Telegraph Road (FR 42)

April 5, 1998

(This was an unofficial trip put together on short notice by phone and email)

(Trip Report by Deano)

(Pics w/white border by Mike Lachance)

Sunday morning at 9 AM we met at the Mineshaft in Cave Creek for breakfast. Present with five Early Broncos were Mike McCarthy & kids, Winston Brown, Mike Lachance, Todd DeFrane, and your reporter, Dean Hathaway.

Mike M. had to make a run home when his daughter wasn't feeling well, so we met up at the Bartlett Lake turnoff later to get the trip underway. The place was crawling with Jeepers, all heading out into the same general area we were going.

Brownie's (Winston) truck has undergone a lot of changes recently. First it got a beautiful orangy-red paint job and chromed front end, then that got scratched up on something called "widowmaker hill", then he converted his Chevy stroker motor to EFI, and I noticed he's now sporting pretty wheels and big Bridgestone Dueler MT's all around. (has Mike M. finally weened him from little tiny tires?)

Another change, he smacked his winch bumper a few days prior and was running a stock front bumper and no winch. This was very nearly a big problem on the run as Mike M. almost didn't bring his and Todd D.'s didn't work.

As we headed out toward the Bartlett Lake end of FR 42 we saw the Jeepers peel off down a wash that comes into the middle of that road. Mike M. smugly remarked over the C.B. that not everyone knows how to run the whole road as we planned to do. Later developments showed that we didn't know it all either.

After checking in at the new payment station on the Lake road (we were told we didn't have to pay) we hit the dirt and soon were playing on the hills along the way.

It was evident right away that Todd DeFrane's truck was going to be in trouble. His carb was running even worse than mine did earlier this year (I've since done a lot of work on the whole fuel system). He could only climb in full throttle fashion or it would falter and die.

Mike M. and Brownie cruised over everything effortlessly with their EFI & ARB equipped rigs.

Mike L. got the most out of his 6 banger as usual, and I did well on everything I tried except one hill that trapped me in the same hole at the top on every attempt.

Todd D. made numerous tries on this one also and finally made a wild charge that carried him over the top.

Pushing on, we found that a large basin along the river had filled higher than we dared try to get through or around it, although another group said they were going ahead. After looking high and low for a way around, we gave up and went back out the way we came in. Retreating back to the pavement we went back in the way the (not so ignorant afterall) Jeepers had taken earlier.

During this trek we encountered a guy with a full sized (Dodge I think) two wheel drive van way out in the boonies. I should have taken a picture because this guy had managed to totally high center this thing with the back wheels off the ground in a very artfull manner. Turns out he had a lady with him that Brownie knew so he tried out his new tug strap and we pointed them the heck out of there.

Telegraph Road is about as hard to locate and stick to as it is to negotiate, so we had the usual misadventures. Maybe we need to GPS plot the turns or something? Even that may not solve it completely because it changes from time to time. We ran a much older section at one point that I believe was closed off last year at this time.

Somehow I ended up in the lead as we neared the big hill that is always the top obstacle on this trip. We went down some pretty nasty hills on the way in but I didn't think anything of it and kept on chugging.

When we got there Mike M. and Brownie showed they still had what it took for this monster, with Mike's new suspension working flawlessly, not even lifting a wheel. Brownie's shorter travel setup left him with tires in the air all over the place but he made it look easy nonetheless. Nobody else wanted to try their luck today, as it was hard enough for most of us to get up the bypass.

Then Mike M. mentioned that since we were cut off from the other road out by high water we were going to have to get out the way we came in, and going UP some of those hills we came down might be as bad as this one!

It wasn't that bad, as I drove out under my own power, but there were some hairy places indeed. At one you either had to charge up a gnarly hill out of a deep wash and bounce off the bank to cut across some big holes and then cut back the other way to the top, or take the adventurous route of going up the bank and trying to drive along the top of the ridge all the way up. This didn't look inviting because if you lost power you would slide a LOOONG ways into a gully, and probably roll.

Mike L. gave it all a long look and chose the scary, but straight route up the ridge. He had a failure or two at first because he couldn't get out of the worn roadway and up onto the ridge. I thought that if he did get up there his troubles would just be starting, but on the next attempt he put it all together and hauled his '66 all the way up!

Todd DeFrane was not so lucky. He made a couple attempts at the recommended route and couldn't coax enough life out of his ailing motor to keep going once he'd hit the berms and start bouncing around. So, he decided to try following Mike L.'s route. Trying to blast onto the ridge something let go in the rear of his truck and he was front-wheel-drive the rest of the trip. This wouldn't cut it and his winch didn't work, so Mike M. winched him up and also strap towed him through some of the later stuff.

Mike M. was sure he'd have to winch me up this thing also, but I fooled him and made the rough "S" turn over the uphill moguls in one pass. Boy I like having my carb function over rough terrain for a change.

When we got back to pavement the Jeepers, etc. were there, airing up as we were. They also had the "Empire Cleaners" panel truck with them that has been featured in some magazines, not for it's looks, I assure you.

- deano.