The Hassayampa River Trail Report
November 16th, 2003
(Trip Report by Todd Zuercher)
Mud, water, cloudy skies, chilly temperatures……was this really Arizona? Well, yes it was, actually. Sunday, November 16th, to be exact. Our merry band included nine early Broncos and one Chevy S-10 with a decidedly non-S-10 drivetrain underneath it! Attending the run were: Steve Allred and family, Carl Mann, Steve Swart and family, Mike and Robbie McCarthy, Dean “Deano” Hathaway, Doug and Sandy Larson, Garrett Christian, Shad Bruce Sr., Winston “Brownie” Brown and Todd Zuercher. Taad Janson planned on joining us but turned back due to not feeling well.
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Our merry band of travelers met at the northwest corner of Carefree Highway and I-17 and caravaned together to the McDonalds in Wickenburg where folks filled up on some last minute breakfast items. From McDonalds, it was a short jaunt to the Hassayampa River bed and plenty of wet sand!
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Our trucks churned easily through the thin, muddy crust of the river’s sandy bottom as we headed northeast from town. It was noted by several drivers that the small amount of wed sand pelting our undercarriages was much more desirable than the thick dust that usually emanates from each vehicle under normal weather conditions. With no dust to contend with, each of us were able to exercise our trucks a bit, letting them run fast and free across the wide river bottom.
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As the canyon walls gradually narrowed, we encountered some water puddles near the gauging station. We took turns splashing through the shallow puddles, sending a fine spray of water away from our tires. One usually encounters other vehicles in this section, but perhaps the gray skies assisted in keeping others at home on this particular day.
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We soon stopped at the usual “play section” along the route and let everyone run around on a few of the hills and take a quick breather from the river running. A few folks decided to test their vehicles’ articulation abilities on the sandy banks beside the river.
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After continuing upriver, we pushed the memory limits of the trip leader and soon found ourselves off the beaten path. This didn’t cause any problems until Deano heard a loud banging noise under his truck and quickly shut it down. A quick inspection revealed that the front driveshaft had separated from the transfer case yoke. Remarkably, all 4 bolts were still in place. Three of the four bolts were quickly reattached but the 4th one gave us a little trouble. Special thanks to Doug Larson for some fine in-field thread repairs!
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We soon continued on and with the exception of one or two other missteps, we stayed on the trail! One questionable location gave Steve Allred the opportunity to show off the boulder-crawling abilities of his Chevy-powered hybrid. Steve’s vehicles represent a continuing evolution towards his quest of building the “perfect” rockcrawler.
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The next stop was lunch-again in the river bottom in the shadow of a deserted old house. The usual Bronco lunchtime chatter accompanied the overdue food stop along with the usual tire kicking and hood lifting.We then exited the riverbottom and headed generally southeast on an old mining road towards the Constellation Mine Road. It is always amazing to see the amount of time and effort the old-timers put into carving hillsides and building retaining walls for what today appears to be an old, little-used road. In any case, we modern day four wheelers appreciate their labors.
After bouncing over several ridges, we joined up with the Constellation Mine Road that leads back into Wickenburg. After unlocking our hubs and shifting out of 4WD, we all enjoyed the ten miles of high speed dirt road back to Wickenburg. The Constellation Mine Road is delightfully dangerous: a mix of smooth, high-speed sections with some steep blips that can easily send an old Bronco airborne in short order. Thankfully everyone returned safely this time, although it was obvious no one took their time!
After saying our goodbyes, our group headed back toward the Valley with another fine club run under our belts.
-Todd Z.
