3/12 - 3/16 - Off Roading and Camping in Prescott, AZ

Another year, another fun Rogue Overland Expedition! This time it would be their "Back to the Roots" trip which meant back in Prescott (Lou's backyard), and more rock crawly. On the agenda were a few trails I haven't done and a few old time classics like Box Canyon and Backway to Crown King. Last time we did Backway to Crown King, Lou and I were forced to turn around due to heavy snow on the 2nd to last ledge, so I was hopeful we'd get another shot at it.

See the two Rogue Overland Youtube videos here: Part 1 Part 2

Day 0 - Wednesday

Day 0s are always a freebie and gave me time to pack up in the morning. It was about a 4 hour drive for me but only a 30 min drive for Lou where we were meeting for dinner. I left Vegas around 1 and ended up finding two of our fellow Rogue companions, Mayhem and Ron, on the drive out. We were on our typical ham radio station so we linked up quickly. 

We ended up rolling in to camp around 5:30. To make it easy for everyone, the plan for check in was in a boxed off area in the parking lot at Dillon's Western Trails Ranch, get your spot, then receive a food and drink voucher! Lou and I got pulled pork sandwiches with the rest of the gang. They also had a small zoo so we got to see some llamas and baby goats. After that, we caught up and went to bed around 10 excited for the fun to start. 

Day 1 - Thursday

All good Rogue trips start with a driver's meeting and then we lined up. We were in blue group lead by our friend Ian in his sick long-travel Tacoma. I was a little bummed that my red Bronco wasn't in red group but blue group ended up being okay too! 

Our first trail was Box Canyon. This is the trail that I believe water logged my steering rack from the year prior. It was a bit wet from recent rain in the area and the clouds were rolling in but Nick and the other leaders were aware so they kept the pack at aggressive pace. It ended up being the right call because it started raining once we got off the trail. That was crucial since Box Canyon had definite flood potential and it would be sketchy to try and get 25+ trucks out of the wash in such a short timeline. 

After Box Canyon and lunch, we were headed to check out the Monte Cristo Mine. Most of these old trails were cut in to access mines and these dirt roads were no exception. We passed the Gold n Grub restaurant that looked actually really nice for being in the middle of nowhere. It was kind of weird. 

It was raining on us pretty good at the mine so we didn't stay for more than 15 minutes, which was fine since we still had a bit of a drive to camp. Once we arrived, the rain was more of a down pour but our friends Josh and Mickey set up their awning and we drank Moscow Mules until it cleared. Nick pushed the pot luck to Saturday since no one felt like cooking in the rain. Everyone went to bed early, hoping for sunnier weather. 

Day 2 - Friday

Friday morning started after a cold but dry night. The Rogue guys had 2 Bubba Ropes to give out and the best way to do that was a massive Rock, Paper, Scissor contest. The two winners would each receive a Bubba Rope. My strategy was simple: since most of the attendees were either Millennials or Boomers, I knew they would start with scissors so I started with rock. After many rounds of dominated the competition, I walked away with a brand new Bubba Rope! 🤠

After my big victory, we broke up in teams again (we were near the back) and finished out Champie road that fed into Backway to Crown King. We started around 10:30 which should have been enough time but Mother Nature had other plans. We made good time, stopped for lunch around 1PM but it started snowing as we started the climb around 2:30. This drastically slowed down our pacing especially with a large group. It did make for some dramatic views of the area though, so that's a plus! 

We hit the ledge that Lou and I previously had to turn around for at 4:40. The ledge was unclimbable but there was another route that opened up to the left where an old broken down truck had been. Nick and Mike were spotting us through it pretty quickly. 

The real issue wasn't the first ledge; it was the second. Lou and I did not see the second ledge on our previous run since we had to turn around on the first one. The second ledge was in bad shape and required many rocks to build up the obstacle. This was a team effort moving rocks from the wash below to the obstacle up top! This ledge took us as a group about 2 hours to get through. A real doozy. Mike was spotting everyone through in the dark, cold, snow like a champ! 

Since it was getting late, Jared (Green Leader) started leading the first group to camp around 7:30. This was the right decision as we were higher elevation now and the snow was really coming down. Our group passed through the town of Crown King around 9. The snow was thick enough that you could not see the tire tracks from the previous group, even though they passed through mere minutes before. I was glad to be following Ian as I could watch his Tacoma slide and knew where to slow down. 

We finally rolled into our camp spot at 10:07PM in the rain, a little hungry, and a little tired. We were bummed that we missed the hot dog dinner that was planned but the success of the day was that the Rogue guys got every truck and person to camp safely that night, and that's what matters! 

Day 3 - Saturday

Saturday morning was a later start which gave us time to explore the Cleator Bar and Yacht Club where we camped. This was a unique bar with a ton of personality complete with a full size pirate ship called The Black Scorpion. Unfortunately, it was not safe to climb on otherwise I woulda been up there for sure! The real advantage of the spot though was the running water sink and flushable toilets. Everyone took a few minutes to clean themselves up before we started for the day. 

Our next stop was lunch at the Rock Springs Cafe. Interestingly enough, this is where we stopped last time after our defeat on Backway to Crown King. This time, we ate our pie as victors! From there, we headed out to run Bloody Basin which ends in a big water crossing and camp. 

The Bloody Basin trail was a few hours long on an easy but bumpy road that takes you to a bridge to cross over the Verde River. You can't drive the bridge though as it was made for sheep, hence the name, Sheep's Bridge. When we arrived, it was full of ATVs who eventually left and we got a good quiet spot for the night. One of their trucks got water logged in the crossing and departed the area after being worked on for an hour. This was also the night of the pot luck and good food was had by all, although not many people tried my Moscow Mules. More for me! 

Day 4 - Sunday

I woke early on Sunday and decided to check out the bridge in the sunlight, and it was a very quiet and peaceful spot - much different than the night before. Lou and I along with 2 other folks said our goodbyes and rolled out a little earlier in an effort to be home early. We were only about a mile from camp when we found the broken down abandoned Ram that waterlogged the night before. We finished the trail in just under 2 hours, which was slightly faster than Nick when he pre-ran it on an ATV. Bragging rights. 

Once we finished, we aired up, said goodbye to Lou, and Mayhem, Ron and I pushed off for home. This were the same two guys I drove out with a few days prior. I got home nice and early around 3:45 and Nina helped me unpack. Very nice of her! We got a pizza and settled in for a quiet evening after a full few days on another great Rogue Overland Expedition! 

Big shout out to all the companies that sponsor the Rogue trips, especially Bubba rope! 

-Xterra Performance

-Offroad Gorilla

-Nisstec

-CVT

-Mechanix Wear

-5.11

-Goose Gear

-Tembo Tusk

-Toytec Lifts

-Bubba Rope

 

Files:

Box Canyon

Champie Road

Backway to Crown King

Bloody Basin to Camp

Bloody Basin Camp Out

2/16 - Hiking Hidden Forest to the Hidden Cabin

A hike that has been on my bucket list for a long time is seeing the Hidden Cabin off of the Hidden Forest road in the Desert National Wildlife Range just north of Las Vegas. The cabin is originally dated back in the early 1900s but had been restored back in 2020 by an Eagle Scout project and supposedly had an outhouse as well. This is a longer hike but I was confident that I was up for the challenge after our recent success in hiking in New Zealand.

The trailhead of the hike is actually about 25 miles up a gravel road so the day really starts at the Desert National Wildlife Refuge Center just off of Corn Creek road. This is a cool wildlife center that has a few exhibits on the history of the area and is a sanctuary for birds. Highly recommend checking that out if you ever have the chance. This is also the end of pavement so this is where I aired down before the 25 miles. I elected to go to 28 PSI but I should have lowered it to about 20. It was a bumpy ride! 

The 25 miles gravel road is groomed and well marked. AWD or 4WD is not required nor is high clearance but I would recommend a tire with a higher ply rating to prevent tears or slicing. The further up Alamo road you go, the less traffic you will see so prepare to be on your own for repairs. I brought, as always, a floor jack and tools just in case I had to swap out a tire. It took me 38 minutes from the Wildlife Center to the trailhead. I'd plan on at least an hour in a normal car.

Once I arrived at the trailhead, I noticed another vehicle so I knew I wouldn't be the only one on the trail today. After that, it was time to get loaded up and off I go! I always start my Gaia app, my Garmin watch, and the Garmin InReach so I can accurately capture the data. The InReach gives me piece of mind when I'm out by myself so that Nina can track my progress from home despite me having no cell phone service. Plus, she can reach me via text if something comes up.

The trail to the cabin is 5.5 miles up and 2,170 feet of ascent. This averages out to about 400 feet up per mile and it was a consistent climb the entire ascent. The trail was easy to follow and I encountered no scree rock nor any slippery terrain. However, I did encounter snow for the last two miles, about 1-2 inches deep around the 4 mile mark and about 3-4 inches for the last mile. I did the hike in normal hiking boots and that was fine; I did not need any snow specific gear. 

I came across the outhouse first and it was nice, clean, and had a good view. Next, was the cabin. It had 3 picnic tables outside and was complete with a table, windows, and a wood stove. Very cozy! This was the destination for my hike but this was where the turnoff for the summit push for Hayford Peak starts. It's another 2.5 miles up and 2,500 feet. It's on the bucket list for the spring but not today! After a short break at the cabin and a cliff bar, I was headed back.

The way down was a straight shot right down the hill just the way I came up. I was glad I had trekking poles to keep the pressure off my knees a little bit. On the descent, I noticed that the sun set behind the hill on one side at 2:45PM despite the official sunset time at 5:25PM. This was a friendly reminder to always start early and plan ahead when in mountainous regions, otherwise you may find yourself hiking when the temperature drops quickly and it gets dark rapidly. 

Once I was back to the car, the total hiking distance was 10.86 miles and 2,170 feet. It was about 2+30 up, 30 minutes at the cabin, and then another 2 hours back to the car totaling 5 hours on the trail plus an hour on either side for transit. My total time for the day was around 7 hours. Totally worth it to have a great hike with a cool destination that isn't crowded and somewhat close to the house. Stay tuned for a future endeavor up Hayford Peak! 

 

Files:

Drive to the Trailhead

Hike up Hidden Forest

1/27 - Wheeler's Pass

After many discussions with a few folks at work, we decided it was time to get out of the office and head out to get some dirt on the tires! Two of our friends were new to wheeling and had never been, so we picked an easy trail that was still enjoyable - Wheeler's Pass. I've done it at least 10 times before at this point so I was very familiar with it and able to spot our friends as needed. We had myself, another buddy and his wife in a Bronco, another buddy and her husband and brother in a stock Tacoma and another guy with his girlfriend in a stock Colorado. It was a good group and ready for a good day on the trail! 

We met up at 0800 at the Lowe's parking lot before driving out to the trailhead, about 50 minutes away. Once we arrived, both Broncos aired down while the Tacoma was already a little low on PSI and the Colorado stayed at highway PSI since we were concerned about damaging his baby highway tires. Once we got rolling, it took about 2+30 hours to arrive at the top. There were a few instances where I stopped to spot others through a rougher patch but we all rolled through well. Thankfully, we came across no other groups! 

At the top, we got a quick group photo and decided to push on over the ridge and descend into Pahrump on the other side. It is always windy at the apex, so we didn't stay long. I did notice that the sign that's usually there was missing. Weird! 

Once we reached the bottom of the hill, we stopped for about an hour while I grilled up some brots and burgers. Winston, of course, got some food too. 

After we finished out the trail, we all met up at a local gas station to air up, hit the bathroom, get a few snacks and head home. Another great day on the trails in the books! 

Files:

Wheeler's Pass

12/28 - Hiking the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, New Zealand

On the 5th day of our trip in New Zealand, we planned to hike the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, which is regarded as one of the world's best day hikes and also puts the hiker at the base of Mt. Ngauruhoe, also known as Mt Doom! This was the primary reason we traveled to New Zealand and I was very excited. 

During this portion of our trip, we stayed in Rotorua to be closer to the trailhead for this hike. Even with that, we were still a two hour drive from the parking lot but I packed all of our food, water, and electrolyte packets the night before. This hike is a through trail so Nina got us shuttle tickets so that we would park at the end, then catch a shuttle to the beginning. The shuttle tickets sell out weeks in advance so we were fortunate to get the 8:30 time slot. After the long drive, we arrived around 8:15 and caught the shuttle to the start. Very excited!

Right from the start, the trail was very clearly marked and easy to follow. Everyone was going the same direction so you couldn't get lost. What struck me the most about this trail is the people we were hiking were all serious hikers and traveled from all over the world to do this hike. We did too! The hike starts off with a slow gradual incline across some plains - I named these the Plains of Mordor. Just passed the plains were our first view of Mt Doom! It felt very surreal. Good thing I brought my own Ring of Power! 

Throughout the ascent, we noticed not only how well the trails were maintained, but also, how well everything was labeled. This is one of the signs that they had throughout the trail to show how far along you were, and how much further is needed to go. They also posted stats of historically where during the hike was the highest number of rescues needed. Without any access to additional food or water during the adventure, this was a stark reminder of how big of a day this was going to be! At this point, the gradual climb turned into a less-gradual, more steeper climb. After all, the trail is called an 'Alpine Crossing' for a reason, so I assumed there was a mountain for us to cross. Let us begin!

When we thought was near the end of the climb, offered us the closest spot to Mt Doom that we would have. It was cool to be that close for where the movie was filmed. Viggo Mortensen, the actor who played Aragorn, chose to walk to the sets, sometimes for days at a time, in his attire and sword so that his character would look traveled. Having now traveled the same steps, respect for him for choosing to get his steps in rather than take the helicopter like the other actors. We stopped here to take in the views, have a quick snack, hit the bathroom (they had drop toilets every 3-4 miles) before continuing. Once we arrived here, we realized it was a false summit and the real climb had yet to begin.

As we continued, we crossed a short plain and noticed how windy it was becoming. This was a concern because we (I) was already pretty sunburnt at this time and now we were adding wind burnt to that too. No bueno. As we pressed on, we came to the base of the actual climb up a long but steep ridge towards the no-kidding summit. This was a little morale crushing but we regrouped, rallied, and made the decision to push on hoping it would all be downhill once we passed this last peak! 

As we climbed towards the summit, we encountered some crazy winds. We didn't have an exact reading but I'd guess 60 MPH. It was enough for where you had to squat slightly moving forward otherwise you'd be blown over. I could Nina wasn't having at this point but she was a good sport and kept moving. Our rain jackets doubled as wind jackets which was helpful. We only stayed at the summit long enough to take a selfie, take a short video, and then push on ahead! 

As Isaac Newton likes to say, 'what goes up, must come down' and down we had to go. This was definitely Nina's least favorite part as we descended on a steep ridgeline, in the wind, in the sun, across some very slipper scree rock. Understandably so, she slowed down considerably during this section, which caused us to consume more water than planned. This had later ramifications when we ran out of water so we couldn't eat any of our snacks which meant we were running on empty and were getting very sore with each step. I broke 5L for me and another 3L for Nina but it turned out to not be enough. Again, I didn't consider the slow down, nor the high winds nor the intense sun. 

After the long descent, we stopped to transition from volcano terrain, to green emerald pools, and more.

As we came down the backside, we had to put a few miles down directly in sunlight where my sun burn got worse and worse. Finally, we entered the forest before the end. We were pretty sore, out of water, and a lot tired at this point but only had a few more miles to go! Again, the trails were well maintained and the Park Service had put in a bunch of stairs throughout to stop erosion. This was great but made for tough steps as our knees were pretty sore. 

Once we were finally past the forest, it was another 3/4 mile to where the car was parked and we were happy to attack the final stretch.

We were fortunate that there was a family selling drinks out of a trailer at the parking lot and they were closing up when we arrived. We happily overpaid for some waters and PowerAde's before getting in the car, swapping shoes to sandals, and headed to get some food. 

Overall, we covered 13.10 miles over 13 hours and 5 minutes and climbed 5,302 feet. This was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime hike and we highly recommend it! 

Files:

Tongariro Alpine Crossing

12/14 - 12/15 - Off Roading in Sand Hollow, Utah

It's been a long time since I did some harder off roading trails, so I was all for it when my good friend Nick from Rogue Overland invited us out to Sand Hollow State Park for 2 days of hard wheeling. Sand Hollow is in St. George and only about a 2 hour drive from Las Vegas so the plan was to meet up with the Vegas gang early Saturday morning, drive out, hit John's Trail Saturday then hit Sliplock Gulch the following day before driving back home. 

Day 1 - Saturday

Saturday morning started dark and early as we meet up at 0600 at the gas station but we rolled out on time and meet up with the group in St George a little ahead of schedule! If you've ever wheeled with the guys from Rogue Overland then you'll know that you don't want to be the one guy running late. The early drive out gave us a good chance to enjoy the sunrise! 

As we met up with the rest of the guys, we headed out to Sand Hollow State Park, aired down, and started rolling down John's Trail. This trail was only about 3 miles long but took most of the day. It was also a bit of a kick to my confidence as I haven't done a hard trail in awhile. It took me awhile to get settled back in! Thankfully for me, I had some experts with me who were patient with me as I figured out how to wheel some of the harder trails again. I felt a lot better by the end of the first day! 

There were a few maintenance issues amongst the group so I started taking the bypasses. There's no ego on the trail and if you're concerned, then take the easy way out! I knew the Bronco was more capable than me that day but I'm okay with it. At the end of the day, it's my daily driver and I didn't take too many risks. 

 

As they say, a picture is worth 1,000 words. That means a video is worth 1,000 pictures. Check out Rogue Overland's video here: Video

After the trail, Nick hosted us to a great dinner as we hung out around the fire. Perfect way to end the day! 

Day 2 - Sunday

Next day was Sliplock Gulch. It was a little longer at 9 miles but had very similar to terrain from the day before and was in the same area. Nick's wife, Vicky, sent us off that morning with home made sourdough and I put them in the Bronco engine bay to stay warm. After the day before, I felt a lot more comfortable this time around. However, this trail was pretty gnarly so I still took some of the bypasses but still had plenty of opportunities to get some good wheeling in! 

Near the end of the trail, we stopped for lunch so I popped the hood to see how Vicky's bread was doing. It was still warm and delicious! 

After lunch, we finished the rest of the trail, aired back up, and headed out different directions back home. Another great trip in the books! 

Files:

John's Trail

Sliplock Gulch