Mammoth to Arivaipa Canyon and back 09-16-06
Mammoth to Arivaipa Canyon is a trip I had been wanting to do for quite awhile. Now that I have done it I am glad to say I survived. What a trip. This trail has got to be one of the roughest I have ever been on. It is only about 60 miles round trip but it is all full of boulders, moguls, ruts, and ledges. There are a few stretches of the trail for about 40 yards that are smooth but that is it. It will test your conditioning to the max as you have to have a death grip on the handlebars for most of the trail. Outlaws on this trip were Roy, Bob (ball bearing) Steve (Luke) and Don (azquadrider)
We started out ahead of schedule by meeting Roy at 4:20 AM in Superior and caravanned to Mammoth after Steve's arrival. We were riding by 5:30 Am. Roy was happy to be in the saddle by daylight. As we left our staging area there is a kiosk that we all had to sigh in at before entering the trail.
The trail started out as an easy road for about 8 miles straight into the sun as it was coming up. You had to have your head down and could only see about 10 feet in front of you. We were all thinking the same thing I hope I don’t miss a turn as we were climbing rapidly.
We came to an area where the road was totally washed out. After further inspection the team decided to back up, drop down into the wash, boulder hop up to the wash out area and attempt to climb through a large rut with a steep hill. Bob was anxious and wanted to go 1st. Bad move!!! As he was going through the rut he used to much throttle and ended up on his side. After stopping his quad I ran for the rope. It took some wrangling but we got him to the top. I then took a different line and was able to make it thanks to Bob for showing me how not to tackle the hill. Up next was Roy. He had little Red up in the air and sideways so we opted for the rope and completed the task. Next up was Steve (I don't need no stinking rope) Well the BRP spun him sideways in the rut and his quad decided to get into the rolling contest. Steve won hands down. He did get extra points for the crab walk as he was trying to escape his quad. I think he got a 1 & 1/2 but in the confusion it could have been a 2 &1/2. I took 1 photo as it was rolling but I had to grab it so Steve didn't get crushed like his GPS did. After we put the rope on his quad it calmed down and went up the hill. Whew, we were already sweating and it wasn't even 7:00 and we were only 13 miles into the trail. At this point I new we were in for a long day.
Next stop Carpet hill. This hill is no joke. It is about 1 mile long and loaded with off camber, boulders, (the size of basket balls) ruts, and moguls, plus it is steep. We were all doing fine until about the last 1/3 of the hill when Roy's quad turned on him. He was trying to lead it through a nasty rut to an off camber go around. The quad had other ideas and as he pulled the reins back it reared it's head and flopped on it's side into the rut trying to pin Roy against the bank. I asked Roy if he was ok, he said yes so I stepped back and snapped a couple of photos as he was yelling "GET THIS PIG OFF OF ME" He thought he got it off him before I was able to get any photos. NOT!!!! It's amazing how when you see someone roll that spot gets much tougher for the remaining riders.
The trail goes over a few more mountains and at one point goes be an old Mine. There are boilers and lots of remains of the mine that is pretty cool. Just after this area is an old ranch house. We met some hunters on the way out that says their Grandfather used to drive there 50 years ago. They said he used to drive a car in on the road we were on and he named the hill carpet hill. He put carpet on the hill when it snowed to help him make the hill. There is no way a car or a 2 wheel drive sport quad is going to make this trail. They also said the shot a bear on the trail one time.
Roy almost got a suspension for taking us down into a creek bed he thought was the trail that ended up being a dead end. The reason the group let him slide was the trail was a blast. We had to pile rocks to get over roots and Roy got some extra ride time by hanging off the side of everyone's quad. You just can't keep Roy from riding when it is daylight. Just after the ranch Steve says his quad is overheating. Bob and Roy to the rescue. Bob is an air conditioning guy so he started looking for the fan switch as Roy was getting out his leather man to dismantle the quad. Bob found the switch and Roy had wire so they jumped the switch to make the fan stay on. Good trail fix.
As we approached Turkey creek we saw the devastation the flash flood caused. There were huge trees uprooted everywhere and the road that was next to the canyon was gone. We had a blast finding our way through the maze to Arivaipa Canyon. After a short lunch it was time to head back so we could get up carpet hill before dark. Bob tried to splash Roy in the creek but he just flooded himself. On the way out in Turkey creek Roy's quad was bad again. It wanted to go swimming but Roy didn't. The quad got stuck in quicksand and Bob had to pull him out. We met a couple in a jeep on the way out that were very excited because they saw a large mountain lion on their way in on the trail. Very cool.
Just before we got to carpet hill Roy and I stopped and he said" I'm going to have to take a week off work because my hands are so cramped I won't be able to type." I have never, ever heard Roy even say he was tired. Going up carpet hill was a blast but you had to pay attention. I forgot how long and how many obstacles there were on that hill. Just after we passed roll over hill Bob has a puncture in his sidewall. One more trail fix before we make it back to the trucks.
This has to be one of the overall toughest rides I have been on in my life. What a great time!!! If you do this trail make sure you ride with someone you can trust to help you our when needed. I recommend a rope as well. I bet we could take up a collection and pay $100 to any 2 wheel drive sport rider that can complete this ride.
Read MoreWe started out ahead of schedule by meeting Roy at 4:20 AM in Superior and caravanned to Mammoth after Steve's arrival. We were riding by 5:30 Am. Roy was happy to be in the saddle by daylight. As we left our staging area there is a kiosk that we all had to sigh in at before entering the trail.
The trail started out as an easy road for about 8 miles straight into the sun as it was coming up. You had to have your head down and could only see about 10 feet in front of you. We were all thinking the same thing I hope I don’t miss a turn as we were climbing rapidly.
We came to an area where the road was totally washed out. After further inspection the team decided to back up, drop down into the wash, boulder hop up to the wash out area and attempt to climb through a large rut with a steep hill. Bob was anxious and wanted to go 1st. Bad move!!! As he was going through the rut he used to much throttle and ended up on his side. After stopping his quad I ran for the rope. It took some wrangling but we got him to the top. I then took a different line and was able to make it thanks to Bob for showing me how not to tackle the hill. Up next was Roy. He had little Red up in the air and sideways so we opted for the rope and completed the task. Next up was Steve (I don't need no stinking rope) Well the BRP spun him sideways in the rut and his quad decided to get into the rolling contest. Steve won hands down. He did get extra points for the crab walk as he was trying to escape his quad. I think he got a 1 & 1/2 but in the confusion it could have been a 2 &1/2. I took 1 photo as it was rolling but I had to grab it so Steve didn't get crushed like his GPS did. After we put the rope on his quad it calmed down and went up the hill. Whew, we were already sweating and it wasn't even 7:00 and we were only 13 miles into the trail. At this point I new we were in for a long day.
Next stop Carpet hill. This hill is no joke. It is about 1 mile long and loaded with off camber, boulders, (the size of basket balls) ruts, and moguls, plus it is steep. We were all doing fine until about the last 1/3 of the hill when Roy's quad turned on him. He was trying to lead it through a nasty rut to an off camber go around. The quad had other ideas and as he pulled the reins back it reared it's head and flopped on it's side into the rut trying to pin Roy against the bank. I asked Roy if he was ok, he said yes so I stepped back and snapped a couple of photos as he was yelling "GET THIS PIG OFF OF ME" He thought he got it off him before I was able to get any photos. NOT!!!! It's amazing how when you see someone roll that spot gets much tougher for the remaining riders.
The trail goes over a few more mountains and at one point goes be an old Mine. There are boilers and lots of remains of the mine that is pretty cool. Just after this area is an old ranch house. We met some hunters on the way out that says their Grandfather used to drive there 50 years ago. They said he used to drive a car in on the road we were on and he named the hill carpet hill. He put carpet on the hill when it snowed to help him make the hill. There is no way a car or a 2 wheel drive sport quad is going to make this trail. They also said the shot a bear on the trail one time.
Roy almost got a suspension for taking us down into a creek bed he thought was the trail that ended up being a dead end. The reason the group let him slide was the trail was a blast. We had to pile rocks to get over roots and Roy got some extra ride time by hanging off the side of everyone's quad. You just can't keep Roy from riding when it is daylight. Just after the ranch Steve says his quad is overheating. Bob and Roy to the rescue. Bob is an air conditioning guy so he started looking for the fan switch as Roy was getting out his leather man to dismantle the quad. Bob found the switch and Roy had wire so they jumped the switch to make the fan stay on. Good trail fix.
As we approached Turkey creek we saw the devastation the flash flood caused. There were huge trees uprooted everywhere and the road that was next to the canyon was gone. We had a blast finding our way through the maze to Arivaipa Canyon. After a short lunch it was time to head back so we could get up carpet hill before dark. Bob tried to splash Roy in the creek but he just flooded himself. On the way out in Turkey creek Roy's quad was bad again. It wanted to go swimming but Roy didn't. The quad got stuck in quicksand and Bob had to pull him out. We met a couple in a jeep on the way out that were very excited because they saw a large mountain lion on their way in on the trail. Very cool.
Just before we got to carpet hill Roy and I stopped and he said" I'm going to have to take a week off work because my hands are so cramped I won't be able to type." I have never, ever heard Roy even say he was tired. Going up carpet hill was a blast but you had to pay attention. I forgot how long and how many obstacles there were on that hill. Just after we passed roll over hill Bob has a puncture in his sidewall. One more trail fix before we make it back to the trucks.
This has to be one of the overall toughest rides I have been on in my life. What a great time!!! If you do this trail make sure you ride with someone you can trust to help you our when needed. I recommend a rope as well. I bet we could take up a collection and pay $100 to any 2 wheel drive sport rider that can complete this ride.
