ByPierre LeBlanc
June 22, 2020
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Details
A challenging but entertaining trail.
Location
Address:Tucson, United States
A challenging but entertaining trail.
This trail flows off of the main Table Mesa trail and leads you to an abandon mine, replete with large gears and a station house.
Supposedly this trail has been graded and is now not much of a challenge.
Venue Website: elcorraltucson.com
This location has closed.
Venue Website: pima.gov
This is a beautiful run through the extreme southern portion of the state, starting just north of Nogales and ending south of Sierra Vista. This is not a difficult trail, and is suitable for any SUV. We may explore several side trails if time permits. If you enjoy visiting / photographing old ghost towns and mines you will not be disappointed. Take your camera equipment and take your time enjoying the area. This is a perfect family run. Here is a picture of the Coronado National Forest area.
This is a moderate trail and any stock Land Rover is capable of handling this trail. There are some difficult obstacles with rock in the wash and steep loose rock hill climbs. Starting at the east ranch outpost of Beyota Ranch at Mile Marker 17 off Reddington Pass Road the trail climbs and then drops down into a rocky wash with challenging obstacles along the way. The trail then climbs out of the wash and up and over the ridge towards the land mark Chimney Rock and reconnects with the Reddington Pass Road
Venue Website: http://www.sporq.com
Chuy’s Mexican Broiler. No-frills cantina where flip-flops are the norm.
Indian School just East of 32nd Street. google map.{mos_fb_discuss:10}
Venue Website: pima.gov
This is a moderate-difficulty trail that climbs from the desert foothills near the Boyce Thompson Arboretum into the Superstition Mountains. Work your way up a rocky streambed (hopefully there will be a trickle of water left), climb to scrub oak and juniper pinion vegetation, and work your way west along some ridges toward Rogers Trough, and then down into scenic rocky country the Superstition Mountains are so known. This trail packs a lot of different scenery into one day, and is suitable for all vehicles and talents.
Venue Website: http://www.landrovernorthscottsdale.com/
The dealership’s playground for demonstrating a Land Rover’s capabilities to those who might never take their Landy off-road.
From a former LR Scottsdale employee:
The track takes about 10 – 15 minutes to drive. A vehicle can start every 5 minutes or so. A word of caution: there are some panel crunching rocks if the cross axle obstacle line is off. Know too that the first ascent after the water provides for a very slick surface and requires some skill when there have been a multitude of vehicles ahead of you. Sliding backwards after an aborted run is known to happen. And the hills are quite narrow.
The fencing is there so that you have one point of reference other wise its blue sky and no reference to your right or left. Freelanders will take a wheel off the ground on the off camber, rounded slide slope. In the heat expect your vehicle to slide 6-8′ on that slide slope. Slide slope is approximately 38 degrees (every factory rover is designed for 45). Watch yourself if you’ve put in lift and loosened your suspension.
The course is to demonstrate the near end limits of the vehicle – and there may be a restriction on Series and Defender vehicles.
This is a very scenic and historic trail. Most of the trail is graded dirt road (40-50 mph)except the 14 miles into Jackson Cabin from Hooker Hot Springs which is considered easy-moderate (5-10 mph) and suited to any 4×4.
The trip takes us east on I-10 to Pomerene, north to Cascabel, east and north to Hooker Hot Springs. This area is owned by The Nature Conservancy and at present allowing vehicle traffic (who knows how long this will last, so take advantage of this great opportunity).
Several trails in the area have been permanently closed to OHV. Hooker Hot Springs has casitas for rent which includes hot spring privileges. Along the trail to Jackson Cabin we will pass several ranch houses (Browning, Pride) which are in remarkable shape including wind mills. The Pride ranch house can be rented for overnight stays.
We travel through several lush canyons with sycamores, cottonwood and huge oak trees. Jackson Cabin in a quaint little valley with lush vegetation and surrounding Galiuro Mountain cliffs. Jackson Cabin has a rich history and there is a log book full of stories for your enjoyment and add your own. The Cabin is fairly clean and cool inside thanks to the 2 foot thick rock walls. The Cabin is habitable for humans and can/has been used for camping (stove, fireplace, table, screens on windows and doors).
Difficult trial that changes dramatically with water.
Jan 10, 2013 – downgraded to a 3 due to trail modifications from mining/forestry service activity removing and altering some of the more difficult obstacles.
The Charouleau Gap is one of the best 4WD trips in the Catalinas. This scenic route is for 4-wheel drive vehicles only. The road up and over Samaniego Ridge is rough, rocky and requires good ground clearance as well as excellent traction.
On the western half of the trip there are broad and expansive views as you climb up and back down Charouleau Gap, and the roads aren’t quite as bad since they have been graded in the past. For the northern half of the trip, much of your time is spent down around the Canada del Oro wash and is especially rough in places. The toughest single spot by vehicle is known as The Step (N32.53085 W110.78176); because of the incline it is preferable to drive down it from Oracle; however, many manage to climb up it from the Catalina side. Mar, 2013 – The Step has now been bypassed by the forestry service.
The other tough spot is a quarter-mile stretch known as (yep) the Quarter Mile, which if driving from Oracle starts about a mile south of The Step (around N32.51812 W110.78185) and goes down to the bottom of the elbow in the route. One other place of note is a spot known as the Elevator Shaft (N32.56493 W110.78086), a climb that is long and steep, but has a solid surface for vehicles because of past grading. The route also has interesting rock formations, the remains of an old adobe home at a place marked on topo maps as Coronado Camp.
