your trash back out with you

feel free to send me a PM if you need more information

Claudia

PS: watch out for possible additional notices on the TRAL website or the Facebook and/or Instagram TRAL sites

 

[DSRTRDR]

please leave a post if you are planning to attend

we are in: Michael (in the 80) and I (in the LX)

 

[ChaseTruck]

Just a quick recap: 14 vehicles in the group, air-down at the meeting point, over to Needle Rock, up Camp Creek wash (FR413), then Bartlett Dam road to FR532, and FR532 down to Devil’s Hole (pic 1) where we had lunch at the water. Then back up FR532 to take FR42 over to Horseshoe Dam road.

We felt this was appropriate homage to Kevin Patterson as he was a large factor in the campaign of TRAL towards getting FR42 open for travel again after some 20 years of closure. We proceeded to Horseshoe Dam, enjoyed the walk across under the water (pics 2 & 3), then back Horseshoe Dam road to the staging area on FR1058 for air-up. Great weather, great company, and a really enjoyable trail ride in memory of our friend.

I don’t have any trail pics this time as I was in the middle of the group, hopefully the folks running a camera find time to chime in. Claudia managed to mangle the right rear bumper corner on the LX when the truck slipped off a berm in a washed-out section near the end of FR42. Time to cut the rear crossmember off for something sturdier back there…

Cheers, Michael

 

[bwesty]

Thanks for sharing!

 

[Saddletramp]

Thank you Claudia and Michael for sharing.

 

[ChaseTruck]

Not exactly sure who has trail pictures. But just a few tidbits FYI:

FR532 doesn’t have any problem spots, at least not to me in the 80 with ~2” of lift and 35s. Didn’t need to use the lockers.

FR42 is a one-way trail going towards Horseshoe Lake, when you pick it up from FR532 (going straight westward at this point), the Edge of the Earth obstacle is no longer in play - that’s between Bartlett and FR532. There are two iffy spots: one on a climb that requires both axles to be locked on an 80, and I was rubbing tires in the fenders quite a bit at max articulation and not enough bumpstops. That spot has a bypass. Second is the spot where Claudia mangled the rear bumper; a heavily washed-out piece of trail with deep ruts; there is also a bypass.

None of the guys on 37s seemed to have issues, the Tacoma seemed to have an easier time due to wheelbase, I suppose. 4-runner and a Chevy Tahoe, both on 35s - no issues.

Lots of dips and climbs as the trail sort of goes against the grain of the desert with drainages towards the river. Beautiful panoramic views; some places have very few saguaros, probably the consequence of the 2005 (or so…) fire that lead to the trail closure.

Kevin Patterson was a driving force within TRAL to get that trail to be open to the public again. I wish he could have had the experience in person. But his truck was there, with Sue riding shotgun.

 

[ChaseTruck]

Here are some pictures of the run, courtesy of @richardlillard1 and @twalker9480 :

Line-up in Camp Creek Wash:

The crawl spot on FR42:

 

[ChaseTruck]

And a few more:

Some with more air than others... and in the spirit of the last truck - Happy Holidays to all! See you next year!