Trailmania
One of two branches of a trail heading back to where I’d originally planned to camp. Pretty nice back here. Very pleasant.
I decided to walk the same trail I’d driven last year while attempting to get back to a strange little area I’d scouted on the e-bike and hoped to camp in one day. On foot, I couldn’t get very far in because of the energy-draining meds I’m on, plus the full sun and heat.
I call these The Three Amigos, and have walked past them enough times that I now (quietly) ask, “How ya doin’, boys?” They’re about as tall as I am.
But I did make it just past what had stopped the Intrepid last year, and found another challenge to wonder about. Good thing I went when I did, though. The wind came up after I returned to camp, and got more interesting that evening as it brought in cooler temperatures.
As I’m looking back toward camp, this little dry wash crosses the path.
As I’m standing in the wash, camp is toward the left. Not a big challenge, though I’d still take it slowly and listen for ground contact at the rear overhang. The trick with these is that the slope on the right can lift the front end of the truck more than you expect, and ground out the cargo box as soon as the rear wheels drop that little bit into the wash. The effect would be more-so on the return trip from right to left.
You could see this and yawn, right? That washed out-looking thing is one massive submerged boulder to get over. This is what stopped the Intrepid last year, when the cargo box swinging frame hinge grounded solidly out on the right rear on the approach.
This look back shows what’s going on a little more clearly. Overhang is not good to have at the bottom of this “V”. As always with these things, I follow the principle, “If in doubt, get out and look.” What I saw here made me back out, rather than damage the frame.
Well, this is new! Trails do change over time, and generally not for the good. I don’t know why the dirt vacated the premises on just one side, but that doesn’t matter much.
Same feature, looking back toward camp. This will induce a LOT of side tilt that can’t be dodged (no pun intended) and although I’m pretty sure that my rig can make it without flopping over, I think I’d hug the stage-left side and sacrifice some paint to the bush. You may be just five miles from town, but you really don’t want to tip your one and only over at this spot.
The lonely rock. I think I’d try to roll it out of the way. If not, I’d need to keep in mind just where both diff housings are, and aim to miss them. I’ve seen rocks like this with scrape marks, paint, and oil on them, so it doesn’t pay to assume. Not carrying my tape measure, I’m guessing this is about 8″-9″ high.
If you’ve hung in this far, you deserve something more than trailmania. Here are some rocks that I found interesting.
I find the odd fracturing to be a real draw.
Sorry, can’t help myself.
And last, this is a popular spot (one of several) where locals tow in their horses and ride for a goodly chunk of the day.
That last shot reminds me that this is Wickenburg, after all. Lots of ranches here, and lots of horses. They have steer-roping competitions pretty much all winter. In the shot above, a couple rode their horses for perhaps five hours, and when they came back, I noticed that it took awhile to get out of the saddle. Personally, I’m ready for an overhead hoist after not much more than half an hour, so these two have my respect.
Strolling Amok 