FJRiders.com

“It’s not an adventure until something goes wrong.”

Spring Break was coming up and we made some plans to go visit family in the Phoenix area. It was a long drive and as a consolation, my wife said I could bring the bike while she was hanging with her brother.

We thought about backing out a couple times because of gas prices, but if we couldn’t afford the extra 400 bucks, we shouldn’t be going anyway.

We made the 24 hour-1650 mile trip over 2 days. We planned to leave early Friday morning. I woke up with AFiB @ 4am. Ugh, what an stupid thing. I take my medicine to get it back under control. We get going about 5:30 and my heart goes back to normal about 7:00. I am always real tired after it so the wife drives for an hour while I sleep. Our plan was to get to at least Amarillo maybe Tucumcari. Well we get to New Mexico and start looking. Booked, no vacancy, or a complete dump. We wind up in a Loves Travel stop with the idea of catching a few hours sleep and get going again.

About 4am, I start the car and nothing—Just clicking. Dead battery. Apparently I left the key in and the parking lights won’t go off with the key in. We call a emergency service for a jumó and get rolling. We pull into New River about 3pm.

My BIL has a neighbor named Bob who has Chevy Colorado off road edition. We had been talking the past few weeks about routes and we go on a recon run of Table Mesa road.


As you can see, it’s not gonna be easy.

Bob is pictured above going back to the truck after marking this place a “No Go”. We head back to the house. I need some time to rethink the plan.

I have a back up plan to ride towards Crown King, it is less remote and I have a route already on the GPS.

It looks like this but my plan was to go counter clockwise.



It was about 160 miles and had a few very remote sections, but was common for motorcycles to head this way.

I had a short run up the interstate before getting off road. It was just a few min off the pavement I know it’s gonna get remote.

The mountains here run all the way up to 7K


My plan is to get all the way up to that 7K


It is not lost on me that the last time I was riding by myself in South Dakota, I had a get off.


The views just kept going.


I took the rotopax incase I needed more fuel. I had planned for a few bail outs toward gas, if any of the 3 places I scouted out did not have any.


No need, my plans got changed pretty soon.


The KLX has a 2 gallon tank and I had a 30oz MSR bottle. I would be good for at least 120 miles.

More in a few.


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The weather is near perfect. 55 with a light north breeze when I left in the morning about 7:30 pacific time. Riding here was heat producing becomes I was in the pegs most of the time

I got back on a road that was more traveled on the way to Cleator.



There were some sandy spots Mixed in with the rocks.

I was headed toward the metropolis of Bumble Bee. The road was smoother than the sign indicates, but maybe it knew something I didn’t.


The road was easy and I picked up the pace.


Many of the same scenery pictures don’t do it justice.


This was just so foreign to me.


I often stopped to drink it in, take a picture, and reflect on how awesome this adventure was.


It was lonely out here. Free range cattle didn’t even mind you buzzing by.

A keen eye will notice my tool tube on the right of the bike for later reference.


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Well here is that massive mega-plex. The only indication was the few RVs on the other side of the road from the sign that I had arrived.



They say that everything in the desert wants to poke you. This cactus had other ideas about poking something. Must have thought I was Bust.


Keep watching the tool tube lid.
the road went from wide gravel with sweeping turns


To climbing up the switchbacks to climb in elevation.


I stopped here for a little extended break. I sat on the cattle ramp, ate a granola bar and took my time enjoying my day.


Approaching the town of Cleator the road opened back up.

Apparently this is a happening place. I didn’t stop but it get a picture. They have a bar and a yacht club in case you were wondering.

Just inside Cleator, a road to the north is the Blue Belle mine road. It is a remote road that few traverse. It would eventually lead into the town of Mayer where I would get gas.


A nice water crossing was a welcome treat. I got to do it 4 times in total the next half hour.



I had scouted it via satellite on Google maps and other photos. I knew it was gonna be a challenge.


This cabin had a great patina to it, but I didn’t go inside due to the sign and didn’t go closer as my plan just want to hell in a hand basket.



Notice anything missing? Yeah, me too


Where the heck are my tools?? What a sinking feeling. I sit and think about what to do. I can’t go on without them, how long ago did I lose them, they could be anywhere. Wait, I take lots of bike pics. Surely I can narrow it down. I scroll through my pics and find where the cap is still on.

Back at Busts erecting cactus, my tool cap is on. At the cattle ramp stop it is gone, but the tools are still there. At least that is what I gathered from the pics.

Back down the road I go. Slower than ever scanning the ditches for any sign. I should be able to find this. Yeah, it’s basic, but I can do pretty much anything trail side with this kit.



Nothing, nada, zilch.

I get back to almost Busts cactus and on the side of the road is the cap. I screw it on and now the search intensifies since I mostly know where the tools would of had to fall out.

I am almost resigned to the fact that my day is over. I will be back to the house in about 1 hour because I will have to take the paved roads back. Can’t risk going off road with no tools. That would just be dumb. Ugh. I kept searching. Back up to the cabin, back down to Cleator, back to Busts cactus. Still got a boner, but no tools.

I go into the bar (and yacht club) to see if anyone had turned in my tools. Nope! I ask them how the road is up to Crown King, maybe I can just go there. She said it’s real easy “even low passenger cars can make it. All wide gravel like out front”.

I decide to just try to go there and see what I can. At least the whole day won’t be ruined.

It’s about 30 miles of easy gravel. I knew I could take my time now. It was gonna be up and back. So if I saw anything that looked interesting, I stopped.


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There were some narrow spots just off the main trail. I knew I could explore a little. There were plenty of cars going past andI had cell service if I needed rescued due to a broken bike.



I tried to find things to distract myself from knowing today was gonna be cut short.



I wasn’t gonna be goi g any further up the mountain from Crown King and definitely not going to get to do the remote sections back there.






Guess who is such a dummy for losing his tools.

Last pic before I got to Crown King. I was 70 miles in so I knew I needed gas to get home and I was gonna have to go out and around to the pavement. Better fill up

Yeah, gas is $7.99. But I only need a little so I don’t die from it.

I pay my fuel bill and ask about where to eat. There is a couple places, but the girl says she likes MJ’s so there I head.

Simple menu but the prices are a little high.



This guy suggests the Philly since it’s his recipe and he is from New York, he knows Phillys. He also admits he works there. Some kind of inside info thing he has going on.



I was sitting on the porch and my luck changes…. all because of a silly bar rule and a puppy named Buddha. Apparently your can’t buy beer at MJ’s and the Bars don’t let you bring dogs in but the restaurants do. So up walks a guys named Rod with his chocolate lab. I offer to move over from my spot to make room for him and his dog since he thinks he can’t go in. He tells me his wife and friends are getting a beer and will join him later. He sits down and our waitress tells him the rule is MJ’s can’t sell beer, but you can bring up to 3 per person in as long as they are not opened. He summons his wife with the good news.

We chat for a bit about which way I came up and I told him that I lost my tools and I would have to go back the same way I arrived. He asked me what tools I needed and said he had a full set in his Polaris if I wanted to go back the fun way. Logistically it would work fine. It really wanted to go the way they were going back. Ah, what the hell.

We moved inside as his company got there. My food came out and the tide had turned. It was all good from here.

.


Crown King is a happening place for OHV.


Here is Rod and his wife. Buddha rides in the backseat.



More of the best parts of the story tomorrow.


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...keeping his eye on you, as well he should.

Awesome! Sorry I couldn't join you. But you would not have had as much fun as my 'Big Bike' GSA would not have ventured to the places you went. I forget. I am now used to the Arizona desert scenery. I can imagine what it must be like for a mid-western boy. I must say, I do somewhat miss the green farm fields and white farm houses growing up in Illinois.

SkooterG wrote: ↑Sun Mar 27, 2022 4:02 pm Awesome! Sorry I couldn't join you. But you would not have had as much fun as my 'Big Bike' GSA would not have ventured to the places you went. I forget. I am now used to the Arizona desert scenery. I can imagine what it must be like for a mid-western boy. I must say, I do somewhat miss the green farm fields and white farm houses growing up in Illinois.

Skooter - "our" big bike GSA's will do fine in the places Josh ventured.
It is likely the aged and "unskilled" riders that have no business on the big bike GSA's in those places, I've been in a few and have proven it to myself....JSNS

As we were finishing up eating, it began to precipitate. Not really snow, not rain, not hail, but a weird combination of the 3. Crown King is at 5,771 feet above sea level. The way we were going made us climb another 500 feet or so to start the decent. I was a little worried because Rod said there were some boulder fields that his UTV had a hard time with. But I knew there were some bail out points and I wasn’t gonna get into too much trouble.


We needed to get down off the mountain as the precipitation was making the rocks slippery and turning the dirt to mud. That was my biggest fear.



Mario was piloting his rig seen above. He zipped around in that thing with his 3 passengers like nothing. He could go over stuff with ease. The long travel suspension soaked up nearly anything while the body of the Razor stayed mostly level.




I stayed in between Mario and Rod. It worked well because I could stop and take pictures as well as scope out ways through after seeing the Razor’s line.

Some icy build up is collecting on the sides of the trail.


Rod just kept plugging away at the trail. He was a very good pilot that just didn’t blast through stuff and risk damage to his machine.


Mario didn’t have to give much thought to lines or obstacles. Both vehicles were bundled up. Temps were dipping into the upper 30s. The real feel had to be near freezing. I was not cold as I was working plenty to generate heat. The passengers in the UTV were clearly cold.


There were plenty of machines making their way up the hill.

As per custom, travelers heading uphill have the right of way over downhill traffic. I saw a grand total of 1 other bike out there. It was a CRF 300 that was struggling getting up some of the ledges. I thought I saw stock tires and brand new gear on the rider. Might have been maiden voyage.


The ceiling was low and we kept plugging away. The road in the distance was exposed but nothing to worry about.
Here is where it gets sketchy. Traffic builds up and some places there is not obvious places to pass each other. I refuse to be on the outside. Don’t care as I have suspicion of UTV people from my past. Some full size vehicles were also making their way up.



Rod was easy to spot with the “Don’t Tread on Me” Flag.


Close inspection will reveal a bottleneck way down below. We could see it happening, but not much to do but take our time navigating the road.

The vehicle in front of the Red Jeep was hung up some as we watched from afar. The weather was static and conditions were deteriorating the longer we got delayed. We still had 40+ miles of trail to go.


The white Jeep was very stuck now and we could hear the metal scraping, tire slipping, and engine revving rust goes with a poop show.

We made it down to the switchback to wait on the Jeep to break stuff.


Finally the Jeep passengers hop out and retreat to a safe place while he gets dragged off the rock he was hung up on. The kid was crying out of fear. They were stuck for about 30 min. It could not have been pleasant. The kid was 11 or 12 and I am well versed at calming this age group. Lots of kids cry at school and you can’t talk to them while they are balling. So I talked to her a little to distract her while they set up the straps. Also wanted to get closer to see how long this was gonna take. I was getting cold and impatient. There has to be a timer on how long one gets to try getting over an obstacle. Maybe number of attempts. Pieces of vehicle damaged?



I think this was the boulder the Jeep was stymied by. Yeah, it was wet and uphill, but as John said earlier, the pilot make all the difference.


As we got down the mountain, a sobering reminder that mistakes out here have consequences. I didn’t get the whole story, but I was busy watching the road most of the time. I didn’t take pics of the hard parts become I didn’t want to hold up my convoy friends. They had tools and muscle if I got stuck.


I was having a blast. The riding here was just awesome.


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Down from the exposed ridges the temps increased so did the rock gardens.



The KLX handled anything and everything I threw at it.







Looking back at the top of the mountain from the sunshine, you can see the accumulation of snow. Glad I was not up there now.


Still had to get down to the far side of the lake before I was home free. The rough riding was not finished by any means.







I survived unlike this jackass. This wasn’t the last donkey I would see this week.


This was the overview of the planned route I basically cut from C to E after I lost my toolkit.

The next adventure is less about the nuts and bolts but rather about how this experience makes me feel. Thanks for reading.


Oh, a little bonus. I promised another shot of a jackass


Really enjoyed a quick lunch and visit with Marty. He is doing well. He asked me multiple times if I wanted see his scar as he was unbuttoning his pants. Just kidding. He will be on 2 wheels soon.


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Awesome report Josh! You know Josh, Marty's doing a good job of making you look like the smart one!

















('course, looks aren't everything)

wheatonFJR wrote: ↑Sun Mar 27, 2022 8:12 pm Awesome report Josh! You know Josh, Marty's doing a good job of making you look like the smart one!

('course, looks aren't everything)

There's a smart one???? Where????

Great ride report. I agree it is great for those in the northern climates to experience Arizona in the winter.

Enjoying this report very much.

And for the record, Josh... don't expect Pants to be joining you on ANY of that kind of "road" any time soon. My palms got a little sweaty just reading it.

More, please...

Good stuff Josh. After years of just riding the forests of the Sierra's I started in on desert riding-love it. The desert has it's own vast beauty....and perils.

Cav47 wrote: ↑Sun Mar 27, 2022 7:51 pmHe asked me multiple times if I wanted see his scar as he was unbuttoning his pants. Just kidding.

We all know you aren't kidding.

Looks like a good time and a great place to ride, with not so great weather. Usually you can go to the desert and count on there not being any precipitation, you must have Andrew's luck of finding rain. Not so sure I want to ride with someone like that.

gixxerjasen wrote: ↑Mon Mar 28, 2022 2:06 pm Usually you can go to the desert and count on there not being any precipitation, you must have Andrew's luck of finding rain. Not so sure I want to ride with someone like that.

True Dat! It must have been him. After he left the temperatures here zoomed up to the mid-90s for three days in a row. Broke at least one 30+ year old record!

My friend Kip Walker, whom many of you have met and ridden with has dragged me off onto roads about like what Josh was riding while exploring on my GSA. Slow and easy wins the race,.,,,JSNS



I got through all the rocky, sandy and rough stuff only to fall down while trying to avoid a mud puddle.

In tomorrows installment of Arizona Adventures, I will share the most desolate terrain I have ever seen. At times I was so unsure that second guessing myself was only about 1/4 of how stupid things could get of I didn’t keep my head.

Great report Josh. Looks like a wonderful adventure.