We had planned for today to be a bit of a Jeep day. I had been looking at some of my GPS mapping, and liked the Montana Mountain Trail, that started at Florence Jct. and ended at the Town of Superior, all just east of Apache Jct. out off Hwy. 60.
We needed and wanted more info on where and how to go… so we went to the Apache Jct. Chamber of Commerce, who sent us to Arizona Fish and Game, who sent us to Map World, a store in nearby Mesa, for a book called “Guide to Arizona Backroads & 4 Wheel Drive Trails” by Charles Wells. It is a very good book and we liked it so much we bought the same book, but made for Southern California. They cost $25.00 each, but are worth it for all the info they contain.
Not to far into the trail we came across this natural bridge… look at the very centre of the picture, it is not real big, but it is there…
Ya, we ran into the odd Saguaro Cactus…
The book told us the trail started out easy and got more difficult, they were right! Here is the easy…
Yes the sky was blue, and it got warmer as the day got older…
We ran into two guys out on ATV’s not too far up the trail… this trail totalled about 30 miles! Found out the ATV’ers were a guide and a customer. This is the guide below and if you look on his right leg, that would be his sidearm! He was packin…
The further we got into the trip, the better the view got, as we climbed. We ended up climbing from about 1,600 feet, up to 5,400 feet!
What a view…
In the distance, the Guide told us was Gila Bend, which is a long way away!
My Jeep was getting dirty…
After the 1/2 way point, the book said the road would be “moderate”… hmmmm…
The pictures do not really do this justice, but you could not navigate this road without a Jeep or 4 wheel drive high clearance type of vehicle… our Jeep did great, we did scrape a couple times, but we have a full skid plate package on our Jeep, so this helps out big time protecting the vital equipment down below…
“I can see for miles and miles…”
I had to hold the Jeep down so it would not roll over the cliff…
Yes, when you get up to 5,400 feet, you will see ice ont he road…
We started the decent down the back of the mountains, and ran into a series of switch backs… they were a bit ruff! No problem for our Liberty!
I had to get out and do some manual labour… there are some rocks you simply cannot go over!
We actually came across another vehicle heading the other way… the only one we met on the road!
OK, now we are getting into the heavy duty stuff, no problem again for the Jeep, we could not believe it!
Check out the weird bark on the trees up on the mountain…
We had a great view coming down…
We came across a Deer, a Coyote, (we think,) and a cow on the trail… They Guide told us that Wyatt Earp's Wife’s grave was out here, but we did not find it! Farmer’s let the cattle graze free out in this area, and then round them up on horse back. Just like in the wild west!
We had a blast today with our Jeep! It took 4 hours and 45 minutes to complete the loop! We are already looking at other trails in our book to go and explore!
Well this has gone on long enough!
Till tomorrow…
Looks like we are going to have to get ourselves that book as well. In fact, Kelly is already in the process of tracking it down online. Looked like a great 4 wheel trail for sure. We're off for a little Jeep run in the Dragoon Mountains Wednesday with a couple other Jeepsters.
ReplyDeleteWow, some of those roads look way to rough to drive on. I love the pictures. It looks like a very exciting day for you!
ReplyDeletelooks like a great Jeep day for you..a dirty Jeep is a happy Jeep!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great Jeep tour! I enjoyed it a lot from my nice, comfy computer room chair!! Parts of that road looked pretty narrow and rough - even for a Jeep. Glad you made it through o.k.
ReplyDeleteAwesome jeep-tour! I had fun, although I'm only sitting down in front of my computer. And it's okay if your jeep's a bit dirty; at least you guys had a lot of fun for the entire day.
ReplyDelete