NEW RIVER ROAD / TABLE MESA ROAD Jeepers Creepers run 12-8-16

In the past when I have gone on a Jeepers Creepers run I have sent out to members a report on the run and a separate blog with my pictures. With this blog, I am combining them. One difference is that in this one I will be giving the names of the members on the trip and details of the trip which will be of more interest to the members than the folks who look at the blog for the pictures. Please give me some feedback about how this works for you.

Pictures are taken  by a Canon A720 IS.

On this run we had 8 vehicles with 16 members and guests. We met at Pinnacle Peak General Store in north Scottsdale near Pima Road.

 

 

It took us an hour to get to the trailhead near Seven Springs for the coffee break and comfort stop.

Above are two well-equipped Jeeps on this run. Some of us aired down  to make the ride more comfortable.

I reduced my tire pressure from 35 # to about 20 #. We did not need to do so for more traction.

  

 

Typical of our coffee stops, we quickly set up a table or two and put out the pastries, etc. for folks to have with their coffee.

 

 

Left to right are Dick Cone, guest of the Hulchers, Austin Hulcher, Jerry Grout, Diane Olson, me and Denise Carlson.

Socializing goes on at the planned stops, so the trail leader (here me) has to urge the folks to mount up so the run can be completed in a reasonable time.

 

 

This shot shows the beauty of the high desert of the Tonto National Forest as we got under way for 29 miles on FR 41. This is near the high spot of the road at 4,300 ft. For the first several miles the road is this smooth, so good that an ordinary car would have no trouble.   But that changes – short stretches of the road to the west are rocky, requiring careful wheel placement. The rocks generally were round, so there was little risk of a sharp rock puncturing a tire. I shifted the Jeep Grand Cherokee into 4 wd low mainly for deceleration on the steeper hills.

 

 

We crossed  rolling countryside. Here some of our group are heading up to a saddle to cross a ridge. We met just 3 other vehicles on the road, all traveling alone.

 

 

Here is a close up of our group.

 

 

Our lunch stop was at the last major saddle before descending to follow the New River usually dry stream bed to I 17. There are more good lunch stops at lower elevation within the next couple of miles. It took us about 2 hours to get here from the coffee break stop.

 

 

Here the ladies on the trip gathered – Mary Ellen Hulcher, Nancy Grout, Diane Olson, Donna Hall, Heather Trovero (or do I have the names reversed?) and Denise Carlson.

 

And here are the guys – Marvin Hall (new member), Dick Cone, Austin Hulcher, me kneeling next to Jerry Gout, Len Trovero between us, Steve Carlson, Jay Olson, Mike Carter and Bill Carter. The last couple of miles of the run is on very smooth road beginning at the sand and gravel operation set up since the last time we ran this road 6 years ago.

 

r

Here my Jeep is getting aired up.In the background more conversations are  under way as we say “so long” until the next run.

For the information of the next trail leader to lead on this road, travel time from Pinnacle Peak General Store to the Seven Springs Trailhead was 1 hour, then to the lunch spot, 2:10, and to I 17, 45 min. The coffee stop took 1/2 hour and lunch took almost 1 hour.  The total time was about 5.5 hours from Pinnacle Peak General Store to I 17 including stops.