ROTM - Battleaxe Trail Off of 177 South of Superior
Trip report (forum): ROTM - Battleaxe Trail Off of 177 South of Superior
It seems that after this run and the last Oct ROTM sometimes the best trips are those that are unplanned and "explore oriented".
Our group consisted of 10 trucks: 4 80's, 2 Tacomas, 1 4runner, 1 100, and 2 200's. Great group on a great day to start out - the trail choice was Battleaxe trail off of 177 South of Superior. The guidebook states a 5 out of 10 on difficulty and 9 out of 10 in scenery. It truly was a treat and many pictures were taken. The trail in was enjoyable and we all soaked up scenery of the many canyons the trail went through.
Heading down to the river we had hoped to cross over near the coke ovens but we were stopped about 150 feet from the water crossing by a recent severe washout in the trail that was unpassable. The hole was literally a 15 foot drop off and no way around. We decided to turn around and find an alternate route. at this point TexAz. F5driver, Cawlaz, and Msahr parted ways to head home to complete the day trip.
The 6 remaining besides myself was: Stepmur, Saddletramp, Otter, Jclarke450, and Bondonsix. There were brother in laws, moms, families ready for lunch at this point. We took a side route and found some big trees by the river to lunch in the shade. As we were pulling up 2 Apache helicopers came directly over and were waving to us. Wow, that was a thrill! I think Sara was the only one quick enough with a camera.
The attitude was for exploring and enjoying whatever we came across so off we went up the road searching for another route. We finally found our way acorss the river but much farther upstream. driving for a few hours we ended up camping in another very scenic area. Stepmur took some great nighttime pics and saw "a bright light in the sky" but no one was abducted.
After breakfast we broke camp and ended up on pretty much a rather eroded and steep trail that was probably a 7-8 that traveled up and down 2 canyons with drastic height changes. this was my favorite area of the trip. New member Bodonsix and Mom handled it like pros!
Thanks for everyone who could make it!
Our group consisted of 10 trucks: 4 80's, 2 Tacomas, 1 4runner, 1 100, and 2 200's. Great group on a great day to start out - the trail choice was Battleaxe trail off of 177 South of Superior. The guidebook states a 5 out of 10 on difficulty and 9 out of 10 in scenery. It truly was a treat and many pictures were taken. The trail in was enjoyable and we all soaked up scenery of the many canyons the trail went through.
Heading down to the river we had hoped to cross over near the coke ovens but we were stopped about 150 feet from the water crossing by a recent severe washout in the trail that was unpassable. The hole was literally a 15 foot drop off and no way around. We decided to turn around and find an alternate route. at this point TexAz. F5driver, Cawlaz, and Msahr parted ways to head home to complete the day trip.
The 6 remaining besides myself was: Stepmur, Saddletramp, Otter, Jclarke450, and Bondonsix. There were brother in laws, moms, families ready for lunch at this point. We took a side route and found some big trees by the river to lunch in the shade. As we were pulling up 2 Apache helicopers came directly over and were waving to us. Wow, that was a thrill! I think Sara was the only one quick enough with a camera.
The attitude was for exploring and enjoying whatever we came across so off we went up the road searching for another route. We finally found our way acorss the river but much farther upstream. driving for a few hours we ended up camping in another very scenic area. Stepmur took some great nighttime pics and saw "a bright light in the sky" but no one was abducted.
After breakfast we broke camp and ended up on pretty much a rather eroded and steep trail that was probably a 7-8 that traveled up and down 2 canyons with drastic height changes. this was my favorite area of the trip. New member Bodonsix and Mom handled it like pros!
Thanks for everyone who could make it!
