Back-country exploration: Battle flats/ DeSoto mine trail

The sign says it all. This trail has some challenges.

The old pack mule sits there idling in the chilly morning air, with puffs of steam from the exhaust syncopating to its mechanical heart beating away. Waiting....during the packing of the days supplies. Water, a toboggan to ward off cold, a few aspirin, and a few trail snacks from Maverick's. GPS on and smart phone apps engaged,  I am soon heading south from my staging just south of Prescott. This section of Senator highway heads through the pines on the west side of the mountain, and the bitter air hurts my big old Dumbo ears despite the toboggan. I love this section of road, twisting around old mines, past jagged trees that have witnessed man come and go in vain, while the earth remains. Shadows holding even colder temps alternate with the wonderfully warm sun.

I have been through here before....but it's been a few years, and never on my ATV. You seem closer to nature on a quad.

I had been planning riding this area for sometime, but I didn't want to see the remains of the Gladiator fire that destroyed a considerable part of this area last summer. I was surprised to find that the burn area was not the desolate waste-land that I envisioned....it was clearly evident, but regeneration has already begun. My goals for the day: Try and find the "Battle flats" trail I had seen covered by on occasion by 4 Wheel Drive and Sport Utility magazine, and Crown king. If the trails went as they were supposed to, this could be made into a bit of a loop. I also had my AZ Back-roads book mentioned in my other posts, and it proved to be valuable, despite being several years old. By the way...this book refers to Battle flats as the DeSoto mine trail, and it seems to go by both names from what I found on YouTube.

Several miles of pine-covered Senator hwy ( also known as FS 52 ) slowly gives way to more open terrain as it nears my turn off at FS 89 ( and this section added several "to-do's" to my trail list ). 89 heads in an easterly direction for a few miles before the trail seems to split in a few directions. In general, you follow the creek /wash ( with stinky cow-poo scent ) and the trail will zag in and out of it a few times. There will be a gate on a side hill that avoids a large concrete drainage-type structure...if you went the right way. This section of wash provides some rock crawling....and will stop a stock automotive 4x4 save for maybe a Rubicon with good skid plates. Eventually the trail leaves the wash and starts to climb a ridge where the lead photo was taken. The decent on the other side is a narrow shelf-style trail that heads back down into the wash once again after going through another gate. While the trail that starts as 89 doesn't appear to veer off anywhere, all the maps I have seen start referring to this section of trail as Peck mine trail. Whatever it is...if you follow the main trail you will get where you want to go.

Beautiful, remote country. 89 to the left, 9268R heads into the distance on the right....

Once you head down the wash for a short bit you will encounter some adopt-a-trail signs as the trail once again leaves the wash for some climbing action. Eventually you will get to the intersection above ( coming toward the camera from the left ). For this trail you take 9268 while Peck mine continues straight. I usually do a preliminary ride in an area to gain knowledge of distances and time before I start serious exploring...so peck mine was saved for another day. Now on 9268, the trail once again travels trough another canyon with a fairly steep climb out, then follows a ridge and travels through another gate. The next mile or two is the hardest part of the trail with alternating climbs and descents of a seriously steep variety. These will probably stop the less experienced/skittish rider, but they can be done. All that's needed is the proper line. Just for kicks, the most serious of these has a 1-2 foot tall step at the top, but most vehicles will be able to squeeze through the lowest part to the right side ( ascending ). Several YouTube vids show this climb...but as is always the case, photo's and videos don't capture the true scale of it.

It's steeper than it looks here, but it can be done. Hidden to the right, the step at the top is much lower.

After this climb, I came across evidence of some carnage incurred by this trail....

"Lincoln" and other lockered rear-ends put max stress on axles.  This one didn't like it. Welded gears may have prohibited replacing just the axle. Way to haul your trash back out of the desert, jerk!

Once through the series of climbs, you will emerge just north of the DeSoto mine, with and expansive view to the east. Somewhere out there is Cleator and I-17...if you go far enough. First some mine exploring...

I though the view here was nice....

I know little history about DeSoto mine, but it looks as though it was a pretty extensive operation. Tailings piles, scraps of metal, fenced entrances, and the usual desert trash left by those that came later....probably last week. The main shaft appeared to be near the top of the mountain, and the ride up passed by colorful barren rock, perhaps giving away the presence of what man was seeking when he went to the amazing effort it must have taken to build all this. The view was from the top of the world...

Colorful rock formations abound.

Top of the world, courtesy of DeSoto mine. Senator hwy in the distance.

The path to the top. 

Once I was done admiring the view, I headed down the mountain where you will be dumped out onto Senator hwy...so I headed back across the mountain for Crown King. Plenty has been printed and posted about CK, so I wont go into this charming town here. CK is a popular destination for off-roaders from a variety of directions, so traffic was a constant for much of the remaining trip. Main street was jam packed with Jeeps, ATV's, and Side-by-Sides, so I chose to head a few miles toward Horsethief for a photo before finishing up the loop.

Evidence of the Gladiator fire, just south of Crown King.

From here I headed back for Prescott...stopping only to eat lunch in the pines near an old cattle shoot. I wonder who built it....how long it has been there, and the things it has seen over the years. The odd Jeep or dirt bike is the only disturbance to the tranquility of the back country, but I welcome the healthy off-road use. This is why I came here...to the west. To ride and enjoy it...without the posted signs and Cabin building Floridians that have taken over my native North Carolina. A little fuel from the fuel pack and I am back on the trail headed for home. The sun is setting, bringing out the deer....and the cold. Back at the Jeep to load up, after 83 miles of travel. On a rough riding old Foreman, no wonder I am beat-up. But it was worth it....and so it will be the next time around. See you on the trails.

4WD&SUV article from a few years ago....Battle flats