(4 U 4X4ers) I did Telegraph Line Rd the other day!
 

Oh man what a great run! Telegraph Line Road is around Bartlett Lake north of Cave Creek. The whole run never stops being fun. If I could sum this whole day into three words it would be articulation, articulation, articulation.

*QUICK INTRO* We all meet at Harolds (great Steelers bar) in north Cave Creek at around 9:00am. I was the second to arrive and the first person had a completely decked out older Bronco that had just returned from the Baja 1000 race. This didnt give me much confidence because guys that drive those rigs have no interest in "intermediate" trails. Next to arrive was my uncle in his 87 F-150, lifted, lockers front and rear, and built motor. Soon after was an old Toyota land cruiser with a small block, a lifted Jeep, and a lifted SWB Chevy. Right about this time Im thinking that my daily driver is done for. I was definately the little guy, with the least amout of ground clearence and the longest wheelbase...not good.

We are at the trail airing down at 10:15. On this run, if your not climbing or going through rough stuff your in sand. This was fun because we all pretty much hauled butt through all of this fish tailing through every turn. Keep in mind, all you can see is what is right in front of you because on both sides of the trail was tall trees and bushes. The fast sand stuff was little spurts here and there, most of the run was definate 4X4 fun. I dont really know how to explain it other then a bunch of up and down hills and dips but NEVER repetitive. Every obstacle was different.

Does everyone know what a teeter totter is? There are many times where your rig only has 3 and sometimes 2 wheels on the ground, with about 3 spots where its at an extreme. By extreme I am talking you can climb out of you vehicle and literally push your truck over on its roof. We found these to be great photo oprotunitys (I'll get them posted when I can).

This run wasnt just difficult terrain, it also offered very incredable views. You get some amazing desert scenery when you are up there. None of the scenery is disturbed or torn down to put up any ugly houses, although its pretty depressing when you start to see how much of the nice desert has been leveled for these worthless jerk-offs that need to die soon so we can still enjoy what little nice desert we have left. ANYHOW, you do have to drive through the Verde River which after a rain might be unpassable. While the river is fairly wide, it stays fairly shallow and fun to drive through. Part of this trail will also bring you down to the Lake where you can take a break, open a cold one, and break out some lunch.

I have carried on long enough about this. The whole point I was getting at here is I would like to someday organize an FTE event run. This is a run that requires more skill then it does a rig. I have a 2001 F-150 Ex-Cab, 4X4. I am sitting just slightly higher then stock but I dont have a lift. I do have limited slip which is pretty much needed. I had a nice paint job going into the run and i have a nice paint job after the run. There is nothing that will scratch or damage your vehicle. Not to sound like a jerk, but I am not going to wait around for people to get their act together on this one. I will be going again here in a few weeks because I an just too excited. It was very depressing to come to the end of the trail at 3:00PM. I wanted to turn around and go back through it. So if anyone is interested in meeting up here in a few weeks to do this run let me know. The last "Arizona Chapter FTE 4X4 run" was a very fun time....but I'd hardly call it an FTE event.

PSSSHT you know I'm in.

Yeah I'm definitely in on the next one. Maybe we can run it later at night so I can try out my fancy schmancy lights again....

That sounds awesome.. I'll have to hurry and put my rig back together again, so I can go too.

How long do you need and how much do you have to get done on it? If you need a hand with something, maybe I can drag 5.4 away from his shop and come give you a hand.

Well, lets make it quick so I can have one last good run in my Bronco before I sell it and get my jeep.
<brag>'94 wrangler 4.0L H.O. with a 3 inch lift and 33's </brag>
:-D

Well, I need to pick up a new radiator, and a whole new front clip. My uncle has all the parts for me in Prescott, I just gotta go get 'em.. I recently had a run in with the back of my friends truck, while offroading, and hitting some ice around a sharp corner.. he hit the mountain, and I hit him.. his rear bumper was higher than mine and went straight into my grill. :'(!
I just gotta find a way to get the parts from prescott to my truck, LoL

Well, I have an 8' box on my truck. And if that's not big enough, I have a 25' flat bed trailer we can use. My truck runs on gas and I run on beer so maybe we can work something out.

I just want a bigger turnout if we do setup another off road trip. The first one was just 5.4 and me and we had a blast!

By the way, 5.4 sent me a link to the pics from the telegraph line run, thought I'd throw the link up here. Wish I would've gone now instead of going to the dunes, looks like they had a good time!

http://emotoman.com/tr42/

Extreme? I guess I missed those pictures. You did take pictures of places that one would need 4x4, right??

:-X04

J/K - looks like a nice drive.

Haa haa, classic.

I figure anywhere I can get my truck off road that isn't a median, curb, or someone's yard is good enough for me.

Thanks for the offer, 2000SilverBullet.. but my either my dad or my brother-in-law will be able to take me out there. Hopefully this weekend. It's been rainin' so much the past few days here in Phx, and I wanna take my truck to some fresh mud pits.. but yeah.. LoL I'm gettin' anxious.

No problem! Yeah, there's a bunch of empty fields out by my house (gilbert) that are just begging to get driven through. They run tractors through them constantly so the ground is always real loose, and with the rain we've been getting it's turned into a giant mud pit. (cartman voice) sweeeeeeet!!