Cibecue Day Trip...

[AZKJ]

Anyone in Central Arizona up for a day trip in early May?

I'm proposing a trip to Cibecue, AZ which is on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation, northeast of Globe/Miami. I've done this trail twice in the TJ, but will be in the KJ this time around.

The trail starts at the bottom of the Salt River Canyon, then follows the river a few miles before turning north on Indian Route 30, then east on Indian Route 21 and on into Cibecue. Indian Route 121/12 continues east coming out on US 60 a few miles below Carrizo.

Total mileage from Apache Junction is about 250 miles round trip, of which maybe 40 miles or so are dirt. There is a $20.00 back country permit per vehicle required. It is purchased at the little store at the bottom of the Salt River Canyon just after crossing the bridge.

The toughest part of the trail is a water crossing just before turning north. The rest of the trip can be done in 2WD... nothing hard, just a scenic trip through the area below the Mogollon Rim.

Let me know if you're interested and I'll put the trip together for early May.

Two pictures of the water crossing....
(Sorry about the poor quality, the pics were lifted from a vid cam).

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[Dave]

Sounds like an awsome trip. You guys out west have some good spots. There are some people here from out your way on this board and I hope a bunch of you can go.

Please post pic's of your adventure for us back east folks to enjoy when you get back.

 

[o8k]

I start my job in phonix early june and im just itching to get out on the trails out there. im in texas at the moment. when I was there interviewing I took a trip with my rented h3 to apache trail and broken arrow. I was grining ear to ear for days. so be ready for me to start begging for another taste of the az back country. and I would love to meet up and meet others who like wheeling out there too.

 

[AZKJ]

The wife and I are heading up to Salt River Canyon this weekend. If any Phoenix area members are interested in going, let me know....

 

[Corwyyn]

The wife and I are heading up to Salt River Canyon this weekend. If any Phoenix area members are interested in going, let me know....

Sounds like a lot of fun but I have to start packing for my move at the end of the month
(just moving closer to work, never fear...)

 

[AZKJ]

We're back from our Salt River Canyon trip. This is the thrid trip we've done in the Liberty while the TJ sits in the driveway gathering dust.

The trail followed the Salt River in the bottom of the canyon for nine miles before we turned North into the high country and on into Cibecue. The entire trail was 40 miles of BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs) and FS roads on the White Mountain Apache Indian Reservation, 125 miles Northeast of Phoenix.

For the most part, the trail was roughly graded dirt and rock with a few ruts and sand. Baseball sized sharp rocks were thrown into the mix to see if the tires held up without getting puntured. There was one shallow water crossing with a loose river rock base were we used 4wd-low.

Had we been with other vehicles, we could have followed the river the entire trip for about thirty miles. It would have been much more of a challange with a few deeper river crossings. Instead we had to play it safe by turning away from the river up and out of the canyon since we were alone.

All in all, it was a fun day, with some spectacular scenery and a very dusty KJ to show for it when we got home.

Here are a few pics, nothing ********....

The trail (lower center of the picture) as seen from the canyon rim....

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The trail starts in the bottom of the canyon by the Salt River Bridge....

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A Jeep Liberty commercial by the Salt River....

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A photo op before crossing the river at a shallow spot....

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You always have to come back across for a front end shot....

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Climbing up and out of the canyon below...

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A view of the high country trail....

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[desertkj]

Hey keep us posted on more runs here in AZ. Starting next month, I should have a LOT more free time and can hopefully get to meet some of you. I've only managed to do one LOST run (Table Mesa Cleanup) and didnt get to really meet many KJ people.