Phoenix to Prescott Overland

SOAZ

Tim and Kelsey get lost..
Its not quite yet a completed trip, but since its a one day journey I'll post it here.
Because of time I will have to take about 25 miles of pavement before hitting the really tough slow jeep trail, but this route can also be done with no highway if you have time and creativity.

I'm meeting Tacozona in Crown King at the old Saloon for lunch so time is of the essense!!

I'll have my spot tracking. The link to the real time spot tracking is at the top of my blog at www.soaztim.com

See ya! :victory:

Tim
 

crawldit

Adventurer
Going up the back road from Lake Pleasant to CK and then taking the Old Senator Highway into Prescott makes for a long day. It's a great trip though. Hope you enjoyed yourself :smiley_drive:
 

HMR

Rendezvous Conspiracy
I've been spending more and more time at Lake Pleasant lately and just starting to learn about the local trails. We'd love to be able to travel offroad all the way to Prescott. Looking forward to your report.
 

SOAZ

Tim and Kelsey get lost..
Thanks for the interest guys.

There are two ways. One involves going up through Cave Creek, then to 7 springs, then to bloody basin, over to cordes junction, up through mayer and into prescott valley.

The way I went starts essentially at Lake Pleasant. Up the back round to Crown King and up the Senator Highway which spits you out just east of Whiskey Row in Prescott.

Its a fairly long ride, but not too bad on a bike. If Jeremy and I hadn't decided to go and run some serious single track along the Senator highway portion I would have felt a lot better by the time we rode into town! :sombrero:

Along the way I pass a group of land rovers, jeeps, toyotas, utv's, a few dirt bikes and quads as well. A dirt bike coming up that back way is tough and tiring, but so much less so than bouncing along in my truck.

At one point I came upon a traffic jam. The folks flagged me down and said no one is getting passed. A truck fell off the edge. This was in a particularly bad area to go off the side. The drop was over 100 yards down sheer. The fellow was really lucky in one sense. He was crawling along and apparently felt his tire hit a rock that stopped his progress so he got out to take a look. The problem being it was a manual and so he just put it in neutral. He and his wife got out to check it out and the car lurched. He was smart enough to resist the urge to jump it to save it. Sadly the car rolled right of the edge and fell down the drop before tumbling a few times as it hit rocks on the way down.
At this point a recovery "attempt" was underway and they had several winch lines tied together to reach it. They also had several trucks tied together. The 30 something folks I had passed on my way up that morning were not going to make it to Crown King that day.
I gave my condolences and promised to buy the guy a beer if he made it to Crown King with the remnants of his truck. I kept on heading up to Crown King. The toughest part of the ride was over and what took the fellas sitting next to me 4.5 hours to do on quads had taken me an hour and a half from my front door in Phoenix. (not saying I'm fast, its just the joy of a 4 inch track width.)

At Crown King I met up with Blake and Jeremy. We ate some giant burgers and headed on out to Prescott along the Senator. Jeremy wanted to check out some single track and I was more than happy to oblige. Blake had been riding for a week straight and decided to head back to Prescott. We explored some singletrack that was at best 12 inches wide and often along a cliff was LITERALLY just wide enough for our tires. Quite a fun trail. Jeremy kept right up along with me and by the time we turned around we were getting tired as can be!
We'll have to find out where that one ends another day.

Back to Prescott we went and over to the Raven for a well deserved beer!

I'll have video... some of Jeremy getting wild on the DR. too.


I'll see if I can get Jeremy's Laptop to start working with my XD card. Otherwise I'll post the pictures when I get back.

ALSO: Should you find yourself at work tomorrow I'm sorry, but envious a bit. I will be taking the OTHER way to do dirt between Prescott and Phoenix on the way home. I'll make sure the spot is on so you can see where I go. :sombrero:

BELOW ARE MAPS OF THE TWO ROUTES:

Phoenix to Prescott on dirt MAP 1

Phoenix to Prescott on dirt MAP 2
 
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goodtimes

Expedition Poseur
If you happened to find a moto plate along the trail...

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=465349

Have fun riding back the "other way". The first few miles could be fun. Scott and I rode that stretch (Table mesa / Bloody Basin) last summer. Once we got up on top, the road was a pain. It was so damn loose, it felt like riding on a freeway filled with marbles. The going was slow and tiresome.

Great scenery though...and just about any day on the bike is better than a day in the office...

:bike_rider:
 

Cypher

Full Time Traveler
Sounds like a great trip Tim! Thanks for posting up. Too bad to hear about the truck going over the edge, but glad to hear no one was hurt. Looking forward to seeing some video and pics!
 

SOAZ

Tim and Kelsey get lost..
If you happened to find a moto plate along the trail...

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=465349

Have fun riding back the "other way". The first few miles could be fun. Scott and I rode that stretch (Table mesa / Bloody Basin) last summer. Once we got up on top, the road was a pain. It was so damn loose, it felt like riding on a freeway filled with marbles. The going was slow and tiresome.

Great scenery though...and just about any day on the bike is better than a day in the office...

:bike_rider:

Thats odd... I have his plate. Not kidding. Good call. :sombrero:
 

SOAZ

Tim and Kelsey get lost..
Sounds like a great trip Tim! Thanks for posting up. Too bad to hear about the truck going over the edge, but glad to hear no one was hurt. Looking forward to seeing some video and pics!

Just watched some of the raw video. Lots of good stuff. :sombrero:

I didn't make it home today. Still doing some work in Prescott. I'll be headed back tomorrow at about noon. Help me pray for cool weather.
 

Cypher

Full Time Traveler
Just watched some of the raw video. Lots of good stuff. :sombrero:

I didn't make it home today. Still doing some work in Prescott. I'll be headed back tomorrow at about noon. Help me pray for cool weather.

HA! You don't have to ask me twice to pray for cooler weather. They are predicting rain for most of the area between Phoenix and Prescott on Wednesday, which could be both a good and bad thing, so if you are heading back on the bike be aware of that.
 

Clark White

Explorer
Hey, if your goin all that way on dirt (looking at map 2, Bloody Basin way), why not finish the trip on dirt instead of taking 69 the last few miles? In Mayer, take Poland Rd-Poland Junction-FR 261, that will take you back to Senator HW, then back into Prescott same as Map 1. It's been a few years, but I don't remember the Poland Rd as being too difficult. You'll have to look at the map as once you top out at the saddle, you can either go the hard way SW FR 261 and ride around the south side of MT Union (beautiful trail, maby 2.5 difficulty). You can also take Big Bug Mesa Rd N and come out in walker (well graded, only a 1). There is a third way that will take you out to Palace Station, AWESOME ride, but not well known or marked. If interested in the last PM me and I can give you detailed directions.

Clark
 

SOAZ

Tim and Kelsey get lost..
Hey, if your goin all that way on dirt (looking at map 2, Bloody Basin way), why not finish the trip on dirt instead of taking 69 the last few miles? In Mayer, take Poland Rd-Poland Junction-FR 261, that will take you back to Senator HW, then back into Prescott same as Map 1. It's been a few years, but I don't remember the Poland Rd as being too difficult. You'll have to look at the map as once you top out at the saddle, you can either go the hard way SW FR 261 and ride around the south side of MT Union (beautiful trail, maby 2.5 difficulty). You can also take Big Bug Mesa Rd N and come out in walker (well graded, only a 1). There is a third way that will take you out to Palace Station, AWESOME ride, but not well known or marked. If interested in the last PM me and I can give you detailed directions.

Clark

Nice. THanks for the info. I knew I could connect the last part, but haven't ridden it yet.
 

SOAZ

Tim and Kelsey get lost..
I just got back. I took Pine Flats over to Mayer instead of Poland, but I now know where that one is so I'll be taking it next time for sure.

3 hours on backroads. Awesome.

Just one thing. Phoenix is hot. For anyone who is unaware and is in Phoenix right now. DON'T go outside. Stay at the safety of your computer and plan your move to Prescott, Flagstaff or Colorado like I am! :drool:
 

BogusBlake

2006 Expedition Trophy Champion
Tim-

That was a fun ride and it was great to meet you. For some reason, all my backwards facing helmet cam footage was unreadable when I tried to download it. I thought I had some goods shots of the two of you, but oh well...
 

SOAZ

Tim and Kelsey get lost..
Tim-

That was a fun ride and it was great to meet you. For some reason, all my backwards facing helmet cam footage was unreadable when I tried to download it. I thought I had some goods shots of the two of you, but oh well...

Hey Blake! Nice to meet you. Hopefully we can ride more next time.
Wait until you see the video of Jeremy on the single track! :victory:
Great stuff!
 

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