MESA 4 WHEELERS HORN NEWSLETTER August 201 8 Mesa 4 Wheelers, PO Box 107, Mesa AZ 85201 http://mesa4wheelers.com MESA 4 WHEELERS STAFF REMEMBER WHEN? 30 years ag o? President Lee Coppage 623 - 800 - 5483 Vice President Bill Mihailov 602 - 810 - 7226 August 1988 Secretary Pat Jenkins 480 - 834 - 0517 Treasurer Ray Jenkins 480 - 834 - 0517 EARLY BIRD RUN Corres.Secretary Hazel Hart 480 - 994 - 1260 Membership Lori Moore 602 - 647 - 1685 August is one of the hottest months here in Arizona, so putting Editor Mike Drawsky 480 - 502 - 9507 a 4x4 Run on near town is a challenge. Remembrance Gert Leible 623 - 869 - 8434 Trophies Clete Hruska 602 - 568 - 1140 The report for August was that there would be an early morning Safety Chairman John Hart 480 - 994 - 1260 Breakfast trip to the Four Peaks area. Publicity OPEN The Trip annou n cement said: On August 7th the meeting place Next Meeting will be at 6:00 A .M. with a pull - out time of 6:30 A.M. at the Four August 17 , 201 8 Peaks turn off. Third Friday of every month, 7:00 PM. Bass Pro Bring all your breakfast makings, as we will cook breakfast at 1133 North Dobson, Mesa, AZ 85201 7:15. We will be back in town by 9:30 A.M. before the Arizona (602) 606 - 5600 summer heat takes over the day. PRESIDENT'S CORNER Please call Hec Ramsey by Augu st 5th if you plan on coming. Hello all, I remember the Early Bird Run was a success and all had a Hope to see you out on the trails, great breakfast meal in the desert. Your Prez, Ray Jenkins Lee Coppage (Lonewolf) Wheeling Across Arizona (With Gary & Brian Keller, Ray Andrews, Richard Friese, Larry Blau & Jess Chinn , Mike Drawsky and Jim & Charmaine McKaskle ) From left to right: Brian, Gary, Larry, Ray and Richard. Ray & Mike, posing next to Ray’s off - road camper trailer. Last April, I had the privilege of driving new to me, Arizona Backroads with Gary Keller , his son Brian and a number of their close friends. The goal for this 11 - day off - road adventure was to extend the current Great Western Trail, from Florence to Benson (Approx. 125 miles) and run Gary & Brian’s East - West Trail, from Alpine, Arizona to Fort Mojave , near the border of California and Nevada. History of the Great Western Trail Lyle Gomm , a former Intermountain Region Trail Coordinator, is the "father" of the GWT. His idea to create a long - distance trail open to a variety of users began in Utah during the 1970s, and in 1985 he organized an inter - agency team including the Forest Service, U tah Department of Natural Resources, Bureau of Land Management, and the National Park Service to create the Bonneville Rim Trail to connect the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone National Parks. In 1986, Dale Sheewalter, a volunteer promoter of the Arizona Trail (Grand Canyon National Park to Nogales, Mexico), suggested the Arizona and Bonneville Rim Trails be renamed the "Great Western Trail." In 1988, Simon Cordial, 26, from England, and James Mayberger, 29, from New York, teamed up to become the first to thru - hike the proposed GWT from Canada to Mexico. Their journey began June 1, near Priest Lake State Park, Idaho, and ended October 15, 1988 at the Mexican border a few miles east of Douglas, Arizona. In 1990, the Great Western Trail Association was incorporat ed under the provisions of the Utah Nonprofit Corporation and Cooperative Association Act. The Great Western Trail joins backcountry trails, dirt or gravel roads, and highspeed highways, to create a system of routes that terminate independently or rejoin a main route. It was conceived as a 4,500 - mile long network of preexisting trails that would traverse central Arizona, Utah, and Wyoming, and end at the Idaho - Montana border with Canada. The Great Western Trail in Arizona Gary Keller, a Member of Off Highw ay Vehicle Advisory Group (OHVAC) has played a major role in the route selection for the portion of Great Western Trail running through the state of Arizona. The Great Western Trail meanders through sandy deserts and forested mountains and presents many c hallenges. Maps are available at Ranger Stations in the Tonto, Kaibab, and Prescott National Forests , as well as in the guidebook Driving the Great Western Trail in Arizona. The trail sections in the southern part of the state are open year - round. Sections in the north may be closed from December to May due to snow or flooding. A permit is required to drive on state lands, in the Tonto Forest, on Indian Lan ds, and to drive Bulldog Canyon section of the GWT. There are no services along the GWT. Bulldog Canyon in the Tonto National Forest , the first leg of the trail , was dedicated in April 1996. Two years later the 72 - mile Cave Creek segment was completed and the Sears - Kay Ruin, an ancient Hohokam village atop a hill overlookin g Cave Creek, became the first "Point of Discovery." This passes the Seven Springs Campground, an oasis developed by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s, as it winds its way to Bloody Basin Road. It then crosses the Agua Fria National Monument or, for the more adventurous, turns north on a rocky trail that crosses shale ledges and rivers to Dugas and to the San Dominique Winery before crossing grasslands, riverbeds, and over Mingus Mountain to enter Martin C anyon, known as Smiley Rock because of a pumpkin sized rock on the trail that appears to have eyes, nose, and a mouth. From here it is a leisurely ride to Jerome , a mining town that rapidly declined after mining ended in 1953. Artisans have revived it and it is now a tourist destination. The trail then goes north to Perk insville in the Verde Valley and onto the Mogollon Rim and the world's largest stand of Ponderosa pine s. Sycamore Canyon with its red sandstone sculptures, is another "Point of Discovery." The trail continues to Parks and Williams on I - 40 , and though the grassla nds and forests of the Williams Ranger District of the Kaibab National Forest , before entering the Tusayan Ranger District. This section of the trail, after a bewildering patchwork of unmarked paths on the Navajo Nation , (not officially part of the Great Western Trail), then slips off the Coconino Plateau south of the Little Colorado River Gorge in the austere world of red and white sandstone. Af ter crossing the Navajo Bridge over Marble Canyon , and skirting the Vermilion Cliffs , the GWT starts anew at House Rock Valley Buffalo Ranch with a difficult ascent into the mountains along a trail at the base of the Kaibab Plateau . A marker states that Spanish priests Dominquez and Escalante traded for food with the Paiute Indians in 1776. North of South Fork Canyon the GWT ascends the north plateau of the Kaibab National Forest where California Condor soar in the thermals above the Vermillion Cliffs, and Rocky Mountain elk, white - tailed and mule deer, horses, antelope, black bear roam. A few miles southeast of Jacob Lake , the last leg of the trail travels north to Orderville Canyon , descends the North Kaibab Plateau toward the Buckskin Mountains and into Utah with views of the Choc olate, Vermilion, and White Cliffs. History of the Arizona East - West Trail Starting in 1998 Gary , his son Brian and a few of Gary’s close friends began working together mapping out an off - pavement route from New Mexico to California, naming it the East - We st Trail (617 miles in length). The Arizona East West Trail starts or ends near Alpine, Arizona. It heads south from Luna Lake down the Blue River, dips I nto New Mexico for about a mile, and then back to Arizona. Deer, elk and the Mexican Gray Wolf are abundant in the area. The trail crosses the center of the state through Alpine, Pinetop, Lakeside, Forest Lakes, Punkin Center, Fountain Hills, Carefree, Rock Springs, Black Canyon City, Bumble Bee, Cleater, Crown King, Wickenburg, Octave, Stanton, Hillside, Bagdad, Wik i eup, Kingman, Oatman, Bullhead City and starts or ends at Avi Casino in the southern tip of Nevada A long the Colorado River. Wheeling Across Arizona (Continued) Day 1 (Tuesday, April 17, 2018) Midway between Florence & Kelvin , along the Florence/Kelvin Highway, Brian & Gary set up our f irst camp . Tomorrows destination, Peppersauce Campground along Mt. Lemmon Rd. at the base of Mount Lemon . Our first 3 days were spent exploring a possible southern extension of the Great Western Trail, from Florence to Benson. We made it within 50 miles of Benson before a leaf spring broke on Gary's utility/camping trailer. We were able to strap it together well enough for a 5 - mile run to the nearest town, San Manuel. To keep on schedule, Gary left the trailer off for repairs, transferred his camping supplies over to his Jeep and we headed northeast in the direction of Alpine (225 miles). Day 2 ( Wednes day, April 1 8 , 2018) Ray, Larry & Gary displaying the Second day on the trail , 20 miles north of Oracle , on Tecolote Great Western Trail banner. Ranch Road, we come across a ranch hand standing in a dried out well. A young ca lf had fall en in and was unable to get out. Wheeling Across Arizona (Continued) Using two tow strap s, the ranch hand raped them around the calf , and 5 of us were able to lift the calf out. Gary new the name of the ranch owner, handed the Near Oracle we came across this cross - country ranch hand his card and told him to pass it along to cyclist.