Rug Road 10-20-18 (1 Viewer)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Joined
Feb 20, 2017
Threads
56
Messages
1,101
Location
Tucson, AZ
I was asked to put something together for the guys at work and we landed on Rug Road. So, I am planning the run. Late notice, but anyone is welcome.

Gunna be me in my 4Runner, 2 Jeep JKUs, and an F250 on 37s. No clue what the trail conditions are. They were pretty good in January when we ran it, but it has rained a good bit lately.

I'll be cooking burgers for lunch midway through.

Hit me up if you want to join.
 
Such a great trail. Wish I could make this.
 
Dangit I'd like to but am committed all weekend. Have fun!!
 
Tighten all your nuts!:hillbilly:
 
What direction will you run it?
Phil, I am planning to run it Mammoth to Turkey Creek. Same as we did in January. Thought being to make sure we get off the trail with plenty of day light.
 
Here are the details on the trip. Gunna be a march, but thet asked for it. Anyone is welcome to join us.

OK guys, here is the plan.



We will meet at Lupe’s Mexican at 8am:

clip_image002.jpg




Be there with a full tank of gas, ready to hit the trail. I will have us covered for lunch, but you are on your own for breakfast and trail snacks.



Menu is Burgers, Chips, Dips, and a dessert of some sort. If you have any dietary concerns or special requests, let me know ASAP.



Rug Road runs from just outside Mammoth, AZ and runs all the way to Turkey Creek past the Klondike Mine. I did this one in January, and it was fantastic. It is a long run and will use a full tank of fuel or more round trip. It will be a long day, but I can tell you it is worth it. Be ready to spot each other and possibly stack some rocks if needed. I don’t anticipate any of the rigs having trouble, but we will need to be extra careful regardless as this is a very remote area, and medical rescue will come by helicopter and HAM radio only.



Weather looks good. Should be good, but be prepared.

clip_image004.gif




Some GPS Info: http://abell.as.arizona.edu/~hill/4x4/turkey01.html



Things you will need to bring:

  • Water. 2x as much as you think you need.
  • Recovery gear. Shane has a winch, and I have straps and shackles, but come prepared.
  • Full tank of fuel
  • Sunscreen
  • Outerwear to accommodate a temp dip, i.e. a jacket and cap.
  • FRS Radio if you have one. I will have a few to share.
  • Patience, good attitude, favorite snacks, and a camera.


Here is the tentative route.

GaiaGPS - RUG ROAD



This will be a long day, but you will see some great backcountry. I expect us to be on trail for about 6 hours, starting at 9:30am with lunch picture stops, and exiting at Turkey Creek around 3:30. We will commute back through Klondike, Bonita Aravaipa Road to Fort Grant all the way to HWY 10, from there it is another hour home. This is summing up to be a 9-10 hour day, so be quick giving me feedback if this is too much. If so we can cut it down, but this route will give you the best views and scenery. Turkey Creek is a killer spot to camp too, and there are some Native American ruins there as well.



My cell is 501-772-6109, save it and call me with questions.
 
Jason, this sounds like a fun day. Should be a bit of a change in scenery from last weekend. Unfortunately, we already had another engagement. This trail is on my bucket list!
 
Jason, this sounds like a fun day. Should be a bit of a change in scenery from last weekend. Unfortunately, we already had another engagement. This trail is on my bucket list!

No worries. I am sure we will run it again. There are a bunch on trails in the Tucson-ish area that I want to run.
 
Interested if the recent rains have changed the trail, let us know if Turkey creek is flowing.
 
Great trail and better camp spot! Wish I was not just now flying home from traveling all week. I’m pretty dead or I would be there.
 
With the run complete, I can tell you that it has changed significantly since we ran it in January. It was way rougher and washed out. The rocks are now boulders and damage was a high concern. We ran it heading east which has you descending Carpet Hill and The Stairs. It would be a serious effort to climb those at present. We had one stock JKU Rubicon and they lost a section of the rear bumper and high centered regularly. I pretty much destroyed the running boards on my 4Runner, but they did protect the rocker panels. The biggest rig there, a LWB F250 with a 6" lift and 37s, had zero troble with anything. Turkey Creek was only a little flow, but still wnough to splash through and have some fun. There has been a pretty good rock slide between the camping area and the start of Rug Road, and officially the area is impassable according to the Forest Service. We took to the creek bed and bypassed around it all. All in all, it was a great run.
 
Pics of the rock slide on the Turkey Creek road from Rug Road.

IMG_20181020_165553213.jpg


IMG_20181020_165548921.jpg


IMG_20181020_165606553.jpg


IMG_20181020_165553213.jpg
 
Running boards were junk when I got home, so they went to the recycling bin.

IMG_20181021_093640513_HDR.jpg


IMG_20181021_100654670_HDR.jpg


IMG_20181021_093640513_HDR.jpg
 
The ATRAC got a workout, and a rear locker would have definitely made things easier, but on the whole a good drive and very enjoyable day. I only had a couple of very light kisses of the armor - no way I'd be taking a stock vehicle or something with standard size tyres down in the track's current state (unless I like damaging my sills...).

Gratuitous LandCruiser shots follow...
IMG_4602[1].JPG
IMG_4581[1].JPG
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom