Phoenix7

3 hours ago, THD said:

Great topic that brought up a ride I really wanted to do but never got the chance.

I was riding at Sand Hollow in Feb of 2020 and was bullCrapting with some locals that were Jeep guys. They told me of an annual ride some of them do from Sand Hollow park down to the north rim of the Grand Canyon and back. If I remember correctly, it takes 2 days to get to the north rim and of course 2 days back. That is in a Jeep, SxS would probably be less time.

I have a buddy that wanted to do this with me, he would take his Jeep and me my RZR, but unfortunately we never did that ride. 

I have no doubt this would be an epic ride.

That sounds like a cool ride for anyone who's looking for that long (in days) of a ride.  I'm have watched a lot of Youtube videos of Sand Hollow (still haven't been there), and I think I saw a video of the ride you're describing.

4 hours ago, Brian Machnach said:

if you had gone under mammoth wash and headed tord the mountains there is a lot of trails out there with some really cool canyons to go through only about 10' wide in some places with walls over 100' tall in spots thay wind and twist through the chocolate mountains and some good steep hill climbs.been out there a few times and we always explore new trails.we still want to explore more places out there and have pins dropped for this upcoming dune season

I'm glad you posted this info for everyone who's interested Mammoth.  I think I can see the area you're talking about on the map.  Some people have warned about the bombing range in the past, and maybe others can comment about that, but I'd be willing to go further next time if I could.

6 hours ago, danwalker said:

I have been looking at this mountain every time I passed it for the last 14 yrs wanting to explore!

Thanks for posting this.

And thank YOU!  It's good to hear someone else was thinking about it, even much longer than I was.

6 hours ago, MWB said:

If they ever open the area East of Gila Bend over towards Mobile you will have months of trails to explore. 

Yes I've heard about the Butterfield Pass Trail over there.  It's really too bad about the closure, but I've had some decent explorations west and east of the 85 south of Buckeye.  I think I should post one of them (Robbins Butte) in this topic because it's definitely an interesting ride even though its not that long.

I know this band was great but for one reason or another I never followed them.  It may be fun sometime soon to discover some songs I missed that I end up liking.

RIP Dusty

I'm not sure which would be worse, Biden surviving until the end of his term, or Kamala taking over if he dies or becomes an invalid........Yes I know, he's ALREADY an invalid.

Thanks @ChEFF and @BONES.  I'm glad everything is rockin again on this website!!  It's a fun place.

I'm alarmed at what has happened in Chicago and NYC.  I think you should do everything you can to get your CCW in California no matter which city or town you live in.  But I'm an Arizonan and I can't give you CA related advice.

Personally, lately I've become upset with myself on how I've become lazy with my carrying strategies.  I have the luxury to do concealed carry in AZ without a CCW.  I'm totally prepared when driving my Armada (Glock 10mm by my side), but when I'm walking or riding my bike I have become lazy, maybe because of the low-crime suburb I live in.  Yet risk is everywhere, and I really need to step it up.  Even if I'm riding my bike on the bike path I ride on every day, I need to simply open up the Armada and slip my Ruger .380 into my pocket.  It's that simple, but I haven't been doing it.  I have encountered sketchy drug-addict-like people on the New River bike path (plus dozens of biking pros who kick my ass every day 😉 ), so I'm hoping that your topic and my reply motivates me to do more carrying actions over here in AZ.

6 minutes ago, ANGRYBUTTCRACK said:

I don't run paddles on my '14 because I think with whatever the stock HP is (96?) it doesn't really do much, momentum is key. I doubt I'll get paddles for it with the 1110cc. After going through over 20 belts and 3 clutches, I figured out how to save the belts,... stay aired up. Running the 8 ply all-terrain's at 15lbs instead of 4lbs-8lbs,.. done. Haven't burnt a belt yet and don't feel like I lost any power.

abc

PS. Gonna get more 'scoop' on my '19, wider rear too. Shoot, I'd better order now so I can have by the season..  

Thanks for your idea ABC.

This past season I had my 11" rear 8 ply GBC Dirt Commanders at 11lbs, but I'd be willing to try them (or my other all-terrains) at 15lbs to see if your theory works.

Right now I have my BRAND NEW 10" Tusk Terrabite Aramid 10-plys mounted, which were planned for Arizona terrains, but I think it would be a good experiment to see how they do in the sand because they have very big/deep lugs (yet are still DOT approved).

Yet I still feel I want to try staying in 2WD in the sand because my 2017 OG Maverick (XC) is a unique machine that has its own quirks.  I think it breaks belts easier in 4WD.  This past season I went in with the attitude that I MUST STAY IN 4WD with the all-terrains, and this next season I want to try to adjust that.  In my limited sand experience, my best performances were with my sand paddles in 2WD when I had to follow an expert level leader with a Rzr Turbo who wasn't cutting me any slack during several dune runs.

FYI: The Tusk Terrabite Aramids replaced Kanati Mongrels which wore down to .25".  The GBC Dirt Commanders are still in play!

Mac: The reason to return to Glamis is the endless dune runs with random paths that a person can't find in other off-roading venues.  Also, for you personally, it's the opportunity to connect with all the friends you have made at Glamis.

For Me: I have had my ups and downs with Glamis motivation.  Last year I went the entire sand season with my super knobby GBC Dirt Commander tires, i.e. never mounted my sand tires.  I had a blast in Superstition, but mixed results in Glamis.

This year I'm planning changes to make my Glamis experience richer:

1. Mount my sand tires, 14" wide Sandblaster paddles in back and Sandblaster smoothies in front.

2. Try to stay in 2WD because I have never broken a belt in 2WD.  My 2021 Glamis experience ended with a broken Worlds Best Belt (haha) on the sand highway while in 4WD.

3. Try to focus on getting to and hanging out at the Swingset because I've never been there (sad but true....haha), and it looks like a fun yet non-extreme ride from Gecko.  Also because so much action happens at the Swingset.

Saturday I really shocked myself with the amount of physical activity I did.  I attribute it to a new American Furniture Warehouse mattress which is helping my lower back bigtime, plus a new supplement combo I've been taking.

* First I went to the storage unit where my Maverick is stored, and I mounted the wheels that have brand new Tusk Terrabite Aramid 30x10x14 10 ply tires (not shown).  My grandson helped with handing me lug nuts and tools while I was on the ground.

* Then I went to EOS Fitness and didn't hold anything back.  I have good days and bad days at the gym.  This was a great day.

* Then I rode my bike 8 miles along the New River riding path.  The photo shows some flooding was involved along the way.

The backside of Saddle Mountain that nobody ever sees from the I10.

This next offbeat location is mostly for Arizonans.  Every person driving back to Phoenix or Tucson from Glamis is very familiar with Tonopah on the I10.  There are multiple gas stations and places to eat on 2 major turnoffs for Tonopah.

But I also started noticing a very majestic looking mountain in the Tonopah vicinity and constantly wondering about it.  I started looking at the Google map and studying trails in great detail.  I wanted to see it closer, and I also saw signs that you could go behind and around it.

Finally I made my trip out there.  Surprisingly there were several campers below the north face, so at least I felt good that other people realized this was a cool place.

BTW, this is Saddle Mountain.

After connecting with the Salome Highway heading west, south of the 411th Ave turnoff, there was a simple and spacious parking area off of the Courthouse Road turnoff.  From there, with my SxS, the trails were pretty sketchy, but I knew that I needed to find the trail on the western side of the mountain that would lead around the entire mountain.  Along the way that's where I saw the campers.

The trail was pretty decent and the sights were amazing, until I got to the most dangerous spot, where my Maverick shows in the photos.  There was a guy doing rock hunting there in a Jeep Renegade.  He said he couldn't and wouldn't cross through that wash because his friend had blown his tire there last year.  But this guy coached me on how to get through there, and even filmed me going down and later sent me the video.

Once I got past the tough spot it was a long trail, managing rocks and washes.  In other words you had to drive carefully at times.

The backside was interesting, and I was pretty much alone.  But as I wrapped around and headed north, eventually I found an AWD Crossover on the edge of a deep, jagged wash.  I stopped and the guy was wondering whether he should proceed onward, down into the wash.  I advised him not to go further, and I believe he listened to me.

As I proceeded onward on the eastern side of the mountain, the trail became much more fun, yet still technical, and I was able to pick up speed and enjoy it more.  Eventually I connected up with the Salome Highway near the power lines, and drove a short distance to my staging location.

In my opinion, this was a fantastic find, and a fun ride!!

That's the random guy who gave me advice in the toughest spot on the western side.

One destination that is so close to Glamis, yet never on anyone's mind, is Mammoth Wash, which is basically the northern end of the dunes.  Sometime last year someone posted a question about Mammoth on this website, and many people started discussing it, including info about restrictions and military vehicles (haha), but I got very curious and I just HAD TO GO THERE.

This is not a spectacular destination, but it's a place where you can have some fun and see some sights and say "hey I've been there".  Whether you decide to get there from Niland or just cross the 78 at Glamis and go north on the access road like I did, that's up to you.

I'm happy I went here.  It was very interesting.  I tooled around in the wash and on the edge of the dunes.  I saw an X3 go deeper into the dunes alone, so that's a possibility, but remember there's no one around to rescue you.  

There was a large group parked in the wash, so I also regard this as a camping area.  You can make this a real trip if you want to.

Hi old internet friends,

I just now re-joined tonight.

This is my first post on the new website.  I'm sorry for all the lost content of many prominent members, but I see that many of the old members have jumped back in because of the important aspect of this website, which is connecting with and helping each other in dune trip management, and exchanging info about the dunes and all kinds of technical off-roading info.  Basically, it's a great website with excellent members.

In my first post I'm creating a topic which is actually very important to me and my goals, but which I feel can help all of you to open up possibilities for new and interesting places to ride, to discover new places that you never thought about and were never going to think about.

But before I post my 2 offbeat places, I want to take a moment and say RIP Devin Adkins.  There probably is another main topic on his passing, but I wanted to mention him here because in every post and video I saw Devin in, and also when I talked to him in person, I always liked Devin very much.  His passing was a huge shocker for me.  I will always miss him and think about him.