Sunflower Mine trail Tonto FR25A trip report

[Stepmurr]

I let the Land Cruiser sleep in this weekend and took the Taco out for some fun.

Tonto FR25A used to be a loop road around the Sunflower Mine area, but now it dead ends three miles in.

This could be a good ROTM for the more adventurous in the club. Sign at the start of 25A warns that you need lockers & high clearance. My Taco has a three inch lift & 33" tires, and it was quite a bugger getting through the rocks. My FJ40 on 35" tires could would have made it much easier. The big rigs on 37's would have no problem at all.

You have been warned !

Ok - where did the road go ?

oh, here it is!

Mo rocks

 

[Stepmurr]

Mo rocks

This was the end of the trail for the Taco. This next water crossing had broken axle written all over it, and since I was alone I opted to call it a day & turn around.

I walked the rest of the way to the Cornucopia Mine.

The first of two batches of J**ps I saw on the way out.

This was a busy trail on Saturday - I saw over two dozen of them other 4 wheelers, a motorcycle, and a Boy Scout Troop hiking the trail.

 

[Stepmurr]

This is the rock formation over top of the rotary kiln near the Sunflower Mine.

I believe this road used to go to the mine - it was impassable by me but an ATV or motorcycle could continue on. I could see tailings up ahead but didn't hike up to them.

The large rotary kiln

 

[Stepmurr]

Creekside camping along FR25

 

[DSRTRDR]

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

Nice report and trail update Steve

 

[msahr]

Wow. Is all that trail change due to the fires?

 

[Stepmurr]

Wow. Is all that trail change due to the fires?

I don't know as I never ran this before the area was closed after the fire.

TRAL left a few stickers on the Carsonite signs so one of them might know.

 

[murf]

nice Steve, CSC did that trail a while back - a fun challenge for sure.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/sunflower-mine-run-march-20th.464658/page-2

 

[Cdaniel]

Honeywell club adopted trail. Our guy has been pretty busy running and reporting on this. Fire was bad and subsequent rains cut the loop in half. The climb out of the creek has become very dangerous. That drove the decision to close it at the bottom. He's working on extending the access on the other side of the hill. Getting some funding and help to repair some nasty washouts.

 

[BrotherRob]

Wow. Is all that trail change due to the fires?

Nope, due to subsequent erosion.

 

[msahr]

Nope, due to subsequent erosion.

Well, yeah that's what I meant. Pretty sure the dirt didn't burn...

 

[Cdaniel]

Fire induced erosion is what messed up the upper part of the trail causing the closure. The creek isn't any harder or easier. Just different. Every big rain rearranges it.

 

[inkpot]

I don't know as I never ran this before the area was closed after the fire.

TRAL left a few stickers on the Carsonite signs so one of them might know.

Here is the story on our recent trip. We hauled all the gear for a Youth Conservation Core group into the a location near the blue van. An 80 on 35s was pretty had to spot thru without dragging on the rocks, but the 80 on 37s did not really have any problems. the one on 35s NOW has 37s!! Surprise!!! https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/sunflower-fr25a-3-11-2015.844761/

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

More often its the archer not the arrow