Martinez Cabin Trip Report 4-29-2012
Author: Trent Shue
Looking to the east from Highway 79, the two-lane road that takes you to Florence, the Mineral Mountains in the distance do not look all that interesting. Not at all! In fact, from a distance, for lack of a better word, they look " boring". Those who are lucky enough to take a closer look will gain a totally different perspective.
The most direct passage to Martinez Cabin and Mine heads east from Florence, along the railroad tracks that follow the Gila River, with the passage into the Mineral Mountains and through a narrow canyon known as Box Canyon. During cooler weather this is a one-lane thoroughfare, with lots of blind spots, where ATVs, dirt bikes and 4-wheelers compete for right-of-way often with disastrous consequences. The road in takes us through a checkerboard of BLM and Arizona State Trust Lands. A State Trust Land permit is required to travel in this area, though I'm sure we were not in 100 percent compliance with this requirement. This area is loaded with interesting places to see and challenging trails.
I believe there were 25 rigs in all, and once again nearly a homogenous collection of Toyotas. Roughly 65 people give or take a half-dozen turned out. JetRanger, a Cruiserhead from Idaho, managed to hitch a ride up from Tucson and was treated to some CSC Arizona hospitality. We had several other guests, I didn’t meet them all. We’re glad you all made it! This was billed by the organizer as a real "stocker-friendly" family event. It was certainly a family event, though I'm sure not everyone on the run would agree on the stocker-friendly part. We did manage to get all of the stockers through it with very little damage.
The run started out in the usual fashion, with a meet up at the Chevron in Florence, which by 8:45am we had completely overwhelmed with cruisers. After a bit of socializing and roughly on time, we trickled out of there with a re-group planned at the mouth of Box Canyon for the air-down. There is not a lot of room in Box Canyon to park 25 rigs for 15-20 minutes. Luckily, we didn't have any real traffic in the canyon. All the "crazies", scratch that, most of the crazies, that are usually out there, had more sense than we did. They knew that it was going to be too damned hot to be out playing. And it was, but just barely. The expected high was 93 degrees. We are Arizonans and we live through hell every summer, so this was still a cool glass of water compared to July. An occasional bit of canyon wall shade and a slight breeze provided a cool relief to our “schweaty” bodies.
My son-in-law, Brian, was my co-pilot for this run. It was his first time and I wanted to give him a taste of what old-school four-wheeling is all about, but also to let him see some 80s in actions. He was taking pictures faster than a Japanese tourist on a 30-minute bus-tour of the Grand Canyon. That was before we got to Box Canyon. Both his index finger and that Canon that I bought him for Christmas got a real workout.
We dorked our way through Box Canyon and on the Play Hill. I had never tried the Play Hill before but after LC Phil, MyKidsToy, LeftArmTan went up, I said "What the hell, why not?" Then I looked to my left and saw a cross remembering someone, who probably wished he hadn't tried this hill. I tried twice and dug-in about two thirds of the way up.
Then Phil yells out: "You need to try it in "FOUR WHEEL DRIVE".
Me: "Doh! I thought I was!"
I think everyone else must have thought I was being Macho or just plain ignorant.
The left hub was not locked. (That happened to me once before, so I double check now when I lock'em. So, I’m not sure what happened there. 31 years of looking at computer screens and I'm having trouble with fine print these days. I obviously can't trust my eyes and from now on, I'll have to put on my glasses to lock my hubs. Do they make Warn hubs in Braille?)
Finally, with locked hubs, the 40 charged right up the hill. No Poblano! I turned the rig around at the top of the hill and prepared for the descent. By this time the wagon train of cruisers had circled at the bottom of the hill. There were men, women and children, and even a full sized standard poodle, watching me make this hill look difficult. Has Rodney Carrington said about church confessions "It ain't the walk up there that’s so bad, it's the walk back..." I'm guessing that the guy whose name was on that cross may have had similar thoughts. R.I.P.
I didn't expect what happened next. I crept the 40 down off of the hill and into the deepest hole I could find. So far so good, my right rear tire was still on the ground. I eased off the brake and the front-end lifted up out of the hole then the nose dipped again for our final decent at the same time I heard the engine go silent. I instinctively hit the clutch for a re-start, (bad move) which created a little too much forward momentum. No time to start the engine and I quickly abandoned that idea and dumped the clutch. A hundred yards below was the wagon train of cruisers lovers and that standard poodle ready to run for their lives. I stood on the brake pedal rolling/sliding way faster than safe. The gearing didn’t seem to be slowing me down all that much. I guided her down and to the right of the group and out of harm's way. Enough play for me!
In precise detail, Phil coached Laurin up and down the Play Hill a couple times. By the third try, I think Laurin's confidence in tackling this kind of obstacle had grown quite a bit. I think Phil was a little disappointed that there weren't more takers. I managed to catch a ride or two. Feeling that right rear tire lift off the ground is a very interesting feeling. Murf and Medtro and a few others made a couple passes at the hill. Shannon’s buddies, driving a mini truck and Blazer, provided some entertaining moments on the Play Hill as well.
After the Play Hill we headed on to the Cabin and the scenery just kept getting better. I had been close to the cabin before and the views are truly remarkable. Even so, I was not prepared for the scenic beauty in the canyon that surrounds the cabin. The road into to the cabin got a little more rugged as we entered the riparian area that defines the creek bed. We were quickly surrounded by giant cottonwoods that shade the Martinez Cabin area. Magnificent spires that rise a thousand feet above the creek bed. Pictures just can't do it justice.
There was one last obstacle before we got to our destination - a narrow passage that gave the longer rigs a little trouble. There were plenty of spotters as the rigs had to go high on driver side over a large boulder and basically slide back passenger to get past another boulder on the passenger side.
There was one other bit of Cruiser carnage to report to a non-stock 60-series. Red Muttonchops bashed the right front rocker panel pretty good on the approach road to the cabin. He said his troubles were primarily spotter-related. At the cook-out, the spotter was expressing extreme remorse for the accident. I'm sure she will find a way to make it up to him.
All of this before lunch. We quickly setup tables and the Seldom Seen Seldom Used CSC Grill was put to work cooking more meat than I have ever seen at any three Costco Meat Departments combined. Oh yes, the Vegan meat was cooked first. I thought I remembered hearing one of the Vegans asking for HAM. I never did figure that one out. A long line quickly formed for Saddle Tramp Burgers, while Murf lovingly took care of the Vegan cooking, being careful not to contaminate anything. I’m not sure what all the fuss was about. This grill had been stored in BMan’s garage for the past year. God only knows what it was exposed to - Things like VW dust and bacon grease. Lunch was worth the wait! There was a 25 foot long spread of side dishes and desserts. Murf and to Saddle Tramp slaved over the grill while the rest of us feasted.
After we filled our bellies, a short group hike was organized to Martinez Mill, roughly a quarter mile further up the creek to the east. This is where the scenery gets over whelming. A few ventured over to the Luge area a little further up the creek. The views were incredible!
Around 3PM, we packed it all up and headed for home. Right out of the chutes, Geo-Eng’s high-centered his 60, which clogged up the trail while folks worked to get it unstuck. We made our way back to the Play Hill, where most of the rigs waited for the stragglers, who didn't arrive. Murf and Saddle Tramp decided to wait for the last of the group to make it out of Martinez Cabin Road and the group turned into two groups. Radio contact was lost. Long Duck decided to play relay. That only worked for a little while. The second group never did catch-up with the first group. There is lots of discussion about how we could improve communication in this kind of situation. The best approach is to keep the guy behind you in your rear view mirror and to call ahead if you feel that you are being left behind. We need better communication up front about how to travel in a group. We will definitely do better next time.
Phil led us up Mineral Mountain Road toward Cottonwood Camp Road and we headed for "The Step". We stopped well short of The Step as Phil went ahead to scout it out. His decision was that The Step was not passable by stockers at this time and that we would need to take "The Bypass".
Shortly after we were out of Martinez Cabin, I turned the wheel over to Brian and let him get some experience. He was not expecting me to do this and I was not expecting a very tough trail on the way out, just The Step, and that's usually pretty straight-forward. Just as Brian was getting used to all the shifting, we throw some steep climbing at him. He loved it! The Bypass trail out was fun, I would do it again, as it is a lot more interesting than going over The Step, which is about the only obstacle on that trail.
We made it out to the flag pole at Cottonwood Camp and aired up at about 6PM I figure. Brian and I headed out and stopped at the first convenience store where we bought a couple of 1 Liter water bottles. They were gone by the time we hit Tempe.
A Big Thanks to everyone who came out, even Shannon’s friends! Thanks to Inkpot for all the volunteer work has done out there. Thanks to Murf, Saddle Tramp and LC Phil for making this run so much fun!
You guys are the best!
Happy Trails,
Fumann
The most direct passage to Martinez Cabin and Mine heads east from Florence, along the railroad tracks that follow the Gila River, with the passage into the Mineral Mountains and through a narrow canyon known as Box Canyon. During cooler weather this is a one-lane thoroughfare, with lots of blind spots, where ATVs, dirt bikes and 4-wheelers compete for right-of-way often with disastrous consequences. The road in takes us through a checkerboard of BLM and Arizona State Trust Lands. A State Trust Land permit is required to travel in this area, though I'm sure we were not in 100 percent compliance with this requirement. This area is loaded with interesting places to see and challenging trails.
I believe there were 25 rigs in all, and once again nearly a homogenous collection of Toyotas. Roughly 65 people give or take a half-dozen turned out. JetRanger, a Cruiserhead from Idaho, managed to hitch a ride up from Tucson and was treated to some CSC Arizona hospitality. We had several other guests, I didn’t meet them all. We’re glad you all made it! This was billed by the organizer as a real "stocker-friendly" family event. It was certainly a family event, though I'm sure not everyone on the run would agree on the stocker-friendly part. We did manage to get all of the stockers through it with very little damage.
The run started out in the usual fashion, with a meet up at the Chevron in Florence, which by 8:45am we had completely overwhelmed with cruisers. After a bit of socializing and roughly on time, we trickled out of there with a re-group planned at the mouth of Box Canyon for the air-down. There is not a lot of room in Box Canyon to park 25 rigs for 15-20 minutes. Luckily, we didn't have any real traffic in the canyon. All the "crazies", scratch that, most of the crazies, that are usually out there, had more sense than we did. They knew that it was going to be too damned hot to be out playing. And it was, but just barely. The expected high was 93 degrees. We are Arizonans and we live through hell every summer, so this was still a cool glass of water compared to July. An occasional bit of canyon wall shade and a slight breeze provided a cool relief to our “schweaty” bodies.
My son-in-law, Brian, was my co-pilot for this run. It was his first time and I wanted to give him a taste of what old-school four-wheeling is all about, but also to let him see some 80s in actions. He was taking pictures faster than a Japanese tourist on a 30-minute bus-tour of the Grand Canyon. That was before we got to Box Canyon. Both his index finger and that Canon that I bought him for Christmas got a real workout.
We dorked our way through Box Canyon and on the Play Hill. I had never tried the Play Hill before but after LC Phil, MyKidsToy, LeftArmTan went up, I said "What the hell, why not?" Then I looked to my left and saw a cross remembering someone, who probably wished he hadn't tried this hill. I tried twice and dug-in about two thirds of the way up.
Then Phil yells out: "You need to try it in "FOUR WHEEL DRIVE".
Me: "Doh! I thought I was!"
I think everyone else must have thought I was being Macho or just plain ignorant.
The left hub was not locked. (That happened to me once before, so I double check now when I lock'em. So, I’m not sure what happened there. 31 years of looking at computer screens and I'm having trouble with fine print these days. I obviously can't trust my eyes and from now on, I'll have to put on my glasses to lock my hubs. Do they make Warn hubs in Braille?)
Finally, with locked hubs, the 40 charged right up the hill. No Poblano! I turned the rig around at the top of the hill and prepared for the descent. By this time the wagon train of cruisers had circled at the bottom of the hill. There were men, women and children, and even a full sized standard poodle, watching me make this hill look difficult. Has Rodney Carrington said about church confessions "It ain't the walk up there that’s so bad, it's the walk back..." I'm guessing that the guy whose name was on that cross may have had similar thoughts. R.I.P.
I didn't expect what happened next. I crept the 40 down off of the hill and into the deepest hole I could find. So far so good, my right rear tire was still on the ground. I eased off the brake and the front-end lifted up out of the hole then the nose dipped again for our final decent at the same time I heard the engine go silent. I instinctively hit the clutch for a re-start, (bad move) which created a little too much forward momentum. No time to start the engine and I quickly abandoned that idea and dumped the clutch. A hundred yards below was the wagon train of cruisers lovers and that standard poodle ready to run for their lives. I stood on the brake pedal rolling/sliding way faster than safe. The gearing didn’t seem to be slowing me down all that much. I guided her down and to the right of the group and out of harm's way. Enough play for me!
In precise detail, Phil coached Laurin up and down the Play Hill a couple times. By the third try, I think Laurin's confidence in tackling this kind of obstacle had grown quite a bit. I think Phil was a little disappointed that there weren't more takers. I managed to catch a ride or two. Feeling that right rear tire lift off the ground is a very interesting feeling. Murf and Medtro and a few others made a couple passes at the hill. Shannon’s buddies, driving a mini truck and Blazer, provided some entertaining moments on the Play Hill as well.
After the Play Hill we headed on to the Cabin and the scenery just kept getting better. I had been close to the cabin before and the views are truly remarkable. Even so, I was not prepared for the scenic beauty in the canyon that surrounds the cabin. The road into to the cabin got a little more rugged as we entered the riparian area that defines the creek bed. We were quickly surrounded by giant cottonwoods that shade the Martinez Cabin area. Magnificent spires that rise a thousand feet above the creek bed. Pictures just can't do it justice.
There was one last obstacle before we got to our destination - a narrow passage that gave the longer rigs a little trouble. There were plenty of spotters as the rigs had to go high on driver side over a large boulder and basically slide back passenger to get past another boulder on the passenger side.
There was one other bit of Cruiser carnage to report to a non-stock 60-series. Red Muttonchops bashed the right front rocker panel pretty good on the approach road to the cabin. He said his troubles were primarily spotter-related. At the cook-out, the spotter was expressing extreme remorse for the accident. I'm sure she will find a way to make it up to him.
All of this before lunch. We quickly setup tables and the Seldom Seen Seldom Used CSC Grill was put to work cooking more meat than I have ever seen at any three Costco Meat Departments combined. Oh yes, the Vegan meat was cooked first. I thought I remembered hearing one of the Vegans asking for HAM. I never did figure that one out. A long line quickly formed for Saddle Tramp Burgers, while Murf lovingly took care of the Vegan cooking, being careful not to contaminate anything. I’m not sure what all the fuss was about. This grill had been stored in BMan’s garage for the past year. God only knows what it was exposed to - Things like VW dust and bacon grease. Lunch was worth the wait! There was a 25 foot long spread of side dishes and desserts. Murf and to Saddle Tramp slaved over the grill while the rest of us feasted.
After we filled our bellies, a short group hike was organized to Martinez Mill, roughly a quarter mile further up the creek to the east. This is where the scenery gets over whelming. A few ventured over to the Luge area a little further up the creek. The views were incredible!
Around 3PM, we packed it all up and headed for home. Right out of the chutes, Geo-Eng’s high-centered his 60, which clogged up the trail while folks worked to get it unstuck. We made our way back to the Play Hill, where most of the rigs waited for the stragglers, who didn't arrive. Murf and Saddle Tramp decided to wait for the last of the group to make it out of Martinez Cabin Road and the group turned into two groups. Radio contact was lost. Long Duck decided to play relay. That only worked for a little while. The second group never did catch-up with the first group. There is lots of discussion about how we could improve communication in this kind of situation. The best approach is to keep the guy behind you in your rear view mirror and to call ahead if you feel that you are being left behind. We need better communication up front about how to travel in a group. We will definitely do better next time.
Phil led us up Mineral Mountain Road toward Cottonwood Camp Road and we headed for "The Step". We stopped well short of The Step as Phil went ahead to scout it out. His decision was that The Step was not passable by stockers at this time and that we would need to take "The Bypass".
Shortly after we were out of Martinez Cabin, I turned the wheel over to Brian and let him get some experience. He was not expecting me to do this and I was not expecting a very tough trail on the way out, just The Step, and that's usually pretty straight-forward. Just as Brian was getting used to all the shifting, we throw some steep climbing at him. He loved it! The Bypass trail out was fun, I would do it again, as it is a lot more interesting than going over The Step, which is about the only obstacle on that trail.
We made it out to the flag pole at Cottonwood Camp and aired up at about 6PM I figure. Brian and I headed out and stopped at the first convenience store where we bought a couple of 1 Liter water bottles. They were gone by the time we hit Tempe.
A Big Thanks to everyone who came out, even Shannon’s friends! Thanks to Inkpot for all the volunteer work has done out there. Thanks to Murf, Saddle Tramp and LC Phil for making this run so much fun!
You guys are the best!
Happy Trails,
Fumann
