Tale of Haigler Creek 09-09-06
It was another great adventure with a good group of riders. This group consisted of Greg, Roy, Steve, Robert and me (Don). This time we headed up the cool pines N/E of Payson to Haigier Creek and Hells Gate Wilderness area.
We started out the morning by stopping for breakfast at the Creek side Restaurant at 6:00 AM. The Creek side is a very rustic place to stop if you get a chance. Their food is excellent.
After a quick breakfast we were off to Haigler Creek off Colcord road. The trail down to the creek is full of twists, rocks, ruts and mud holes. I camped there a few times several years ago so I got to know the area quite well. Because of all the recent rain there was lots of mud to go through. (oh darn) Greg, Steve and Robert were the 1st to test the waters. Roy and I were trying to stay out of the mud but it was impossible. After I had some mud on the quad I thought what the heck might as well have fun. The mud puddles were mostly water instead of mud so it really wasn't that bad. At least it seamed that way until it was time for the clean up. Along the way we stopped at a mine shaft that has a ladder going to the bottom. It is padlocked to a tree. I went down the ladder a few years ago but it just goes about 50' to the west. When we got to the creek at the bottom of the mountain I took everyone to the end of the trail where we played at the water crossing for a bit. I was going along the creek when all of a sudden my quad went out from under me and tried to lay on it's side. I just powered out of the hole and looked up to see Greg next to me almost on his side. The thing that stopped Greg was a large boulder in front of his quad. Robert even joined in the fun as well.
Next we headed back up the mountain and towards Young to a trail to Hells Gate Wilderness. This trail is beautiful. At the start you ride through a forest thick with tall pines and manzanita. This area is loaded with bears. Greg's favorite. There was 1 real nasty deep rut we came to at the same time Robert was having trouble with his BRP overheating. Imagine that it was not a Polaris. I had some coolant with me so we added some to see if that would fix the problem before he tackled the obstacle. The rut did make for a few good photos if the right line was not taken. I would say Robert won the contest in both directions for having one wheel in the air the highest. It was not even close. On his decent I thought he was a gonner. He had his right rear wheel about 3 feet in the air and then within a few feet he had the left rear tire the same way. Wish I would have gotten a photo of that and for some reason he wouldn't do that section again. Back towards Hells Gate and Robert is again overheating so Robert starts looking for the fuse box. Sure enough a fuse was blown. Probably from when he was in the water. Roy was ready to dismantle his quad with his leather man. After the fix we were back on the trail and had a little rain for the next 45 minutes or so just to add some more fun to the trail.
The road now turns rough with rocks just like Roy likes and we turn down a very steep hill into the grasslands near Hells Gate. The forest and grass is so green it seems fake. There were several more steep hills up and down that were a blast until we ended up at a sigh signifying we were at the wilderness and no motorized vehicles past this sign. We took several side trails but they all dead ended at another sign. We were getting good at finding wilderness signs. On the way back Roy had a temporary dismount on the side of a very steep rutted hill. As Greg got up to him to ask him what was going on Roy said "sometimes you just have to lead them a little" He said he was ok and had to back it down a bit before getting back in the saddle. As I looked up the hill Greg was just climbing back on his stead as well. The hill was deceiving because of the big ruts. If you got the least little bit off center of the ruts it would grab your quad and fling it sideways. I almost did the same thing as I tried to go over a large boulder and had it throw me into the ruts but I was able to power out of them.
All and all we had a super good day of riding. We even talked to some bear hunters on the way out that were looking for their dog. They had been tracking a bear all day in the canyon we were in and lost one of their dogs. It had a radio collar on so they were tracking it with an antenna.
Read MoreWe started out the morning by stopping for breakfast at the Creek side Restaurant at 6:00 AM. The Creek side is a very rustic place to stop if you get a chance. Their food is excellent.
After a quick breakfast we were off to Haigler Creek off Colcord road. The trail down to the creek is full of twists, rocks, ruts and mud holes. I camped there a few times several years ago so I got to know the area quite well. Because of all the recent rain there was lots of mud to go through. (oh darn) Greg, Steve and Robert were the 1st to test the waters. Roy and I were trying to stay out of the mud but it was impossible. After I had some mud on the quad I thought what the heck might as well have fun. The mud puddles were mostly water instead of mud so it really wasn't that bad. At least it seamed that way until it was time for the clean up. Along the way we stopped at a mine shaft that has a ladder going to the bottom. It is padlocked to a tree. I went down the ladder a few years ago but it just goes about 50' to the west. When we got to the creek at the bottom of the mountain I took everyone to the end of the trail where we played at the water crossing for a bit. I was going along the creek when all of a sudden my quad went out from under me and tried to lay on it's side. I just powered out of the hole and looked up to see Greg next to me almost on his side. The thing that stopped Greg was a large boulder in front of his quad. Robert even joined in the fun as well.
Next we headed back up the mountain and towards Young to a trail to Hells Gate Wilderness. This trail is beautiful. At the start you ride through a forest thick with tall pines and manzanita. This area is loaded with bears. Greg's favorite. There was 1 real nasty deep rut we came to at the same time Robert was having trouble with his BRP overheating. Imagine that it was not a Polaris. I had some coolant with me so we added some to see if that would fix the problem before he tackled the obstacle. The rut did make for a few good photos if the right line was not taken. I would say Robert won the contest in both directions for having one wheel in the air the highest. It was not even close. On his decent I thought he was a gonner. He had his right rear wheel about 3 feet in the air and then within a few feet he had the left rear tire the same way. Wish I would have gotten a photo of that and for some reason he wouldn't do that section again. Back towards Hells Gate and Robert is again overheating so Robert starts looking for the fuse box. Sure enough a fuse was blown. Probably from when he was in the water. Roy was ready to dismantle his quad with his leather man. After the fix we were back on the trail and had a little rain for the next 45 minutes or so just to add some more fun to the trail.
The road now turns rough with rocks just like Roy likes and we turn down a very steep hill into the grasslands near Hells Gate. The forest and grass is so green it seems fake. There were several more steep hills up and down that were a blast until we ended up at a sigh signifying we were at the wilderness and no motorized vehicles past this sign. We took several side trails but they all dead ended at another sign. We were getting good at finding wilderness signs. On the way back Roy had a temporary dismount on the side of a very steep rutted hill. As Greg got up to him to ask him what was going on Roy said "sometimes you just have to lead them a little" He said he was ok and had to back it down a bit before getting back in the saddle. As I looked up the hill Greg was just climbing back on his stead as well. The hill was deceiving because of the big ruts. If you got the least little bit off center of the ruts it would grab your quad and fling it sideways. I almost did the same thing as I tried to go over a large boulder and had it throw me into the ruts but I was able to power out of them.
All and all we had a super good day of riding. We even talked to some bear hunters on the way out that were looking for their dog. They had been tracking a bear all day in the canyon we were in and lost one of their dogs. It had a radio collar on so they were tracking it with an antenna.
