razorback
01/31/04, 10:26 PM
When I left the house this morning my intentions were to ride Castle Hot Springs Rd. but somewhere on Rt 60 I decided to head to Wickenburg instead. On the 45 mile ride I realized that Arizona is a great state to have a Dual Sport motorcycle, here it is January and im out riding and even getting the occasional wave from Harley riders.(at least I think they were, I cant tell the difference with all the cruisers out there so I just wave to everyone.) I Stopped for a cup of Joe at one of the Wickencafes and then I was on my way to Vulture Mine Rd.
I was told that the road had some twistys along with some excellent scenery and I was not disappointed. As I went south I noticed a jeep rd to the west called Vulture Mine Peak Rd. nothing like a detour to make things more interesting. The road is well maintained and marked but the deeper you go the more difficult the terrain. After about 4 miles I ended up taking the wrong fork in the rd and ended up following a wash for a few miles. I was rewarded with the sighting of an Elk about 50' up the hill, we were equally startled and we each went in opposite directions. After 18 miles of trails and thanks to Gps I was able to find my way back to the hardtop and continued south.
The road eventually turns into an unmaintained road but you could head east on Wickenburg rd. back to civilization. According to my GPS the primitive road would be about 20 miles and I still had at least 50 in my tank, I was sure that if things got to difficult I would have enough gas and I could turn back.
I went with the unknown, I dont know what it is but every time im in the middle of nowhere I start dwelling on if I have enough gas. Whoever put up the road not maintained sign was not kidding because after 5 miles a billy goat would probaly turn around. There are some amazing geological events that took place here that has to be seen to believed, the colors of the rocks are amazing. There is one spot where a waterfall carved a hole in the ground as far as I could see down but I didnt want to get to close to the edge. After a rocky decent I came back to some maintained trail that dumped me off close to I-10 for my ride home.
This is a 5 star ride that has to be seen because I cant begin to explain the awesome scenery. From the West Valley it is a 150 mile loop with 40+ offroad and many more offride miles to be discovered.
I was told that the road had some twistys along with some excellent scenery and I was not disappointed. As I went south I noticed a jeep rd to the west called Vulture Mine Peak Rd. nothing like a detour to make things more interesting. The road is well maintained and marked but the deeper you go the more difficult the terrain. After about 4 miles I ended up taking the wrong fork in the rd and ended up following a wash for a few miles. I was rewarded with the sighting of an Elk about 50' up the hill, we were equally startled and we each went in opposite directions. After 18 miles of trails and thanks to Gps I was able to find my way back to the hardtop and continued south.
The road eventually turns into an unmaintained road but you could head east on Wickenburg rd. back to civilization. According to my GPS the primitive road would be about 20 miles and I still had at least 50 in my tank, I was sure that if things got to difficult I would have enough gas and I could turn back.
I went with the unknown, I dont know what it is but every time im in the middle of nowhere I start dwelling on if I have enough gas. Whoever put up the road not maintained sign was not kidding because after 5 miles a billy goat would probaly turn around. There are some amazing geological events that took place here that has to be seen to believed, the colors of the rocks are amazing. There is one spot where a waterfall carved a hole in the ground as far as I could see down but I didnt want to get to close to the edge. After a rocky decent I came back to some maintained trail that dumped me off close to I-10 for my ride home.
This is a 5 star ride that has to be seen because I cant begin to explain the awesome scenery. From the West Valley it is a 150 mile loop with 40+ offroad and many more offride miles to be discovered.