Scott Brady
Founder
Unfortunately, Stephanie was sick on Thanksgiving, so Ray Hyland and I went out for a few hours to explore a random trail on the 7.5' Topo.
Having spent little time exploring the east side of Prescott National Forest, I picked a Jeep track that started from Iron Springs Road and turned into two-track at the Ramsgate townsite (abandoned). The track immediately dropped into an eroded sluice and spilled into a canyon bottom. It became clear that this trail was most often used by quads than 4wds, and I was wishing Mark had already widened it with his Power Wagon / Bulldoser.
For this little trek, I had pulled the keys to my much loved and far too babied 1995 Discovery. Land Rovers don't like to sit for too long (or necessarily run for too long either), so it was a good excuse to stretch her legs.
The trail continued to narrow, and soon brush scraped against both sides. At first, we tried to trim, and then I just embraced the adventure and put the Disco to work, doing what it should be doing- exploring.
The trail reminded me a bit of the old FR41 east of Scottsdale, lots of erosion, cross-axle obstacles and loose climbs. Nothing overly technical, but fun in a mild built truck.
This truck has changes very little since wrapping up the project a year ago, but we have installed some 1" spring spacers on the rear. This leveled the truck back out when loaded and also put the rear driveshaft in a better angle, reducing the vibration.
The trail continued to narrow and I just embraced the scratching.
I turned the keys over the Ray and started taking a few photos with our new NEX-5N from Sony. This is a great little travel camera and far easier to haul around on short trips. It also shoots decent video, which we also played around with.
The trail turned back east and up Spruce Canyon and by a few old mine prospects.
We then exited the canyon and started to climb over a series of ridges, moving primarily south. At Logan spring it turned back east and up Sugarloaf Mountain, following the ridge lines to Porter Mountain. From there we were in familiar territory and dropped down into Deering Park on one of our favorite little test loops.
It was a fun four hours on the trail and it reminded me how much I still enjoy driving the Discovery. It is also amazing how many different trails are available so close to the house. On the way back into town, we stopped at the Gurley Street Grill and picked up three turkey dinners before heading home.
I pulled together a cheesy little video with some of the clips from the NEX-5N.
Having spent little time exploring the east side of Prescott National Forest, I picked a Jeep track that started from Iron Springs Road and turned into two-track at the Ramsgate townsite (abandoned). The track immediately dropped into an eroded sluice and spilled into a canyon bottom. It became clear that this trail was most often used by quads than 4wds, and I was wishing Mark had already widened it with his Power Wagon / Bulldoser.
For this little trek, I had pulled the keys to my much loved and far too babied 1995 Discovery. Land Rovers don't like to sit for too long (or necessarily run for too long either), so it was a good excuse to stretch her legs.
The trail continued to narrow, and soon brush scraped against both sides. At first, we tried to trim, and then I just embraced the adventure and put the Disco to work, doing what it should be doing- exploring.
The trail reminded me a bit of the old FR41 east of Scottsdale, lots of erosion, cross-axle obstacles and loose climbs. Nothing overly technical, but fun in a mild built truck.
This truck has changes very little since wrapping up the project a year ago, but we have installed some 1" spring spacers on the rear. This leveled the truck back out when loaded and also put the rear driveshaft in a better angle, reducing the vibration.
The trail continued to narrow and I just embraced the scratching.
I turned the keys over the Ray and started taking a few photos with our new NEX-5N from Sony. This is a great little travel camera and far easier to haul around on short trips. It also shoots decent video, which we also played around with.
The trail turned back east and up Spruce Canyon and by a few old mine prospects.
We then exited the canyon and started to climb over a series of ridges, moving primarily south. At Logan spring it turned back east and up Sugarloaf Mountain, following the ridge lines to Porter Mountain. From there we were in familiar territory and dropped down into Deering Park on one of our favorite little test loops.
It was a fun four hours on the trail and it reminded me how much I still enjoy driving the Discovery. It is also amazing how many different trails are available so close to the house. On the way back into town, we stopped at the Gurley Street Grill and picked up three turkey dinners before heading home.
I pulled together a cheesy little video with some of the clips from the NEX-5N.
