2015 KOFA Survey

[AzTacoma]

Jan. 1 a few of us left the Phoenix area to take in the northern Kofa region and freeze our butts off for a couple nights. I even saw my first mountain lion! We started on Hovatter Road south of I-10 and from there went south and west hitting Hoodoo Wash and then turning north and camping just north of the Kofa stone monument. We ended up taking a minor detour west to Hwy95 and then turned south to Palm Canyon and then around south to the King of Arizona Mine, camping near the mine itself. Finally, we traveled through Engesser Pass and finished north towards I-10 again. The image above represents our basic route, with the start and end points on the pipeline road (I-10 isn't on the map).

Royal Arch:

Nice Kofa scenery:

Of course we hit the garden and the cabins:

Yes that's leftover snow ice at Wilbanks Cabin. We encountered patches here and there in Hoodoo Wash and other shady spots here and there. I bet there are not a lot of pictures of snow in the Kofas! The monument with Owl Head in the distance:

First night:

The next morning:

Exploring the Kofa Queen Canyon:

Exploring Palm Canyon:

View from the south:

'

KOFA Mine area. One interesting thing was the incredible amount of old glass... dozens of large piles:

Morning time at camp:

I was really happy with the variety of terrain and trail type, and the section from Engesser Pass and north out of the refuge was fun 4x4 without being stressful:

While not in the same category really as Death Valley or even Mojave Trail, this area offers excellent desert, fun trails, some interesting POIs, and SOLITUDE. It was a great trip overall.

KOFA
Wiki
And many good references on EXPO

 

[Yuman Desert Rat]

Thank you!! This made my day! The KOFA is by far one of my favorite places. Id give ANYTHIING to be there now. Ive seen ice plenty of times but only got snowed on once.
The area around the KOFA monument is covered in Mountain Lion scat. I think its their litterbox.

 

[bjm206]

Cool trip...thanks for sharing

 

[PowerWagner]

Never been and looks interesting. Thanks for posting. May need to plan a weekend out there.

 

[Ranger Steve]

Nice pictures. I'll get out west one day!

 

[Yuman Desert Rat]

Never been and looks interesting. Thanks for posting. May need to plan a weekend out there.

Its the BEST!! SO many places to explore and much less traveled than all of the typical CA,NV,UT off road destinations.

 

[kai38]

Heading there in Feb, great pictures, Thanks

 

[DVD]

Thanks for this posting. It brought back memories. We spent 3 days/nights in KOFA last new years - celebrated 2014 in Hoodoo cabin. Those wilderness cabins in KoFA are the coolest. We put air mattresses / sleeping bags on the cots, built a fire in the woodburner, and had a great, warm night.
You caught the subtle beauty of the area, and the other great quality of solitude. On our trip, once we got 5 or so miles from pavement (ATV range), we didn't see a single soul/vehicle for our entire 3 days.
For variety sake, we went to Anza Borrego this year over New Years, and it was a great area, but definitely more people there.

 

[AzTacoma]

Your welcome everyone, and thanks for looking. Other than Palm Canyon (naturally), I believe the only people we saw out there for 3 days was one group of two side-by-sides.

 

[Yuman Desert Rat]

if you go out there in the summer months I guarantee you'll see NO ONE! lol ...at least I never did...
One time I was making my way through Engesser pass (May of 2010) and I came across two men on foot. ( their packs were on the ground) They had to to be in their mid 60's. I Stopped to ask them if they needed water or if they were stuck and they told me that they had been on foot for two days and that they were planning on being out there for another week or two as they made their way south out out the Kofa Through Castle dome road. I was thoroughly impressed!

 

[roverrocks]

Beautiful desert wandering thru a place I have never been to. Thanks.

 

[DRTYTOY]

That was a great trip bro, thanks for the invite and doing all the logistics. It was cold both nights, I'd have to guess around 25*. I think Ill have to get some sort of tent or a shell next time I camp in those kind of temps. Very nice photos as always and no mechanical failures for the whole trip ;D
- Andy

 

[mkitchen]

Nice Run Report

You are right, the KOFA is a great 4X4 spot and it is very under-used. We have been down there three times and I have not explored all of the area yet. And don't forget that it's a short hop from there to the El Camino Diablo.
Your's are the best pictures of the palms that I have seen. We always seem to get there when they are in the shadows, which is most of the time since they are in a tight canyon. By the way, did you know that those palms are only one of three spots in all of Arizona that palms grow native?
Mikey

 

[AzTacoma]

Oh, nice... I thought that was the only location in Arizona for wild, native palms.

If/when I ever get to Palm Canyon, I'll probably go ahead and hike into the palms.

 

[Yuman Desert Rat]

There are a few different spots further up the canyon away from the main grove of trees. A few years back (in July) I thought it would be a good idea to climb to the main grove to see the trees up close. It was hot (and humid) but well worth it. If scrambling up loose rocks and steep grades doesnt bother you, you can climb up the main canyon for quite some time. Eventually it gets vertical and you'll need gear to go any further.