After Christmas Run

[N7IYT]

There are several ways to get to Table Mesa Road from New River Road, this run will use two of them. The first leg of the run is stock friendly, but low clearance or long wheel base may be a problem in a couple of areas. The second leg of the run, from Table Mesa back to New River Road, is a little more difficult; and from what I remember of it, Arizona Pinstripping is very likely. If you feel comfortable running the Sunflower Mine Loop in your vehicle, you will have no problem with the second leg. Most of the second leg is eaiser than Sunflower Mine Loop, but if you can run the Sunflower Mine Loop, you will be able to get through the hard parts on the second leg.
You don't have to run the second half of the route, those who choose can get back to I-17 from Table Mesa Road.
We will be passing through some State Land Trust areas , so you should have a valid State Land Trust permit with you.

Meetup will be at New River Road and Carefree Highway at 8:00 AM.

Talk-in Frequency is 147.24 MHz +600 offset 162.2 Hz PL tone. This repeater has coverage for most of the trail if you need to contact somebody in town.

Trail frequency is 147.52 MHz simplex.

I will be beaconing APRS on 445.925 MHz. You can follow my track on APRS with this link: N7IYT-9

Here are some videos from the first time we ran this trail:














GPS data is available:

Download the waypoints and track in GPX format.

Download the waypoints and track in Google Earth KML format.

Download the waypoints and track in TOPO! TPO format.

Download a picture of the map.




Some information and comments about the waypoints on the map.

Waypoint	Description	Position	Altitude
146.940 PL 162.2	146.9400 W7EX White Tanks PL 162.2	N33 34.702 W112 34.382
147.240 PL 162.2	147.2400 W7ARA Shaw Butte PL 162.2	N33 35.687 W112 05.251
Meeting Spot	At the corner of Carefree Highway and New River Road.	N33 48.313 W112 14.488	1615 ft
Air Down	I recommend airing down for this run. It is rocky in places.	N33 49.762 W112 14.141	1696 ft
Trail Begins	The trail starts on this power line road.	N33 50.244 W112 14.475	1737 ft
Optional Obstacle	An optional obstacle, not difficult.	N33 52.461 W112 12.616	1815 ft
Keep Left	Stay to the left both times through this waypoint.	N33 54.844 W112 11.593	2052 ft
Gully 1	A gully. May be difficult for low clearance or long wheelbase vehicles.	N33 55.606 W112 11.301	2065 ft
Gate 1	This gate is normally closed. We go through here twice.	N33 55.643 W112 11.295	2083 ft
Gate 2	This gate is also normally closed. We go through here twice.	N33 55.701 W112 11.297	2103 ft
Keep Right	Keep right both times through this waypoint.	N33 56.064 W112 11.272	2151 ft
9952	The beginning of another trail.	N33 56.932 W112 10.865	2297 ft
9950	The beginning of another trail.	N33 57.043 W112 10.677	2311 ft
Gully 2	This should be eaiser than the first gully.	N33 57.093 W112 10.672	2300 ft
Gully 3	Another easy gully.	N33 57.140 W112 10.651	2298 ft
TV1	The beginning of a rock crawling trail.	N33 57.829 W112 10.156	2187 ft
Ledge	A small ledge. We will be going down this ledge. Choose a good line here and don't let it take you by surprise.	N33 58.913 W112 09.456	2121 ft
Power Lines	Make a left turn here at these power lines. This is the other end of 9952.	N33 59.050 W112 10.587	1908 ft
9953	The beginning of a side trail.	N33 58.739 W112 10.605	1936 ft
Steep	A steep downhill section.	N33 58.703 W112 10.578	1925 ft
Steep Climb	A steep uphill section, lots of ruts and waterfalls.	N33 58.666 W112 10.562	1951 ft
Sharp Right	This is a sharp right turn at the top of a steep hill. The road is hard to see here. Be carefull and ask for a spotter if you can't see the road.	N33 58.143 W112 10.531	2326 ft
Steep Ledge	A waterfall on a steep downhill section. Everybody should have a spotter for this one!	N33 58.063 W112 10.656	2199 ft
Gate 3	There is not much room before this gate. It is at the bottom of a steep downhill section. Some vehicles will have to wait at the top of the hill while we open this gate.	N33 57.686 W112 11.125	2140 ft
9952A	Here we leave 9952 and stay on the power line road. Stay to the right.	N33 57.196 W112 11.257	2303 ft
Gully 4	This one is not too bad.	N33 57.057 W112 11.309	2280 ft
Keep Right	Keep right both times through this waypoint.	N33 56.064 W112 11.272	2151 ft
Gate 2	This gate is also normally closed. We go through here twice.	N33 55.701 W112 11.297	2103 ft
Gate 1	This gate is normally closed. We go through here twice.	N33 55.643 W112 11.295	2083 ft
Gully 1	A gully. May be difficult for low clearance or long wheelbase vehicles.	N33 55.606 W112 11.301	2065 ft
Keep Left	Stay to the left both times through this waypoint.	N33 54.844 W112 11.593	2052 ft
Steep Spot	This one is not difficult.	N33 54.586 W112 11.160	2002 ft
Air Up	The end of the trail.	N33 53.997 W112 09.883	2015 ft

[AA1PR]

sweet wish I lived closer

[vk3aif]

sweet wish I lived closer

Me too!

[N7IYT]

We had a great day on the trail today. It started out a little cold, in the 30's,by the end of the day it was close to 60°. We met up just as the sun was rising. We had 13 vehicles on the first leg, 4 of them were driven by non-Hams. We did have some FRS radios for those without their Ham ticket. Everyone made it through the first leg of the trip without any problems. We completed that leg at about 11:30 and stopped for lunch at Table Mesa Road. Three of the vehicles headed home, and 10 of us continued on to the second leg of the run at just after 12:00 PM.

The second leg of the run was more challenging. We had some steep hill sections, both uphill and downhill. One of these steep uphill sections came to a blind 90° turn at the top followed by a steep downhill run. Shortly after that we came to a waterfall on a steep section covered with loose rock. We spotted each other through this obstacle, we all made it through with no incidents, and we got lots of pictures and video.

We stopped several times along the route and got the opportunity to chat with each other. We had several first time participants. One was a member from California, as well as several non-Hams.

I have some video, I will edit and post it within a few days. If any of the others have pictures or video, please post them.

My thanks to all who participated, I enjoyed this run very much!

[K2ZZQ]

Richard and Tailgunner David,
Thanks for the good trip today. Was a perfect day and a good group. Richard, you have been planning this for months, so thanks for all the effort you put into it. Glad we got to do a few obstacles. I thought the Tacoma had a leak of some kind after that steep section. Nah, guess it was just some fluid burp after going up the hill. My oil was right up there and everything looks good.
Thanks again.
Doug/K2ZZQ

[KC7HAN]

Had a great time, and challenged me more than I have in the past. Still learning to drive the JK in different terrain, and had a wonderful time!

Thanks again
Lee/KC7HAN

[KF7RTR]

That was a fun run, thanks Richard, enjoyed meeting everyone!
A few of my pictures from the run are in an album: http://www.4x4ham.com/album.php?albumid=74
Steve/KF7RTR

[KI6MLU]

Richard, thanks for organizing and leading this run. We had a nice day, the trail was challenging but everyone made it through the day without mishap. Here are a few photos:

Near the start of the run. Dale's red 4dr JK is followed by Carl's red YJ, Steve's (KF7RTR) black 4dr JK and Doug's (K2ZZQ) silver Tacoma



The Arizona desert scenery was beautiful, although the cloudy sky muted the colors somewhat:



Joanne's (KF7WOT) gray TJ, followed by Randy's (KC0NNT) blue FJ Cruiser and David's (K7DCL) white TJ:



Richard's (N7IYT) white JK is crossing the dry wash at the bottom of the hill, followed by Paul's (N1HX) black 2dr JK. Lee's (KC7HAN) green 2 dr JK is near the bottom of the hill, while Steve's (KF7RTR) black 4dr JK and Doug's (K2ZZQ) silver Tacoma are starting down the hill:



(continued)

[KI6MLU]

After lunch at Table Mesa, Richard led us back to New River Road along a different route. We parked to reconnoiter a steep hill. Richard's (N7IYT) white JK, Paul's (N1HX) black JK, Ron's red 2-dr JK and Dale's red 4-dr JK are parked. Steve's (KF7RTR) black 4dr JK and Doug's (K2ZZQ) silver Tacoma are heading to the base of the hill.



Richard (N7IYT):



Paul (N1HX) head up the hill while Steve (KF7RTR) waits his turn:



Ron:



Carl:



Steve (KF7RTR):



(continued)

[KI6MLU]

We parked and hiked down a steep hill to pick our line. Richard's (N7IYT) white JK, Paul's (N1HX) black 2dr JK, and Ron's red JK are already parked at the top of the hill. Dale's red 4dr JK, Carl's red YJ, Lee's (KC7HAN) green JK, Steve's (KF7RTR) black 4dr JK and Doug's (K2ZZQ) silver Tacoma are on the trail:



The hill was steep, and loose rock made it very slippery:



Richard (N7IYT) was the first down the hill:



Dale:





Paul (N1HX):





Ron:



Carl:





The rest of the trail to the air up point was scenic and relatively easy:



Thanks Richard (N7IYT) for planning and leading a great run!

[N1HX]

Thank you Richard! Outstanding trail run as usual. The club is lucky to have you.

Awesome pics Russ. Thanks for posting! Here is the link for the 200+ photos I took. I think I shot just about everyone at some point along the trail. Enjoy.
http://www.sonicspeaks.com/index.html

[WB7X]

Thanks for the pix and vids.

[N7IYT]

Thanks for the pictures Russ!

[K7NNT]

Had a great time! Good to see you all.

[N7IYT]

The video is finally ready. Enjoy!

[N1HX]

Nice! Thanks for posting Richard.

[N8KVB]

Looks like it was a sweet trip

[K7NNT]

Awesome job Richard.