Garden Canyon Run
February 17, 2008

While most people, judging by the lack of traffic in town, were at home watching the Daytona 500, several club members met for a fun day on the run from Huachuca Canyon to Garden Canyon.

This run has a lot to offer 4 wheelers of all skill sets in vehicles ranging from stock to trail warrior.  The climb out of Huachuca Canyon took us in to snow country today with Marty, picking up the rear, saying that it got a bit slippery after the rest of us had packed it down.

Our first stop was to be Antenna Hill but I missed the turn, thinking it was farther down the trail than it was.  Dave, I need you to get back out there in the lead to de-curse me.

We continued on to Sand Hill.  Ernie and Sonny had never been on this run so we had to stop at the top to take a look down and tell the stories of members who did battle with this steep and slippery hill.  Most people make it up just fine with a fair bit of pucker factor but then there are those that the Hill claims in retaliation.  On previous trips we?ve replaced an axle in a precarious balancing act requiring winching to stablize a vehicle with no back wheels and we?ve used several hundred feet of tow straps and two winches to pull a vehicle up from the halfway point (going back down is not an option).  We have witnessed our fair share of spinning tires as driver and rig force themselves up the last 50 feet to claim their victory.

Today, however, we only admired the Hill from the top and bottom vantage points before carrying on to other, less intimidating adventures.  Or so I thought.

Sand Hill marks the point at which you begin your descent into Garden Canyon and skirt alongside to bypass the main road to a point just east of the old boyscout cabin.  Immediately after making the left turn to go down to the main road, Marty called on the radio that we should take a right to do the loop that is part of the Witch?s Tip trail.

Because I was already going the other way with Ernie and Sonny behind me we all turned around with Marty taking the lead up this hill.  Having been on this trail before, all the way to the end destination, I knew that the rather imposing hill we were looking at was not all there was to it ? the rest was hidden and waiting for us just over the ridge.

We aren?t quite sure that Sand Hill is worse than this hill-with-no-name except that there are no giant ruts at the bottom to navigate.  It is steep and rocky!  At one point there is a left and right option to a rather treacherous pass that, as you are helplessly, yet steadfastly, approaching, you can only hope you will choose correctly.  This is an adrenaline packed 4!

We all conquered this hill and made the loop back down to the starting point to carry on into Garden Canyon where we stopped at the Petroglyphs then went on to the Stairs to have lunch and play on this obstacle that never fails to be a crowd pleaser.  The addition of a bit of snow on the left hand side added a nice challenge to the ?easy way? that we all usually choose to go down, preferring the harder ways up.

We met a few potential new members, Danny and Chelsea, driving a Jeep Cherokee, and gave them the tour with Danny going up with Marty and Chelsea going up with Mark before they decided to have a go at it.  Another passer-by, Ken and his family, in a YJ, also stopped to chat for a bit and were happy to hear about our club.  We hope to see them all at a club meeting.