P A S T R U N S
KABBA MINE TRIP REPORT
September 20, 2008
Trip Leader: Marty Helton
Tail Gunners: Wayne and Gwen Welch
9 vehicles, 14 people
44 Off-highway
miles
I arrived at the Petro at 8:00 a.m. and went in to pick up some snacks for the trip. When I came
out, Richard Meyers had arrived. We talked a little and started airing down. Soon the rest filtered in.
We
all did the normal checking out of each other's rigs while preparing for our adventure. We had 9 vehicles, 8 very nice Jeeps and my
rustic Classic Bronco.
At 9:00 a.m we had a driver's meeting and departed, traveling south on Blake Ranch
Road to Bottle Neck Wash and turned east. This section of the wash has a very smooth roadbed and travel was easy with little dust.
We traveled at a medium slow pace. Wayne and I had checked out the wash that crisscrossed the road and found several sections that
had moderate challenges in them. I started into the first one after instructing that these were totally optional, to my surprise everyone
took these challenges.
We took the first break after turning into Kabba Wash at the Bottle Neck Windmill.
It is a nice clean area with a large tank and of course a working vintage Aero-Motor windmill. While some checked the flora and fauna,
others climbed the ladder to check out the tank, it was full to the brim.
After the break we headed down the
wash playing on the small rocks till we reached the road to the mine. At the mine we stopped to check out the large tunnel there.
It was carved out of the rock to prevent the water from flooding the mine. You can drive through the tunnel but it does have a trick
rock pile at the end of it. Because of the sandy bottom you need at least a locker in the rear to make it. When done right, the rusty
gold colored rock makes a perfect backdrop for Jeep pictures. I have done this obstacle at least five times and on the pre-run I never
bumped a thing but there were just too many observers to do it perfect this time. I did not hit it right and had to back off to take
another whack at it. This time was better, not perfect. Everyone tried this except the Worrells who do not have lockers; Robert Fry
(W4W Member) was unsuccessful in making it through as he is open at both ends and had to back out. Doug Haak had a little trouble
and got spun around on top of the rock and had to be winched off, but made a second attempt with the correct line and made a
beautiful trip through it. Wayne Welch made it look easy, not a bump or sound except the purring of that Chevy V8 under the hood -
but pulling up to the mine site he got hung up on a rock to give us a laugh.
We took a break at the Mine
and many took time to check out the site. The wash continues past the mine, and after a 1/4 mile a road takes off up the side of a
hill. It was noontime so we started looking for a place to have lunch. We climbed a bit and found a place with a nice breeze and a
small tree to give us shade.
After lunch we continued to the top enjoying the views and then dropped down
into Wheeler Wash. Traveling up the wash for a ways we took a road that made an easy but very steep climb starting at 3599 feet to
4700 feet in just 1.5 miles. As we got to a flat spot there were some cattle sunning, which rose and of course started walking the
way we were going. Along the way there were several more of these spots with cattle resting and each time they got up and walked along
ahead of us. At one point we were pushing at least 60 head along. Finally there was a time when they were mostly on one side and we
had an opportunity to pass.
We soon found ourselves back at Blake Ranch where we aired up our tires and said
our goodbyes.
Thank you all that traveled to spend some time in the Hualapais with me. I would also like to thank Wayne
and Gwen Welch for keeping me on track and pre-running this with me, you made this trip a success.
There were
two others that came out to pre-run with Wayne and me. Steve Woods and Roy Crain from the Walapai 4 Wheelers gave up a day to help
trim the brush back so we could enjoy the trail without worries of paint damage. Pre-running is work but made this trip an enjoyable
one.
Participants: Jerry and Mary Lou Worrell, Steven Strain, Richard Meyers, Robert Fry, Mike and Cathy Howe,
Doug and Sue Haak, Jay and Tom Meyers, Wayne and Gwen Welch, Marty Helton.
Report by Marty Helton - Photos
by Marty and Tom Meyers.
Ken Peterson's Black Mountain Run - October 11, 2008
Kathy and Bob Hoffeld, trip leaders for this excellent run, were unable to write the report due to pressing
problems. We thank them for their great leadership on this trip. So, here's as much as I can recall of the day with help from my photos.
[Ed]
As we waited at the meeting place more and more rigs arrived. There must have been 37 people show
up with 17 vehicles and one UTV. The weather was perfect and a real welcome for our returning members and for those of us who stay
in the BHC area suffering the summer heat - okay, we weren't really suffering, just frustrated because we couldn't wheel.
Ken had gone out a few days before the run with volunteers (he probably Shanghaied them) to trim brush. What a huge difference it
made for our enjoyment - fewer vehicle scratches. We drove down a dry wash - once a road - with a neat challenge taken by a few of
us. There was also a well-traveled go-around, which has a nice tippy section for some to enjoy.
We reached
some of our favorite, and rather intimidating hill-climbs offering superb views, before heading to Moss Mine - not a single problem
encountered. There we stopped for a break and to once again explore the mine site, and for those so inclined, to climb the head frame.
The two agile youngsters climbed the ladder as far as seen in the photo below and then wisely, with a bit of prompting from grandpa,
descended.
Oops, a wee problem for Paull's Jeep. After several experts solved the immediate problem, we moved
on. The competition seems to be running high as to which rig has the most breakdowns on club runs - Paull Proctor's Jeep or JJBlue.
JJBlue behaved herself this day and as of now, Paull's in the lead. (Just had to rub it in, Paull. Grin.)
Hungry tummies prevailed, so Bob found a perfect spot for our lunch break. Oh, oh! another mechanical problem for Paull's Jeep. However,
these fellows are so clever that they managed to get it back in running order before the end of our break.
We came to the "as yet unnamed" rock challenge that a few rigs just had to tackle. JJBlue had a few tries before moving to the far
right then up she went. Tom Sturgis had a great time trying different lines before finding the ideal spot. Up and over he went. In
the meantime, I could see Brad Morrison chomping at the bit. You could tell he was eager to attempt it. Well, by golly, he came very
close to making it! But with only one locker, it was just a bit too extreme for his rig. Awesome try, Brad! After the show, we moved
on to another area offering several options. Being in back I wasn't sure, but do believe a few vehicles needed spotting and one needed
a strap. Otherwise, nary a problem.
The little UTV had been behind JJBlue (within a safe distance, of course)
for most of the trip. Everywhere I went, it followed. Absolutely everywhere! Except for the very extreme stuff, it was right behind
me on every obstacle. I could hear the children shouting "Yippee" and "More, grandpa, more" when going over every bump or boulder. It
was SO humiliating for JJBlue - that little tiny vehicle with tiny little tires going everywhere she went - humph! It makes me
want a UTV though - they are awesome!
We finally dropped down into our favorite wash, Pass Canyon, for some
additional challenges and more fun for everyone. It's a beautiful canyon. Usually we head west down the wash first - stunning
scenery, but there wasn't time on this day. Perhaps on the next trip.
We had a very pleasant surprise.
While we were watching Tom tackle an interesting rock slab, who should arrive on the scene but Dave Howard and Mike Summers. They
had been out cruising in Dave's Jeep and stopped by to say hello. It was great seeing them both. Here, once again, Paull had a bit
of a problem with his Jeep. After we were sure it was running, it was time for us to head back.
We all hated
to see the perfect day and perfect run come to an end. Alas, so it goes.
Our thanks to Ken for a super trip;
to Kathy and Bob for guiding us so well; to Brad Morrison our great tail gunner and to everyone who came out to enjoy the glorious
day.
THE SLEEPING PRINCESS WAS VERY GOOD TO US
November 1, 2009
Report and photos by Joan Beck
Phil and I arrived
at 8:30 surprised to find quite a few vehicles already at the staging area. By 9:30, nineteen vehicles were assembled with two fellows,
having seen the run on the Website, driving their Jeep Wrangler all the way from Las Vegas to participate. Nice having you join us
Randy and Allan! Sonny and Carole Schaffer drove from Lake Havasu City in their well-set-up Jeep - also from LHC in a fairly stock
Jeep were Ray and Kim Stephens with Kim's mother, Bev Bryant - we remember Bev as Don Beck's devoted partner. Don Beck's son, Reg
and his wife Karen arrived in their new to them Jeep (many of you will remember Don Beck's Jeep, Mach Turtle). Wonderful seeing them
all again. The Grimms are back for the winter from Iowa in their beautiful new Wrangler with all of 300 miles on it. Howard wasn't
prepared to scratch it just yet, so he, accompanied by the Haaks, Van Hooks and Badgetts, took off on their own easier run. Mike Summers
was back in town briefly, so joined the parade. Mike and Cathy Howe showed up in their nifty rig. Tom and Bud Sturgis, Ken Peterson,
Steve Strain, Richard Meyers, Paull Proctor with sidekick Court, were all on hand and wouldn't have missed the run for anything. And,
bringing up the rear, Brad Morrison, our tail-gunner extraordinaire.
We reached the kiosk to sign-in and finish
airing down tires, then as we moved ahead toward the first steep hill climb, Keith Stettner developed problems with his rock-buggy
so headed back to the staging area accompanied by Marty Helton, leaving us with 14 rigs - Marty quickly caught up.
The plan was to drive directly to the top of the Sleeping Princess rather than tackle the extensions, those we would try as we headed
back down the mountain. Scrambling along nicely, we reached the top of the Princess and continued another 1/2 mile to Basin Well where
it was much easier for such a large group to turn around. This is where our adopted trail officially ends and private land begins.
After our break we headed slowly down the shaley, narrow trail toward the Princesses necklace for our lunch (a large area of light
colored rock). This was very enjoyable and relaxing with magnificent views, incredible weather and, for a change, no wind. After refueling
our bodies, we were raring to tackle the challenges!
Tom and Bud Sturgis were determined this time that they were
going to climb Frustration Rock. When we arrived, Richard Meyers, who happened to be first in line, decided he would show everyone
how it was done. Unbelievable! Up he climbed as if it were an easy dirt road. No slipping, no sliding. He put the rest of us to shame.
Of course, Richard has a very capable vehicle and he's a superb driver. Tom finally got a chance to show his stuff - it took several
tries, but he did it! Then, Sonny had to try and he too made it look easy. All experts present claim that the shorter wheel base vehicles
have an edge when on this particular challenge. Makes me feel better - thanks experts.
Next Tom and Bud decided
to go down Hell's Half Mile instead of the usual way we take going up. They took off followed by Sonny and Carole in their rig. Ken
left his Jeep in the wash and walked to "the Wedge." Phil and Brad hiked behind the vehicles to watch. Those who weren't going to
tackle it parked to the side of the trail and walked to the cliff edge to see the action in the wash below. The rest of us went to
the beginning of the trail, having agreed to wait for the other two rigs at that point where they would turn around and go back up
with us. We became concerned after no response on the C.B.s and what seemed a long wait, so started up the extension in case they
needed our help. There are about three turn-around spots on this stretch of trail so an encounter with the smaller group
was no problem. After finally being able to contact them on the C.B. they parked to the side and waited for us. Then we all wound
our way through the challenges with no problems. It's very short, as the name implies, so those watching didn't have long to wait.
Next stop was the Miller Extension. We love this trail and it's always fun to introduce it to newcomers - we had plenty of opportunity
on this day. The chaps from Las Vegas were a bit intimidated by the very first challenge, and, having done it for years, I still hold
my breath when going down the entrance. It's fun to see the relieved smiles when all make it without incident. Ken claimed to
have had a small problem, but no one seems to have recorded it. True to form, Tom and Bud, not having had enough, turned around to
head back down the Miller Extension while the group continued to Beehive Wash fully expecting to find the two of them waiting
for us. Mike Summers said he would lead the group out to the staging area while Brad Morrison, Paull and Court and Phil and I waited
for the Sturgis lads - about a twenty second wait. After a brief look at the waterfall we pointed our tires toward the staging area.
When we arrived, most of the folks were still airing up tires and chatting about the great day. The chaps from Las Vegas had never
been on such a difficult trail, performed flawlessly and had a blast!
We promised everyone at least a six-hour
run. It turned out to be six hours and fifteen minutes for the 21-mile round trip. The mileage was taken with JJBlue's odometer, which
is probably way off because of her larger tires.
During the entire trip we found two new aluminum cans and
one well hidden older can. It was wonderful to see our trail with so little trash. Methinks folks are finally getting the message!
Thanks to all of you for showing up and making the day a memorable one, best of all, NO BREAKAGE!
As always,
Brad, you're a great tail-gunner and very much appreciated.
November 22nd Run to the Black Mountains
Report by Sue Haak
Photos by Doug Haak and guest, Chad Reisinger
The morning was a little chilly, but the enthusiasm was warm as 18 vehicles met at the Parkway and Silver Creek Road. The Saturday
morning run was led by Doug and Sue Haak with Gavin and Betsy Van Hook as tail gunners. The run started on Silver Creek through the
Silver Creek Wash and then followed the boundary of the Mount Nutt Wilderness area.
Breaks were taken at the
west and east entrance to Secret Pass. Sue provided some history on the Wilderness Area and Secret Pass with additional facts provided
by Phil.
While traveling to the east entrance the group traveled on the Slurry Pipeline Road and Phil gave
the history of the line. In the area of the slurry pipeline, Denny and Bonnie had problems with the left axle universal. Using a cap
from a Lipton Tea bottle and some duct tape, a temporary repair was made to get them back to Highway 68. A big thank you to Joe and
Ruth who went out with them and saw to it they got their Jeep home. And, let's hear it for duct tape! We had our lunch break at this
time while the repair was being done.
After a short stop at the top of Secret Pass and the Tin Cup Mine,
the group made its way down the Golden Valley side of the Black Mountains.
Our next stop was the stone house
and location of the Hardyville Toll Road. Sue had done research on the history of the Toll Road and the subsequent sale of the property.
She was able to provide information on the family that lived there until about 15 years ago when ADOT took over the property for the
construction of Highway 68 at Union Pass. After her presentation, time was provided to investigate the area.
We finished the run just above Egar and Highway 68. We covered about 34 miles on dirt, which took just over six hours. We had many
new people on the run and want to thank them for coming out. Also, thank you to all of you for making it a very successful day.
Sue
1st photo: Waiting for the run to begin. #2 - This shows a portion of the Mossback Mine. #3 - The west end of Secret Pass. #4
- Through the looking glass. #5 - An ingenious engineering fix. #6 - On the north east side of the Slurry line looking at Secret Pass
toward the west. #7- Driving around the borrow pit used for material when Hwy 68 became four lanes. #8 - The old stone house. #9 -
The vintage (late 30's) gas station.
A beautiful run with fascinating history of
mining sites and the facts behind the Hardyville Toll Road, the stone houses and the old gas station. Sue spent a lot of time researching
the history for our enjoyment. Great job Sue! Beautiful run Doug. Gavin and Betsy were super tail-gunners. [Ed]
2008 CHRISTMAS RUN AND PARTY
By Phil "Rockcrawler" Strittmatter
Consultant, Howard Grimm
Photos: Reg Beck, Bette Evans, Joan
Beck
#1. Arriving at the stone house. #2. The dwindling remains of the historic old home. #3. Photo taken in 1993, you can definitely see
the changes. #'s 4, 5 & 6. The first beautiful cove we visited at Lake Mohave. Doug Haak and Dan Badgett decked out their vehicles
for the occasion. #'s 7 & 8. The predicament and the rescue. #'s 9 & 10. These photos were taken in 1993 and show the "navigable
part of the canyon" with flowing water. Folks had to straddle the wash. On this day though, it was very dry and hiking up to the end,
where you see Phil holding up the boulder (1993), was an easy jaunt. #11. Three of the youngsters couldn't get enough running and
climbing.
The photos below are of the Christmas party. Everyone brought a yummy assortment of food with plenty for seconds.
The ladies who stayed behind to set everything up so beautifully for us were: Betsy Van Hook (she and Gavin made arrangements
to host the party at the recreation center where they live); Dorothy Peterson; Sue Haak and Anita Badgett. Everyone present
received gifts. There was a great selection of very thoughtful, enjoyable and entertaining presents. Santa had Shanghaied four
elves (he didn't really need to, they had a lot of fun) to help distribute the gifts and each one of them received $20.00
for their help. After the party we had a brief December club meeting - then the cleanup crew took over, the crew being almost
everyone present. It went quickly.
Our semi-resident Iowa Elf, Howard Grimm, with helpmate Gladys, led 17 prancing and pawing four-wheeled
reindeer 'over the river and through the woods' (oops, wrong tune) on a grand tour of Jackass Flats. We picked up one lost reindeer
along the way, Larry Soester with his young crew, making our count 18.
Before leaving the pavement we passed
the site on our left of the worker's housing area when Davis Dam was under construction, then almost immediately, the now defunct
Sportsman's Park.
As we followed the Stone House Road, it was disappointing to see all the old time roads
branching off that led to a number of well-sites and mines closed and barricaded. It seems that the Park Service adheres
to a hugely misguided philosophy that they know better than we what we are supposed to enjoy and how we are supposed to enjoy it.
None-the-less, everyone did seem to enjoy the stop at the sadly minimal remains of what was at one time a family's snug home.
It can easily be visualized that many Christmases were spent here in front of the fireplace listening to the crackle of burning
juniper logs and smelling the scent of a tree that dad had drug down from the Newberry Mountains. A few baubles, some pieces
of colored ribbon, maybe a candy cane or two for the young'uns would certainly make a cheerful holiday in this remote place.
Not too many years ago, perhaps twelve or fifteen, there were a couple of rusted automotive hulks nearby that suggested mining activity
might have taken place up until WWII.
Leaving here, Mr. Elf took us down canyon to the beautiful lake cove
where we'd partied in previous years and gave us a few minutes to contemplate the ghost of Christmases past. Next stop was Telephone
Cove for a bush break, only these bushes were considerately more substantial than most - brick and mortar brings to mind the time
honored phrase: "Built like a brick - - - - - - - - ."
Grapevine Canyon has always been an interesting place
and this time was no exception. The geologic phantasmagoria is awe-inspiring. The gullied sand has been eroded in some places to a
depth of twenty feet and if more time were available would have offered an opportunity to play. One guest must have had that very
thought in mind until prudence took over at a very side-tippy angle. Just a little more and we would've been able to have a clinic
on drive train parts I.D. Tugs from two winches soon got the rig back on safe ground.
Some folks opted to
walk the last few yards to the end of the navigable part of the canyon - hmm, can that be crawled with a rock buggy? The consensus
was a resounding, nope! (See photo 9 below - that's the 'nope!') Don't think for a moment that the youngsters didn't take advantage
of the time to scamper up and down the hills and cliffs of sand - it was a lot of fun watching them enjoy the great outdoors.
Time, as we're all too aware, slides by very quickly and the collective rumble--like a NASA launch - of hungry tummies added extra
pressure on the skinny pedal to hurry us toward tables of cornucopian delights.
With thanks to Howard Grimm
and tail-gunner Gavin Van Hook for a super run. We want more runs from you two!!!
