I plan on running rug rd this fall, has anyone ran it recently? Will a Mitsubishi Montero on 31s and a full size truck on 35s make it through? I saw the post where you guys ran it a few years ago and it looked passable then.
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I have not run it in the past year, but the last time I did, it was much improved with respect to difficulty. The Forestry Service did some work on it and the last few miles are a breeze now. They cleared all the baby heads and ran a planer up the stairs, so they are now more ramps. Carpet Hill is still a considerable section with some opportunity for carnage, so use care with 31s going through there. Good wheel placement and caution should go a long way. The question I can't answer is how much effect the mining operations have had on the Mammoth end of the trail. When I looked at the operational map for the mine plan a while ago, it had the first mile or so of the trail included in the active area, so you may have to adjust your route or entry point. I normally lead a RR run each November, but my indiscretion in the Gila River this past April has me pushing to get my rig back on the road after an engine rebuild, so I am not sure when I will be able to lead it. Might be late November/early December thing.
If you head out there, let me know what you find. I really enjoy that run and might try to borrow a dirt bike to go recon it.
I would be interested in doing this trail as well LMK !
Haven’t been there in a few years, would like to hear a current report. I’d probably be most concerned w rain washouts changing sections that otherwise wouldn’t be an issue. Always an enjoyable trip.
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i was tentatively planning on November 31/December 1st and second. the clutch in my dad's truck blew up last week, and we were going to do it together, so we'll see what happens there.
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If you can't drive Carpet Hill due to mining activity but want to cross the pass and drive to Turkey Creek and Klondyke you can take the Cowboy Miller Road. Miller Road was open a few days ago when @splitshot and I drove it from River Road up to the connection to Rug Road.
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Long term future of Copper Creek/Rug Road?
Came across this earlier this week - junior miner Faraday Copper has restarted exploration on their claim at Copper Creek, and earlier this year did some drilling along with associated earthworks. There'll likely be more work coming up. Their technical report shows the property outline, which...
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bwesty
SILVER Star
Give the Safford Ranger district a call. They are familiar with the route and usually know the current conditions.
bwesty
SILVER Star
Does anyone have any recent Rug Road updates?
I am tentatively planning to go scout it on the bike this weekend, or maybe Monday if @D_Web wants to join. I will miss leading my usual November Rug Road run this year as I can't seem to get the gumption to do the last day's work to get my LX back on the road, so maybe a December run if all looks ok this weekend.
I meant to share this a while ago, but I took a day to go scout Rug Road on the dirt bike and you can drive all the way to and down Carpet Hill. Beyond that I can not say. There has been a good bit of road work done in the Copper Creek area, but RR is still there.
splitshot
Head cook, Bottle washer, and Peace keeper.
I talked to a BLM ranger two days ago at Deer Camp and he said the same thing. also mentioned they may have grinded
out some of the bad spots?
out some of the bad spots?
