The Colorado Plateau is a geological region that spreads out from the Four Corners area into Utah, Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. The region is huge, covering about 130,000 square miles and offers unique land features and scenery. It is composed of highland desert and scattered with plateaus.
One recent weekend, we retreated from our scorching summer weather in the Valley of the Sun in Phoenix to travel up in altitude, seeking cooler temperatures and some interesting ’wheeling. We traveled a bit north of the Mogollon Plateau to camp and share the trails with the High Country Renegades, a club that spends much of its time exploring the higher altitude destinations in Arizona.
Our weekend consisted of crawling red rock formations over trails that do well to test suspension flex, and we found a good number of tall ledges and boulders along the way. Symon Devries was our trail leader for the weekend in his stoutly built ’85 Toyota truck. We all managed to survive the weekend with straight sheetmetal, but there were a few broken axle shafts to be swapped out.
Also nearby in this rocky terrain are some very deep ground fissures. Visitors and residents know of this area as “The Cracks.” Here, there are acres of splits in the rock where the ground has separated from mere inches to feet wide. The gaps leave plummeting chasms. Some are only shoulder deep, but others go down for 50 feet or more. In a lot of places it’s not possible to see the bottom.
There are a number of dirt roads that crisscross this area and lie on a mix of public lands. However, much of our ’wheeling over the weekend was done on a parcel of private land that we had permission to play on. The High Country Renegades showed us some good times, with great companions and fun trails.
Chuck Butitta works his way...
Chuck Butitta works his way back up the Snake Pit, relying on 37-inch Goodyear MTRs on locked axles to pull him up and out of the deep slot. His ’02 TJ Sport is as clean as they come and always looks sharp on the trail. He uses a 5.5-inch Rubicon Express long arm lift to get the flex and travel he needs on the trail. The TJ has a custom cage, bumpers, and armor to help keep the sheet metal straight and shiny.
Symon Devries led us over...
Symon Devries led us over the trails for the weekend in his well-built ’85 Toyota Xtra Cab. Powered by a 4.3L Chevy V-6, 700R4 auto, and an NP203/Dana 300 doubler setup, it’s got the power and gearing to turn the 37-inch Goodyear MTRs. A front Dana 60 and a rear Currie Iron Rock Jock are paired up and stuffed with Detroits, 5.38s, and 35-spline chromoly shafts. A custom linked and coiled suspension rounds out the major specs on Symon’s trail rig.
Thom Campbell has been exploring...
Thom Campbell has been exploring the Arizona high country for decades and his current vehicle is a 2001 Wrangler. Fresh Pit Bull Rockers on TrailReady beadlocks help moves this stretched TJ over the rocks. Thom uses a 5.5-inch Rubicon Express long arm kit but has stretched the wheelbase about 10 inches with some custom changes. Differentials of choice are Detroit Lockers supporting 4.88 gears in both Dana 44 axles.
Julia Felix ’wheels her 2005...
Julia Felix ’wheels her 2005 Rubicon TJ around one of the sharp corners in the bottom of the Snake Pit. She’s got a long list of parts upgrades in this Wrangler, targeted towards trail competency. Mods include a Rock Krawler 5.5-inch long arm lift, fortified Dana 44s, ARB lockers, and 5.13 gears to turn the 37-inch Goodyear Kevlars.
Sometimes we were dropping...
Sometimes we were dropping down big ledges and other times climbing them. Wheelbase played a part in determining how easily some rigs popped up the sandy rock. Jim Rosato drops his 2005 Wrangler down a series of steps using a swapped Rubicon transfer case to get the low 4:1 crawling cogs. His 35-inch BFG KM2s got a good workout with the lockers and 4.56 gears.
John Stratman came down from...
John Stratman came down from Flagstaff to wheel in his ’87 Toyota truck. The IFS is long gone and Dana 60 front and 14-bolt rear axles have found their way to the ends of four-link suspensions fore and aft. The rear sheetmetal is gone and has been replaced by a tube bed. Power to turn big tires on big axles now comes from a 4.3L Vortec V-6, 700R4, and doubled Toyota T-case combination.
Vern Lee’s 2004 Rubicon proved...
Vern Lee’s 2004 Rubicon proved to be a bit of a sleeper, save for the bright green paint. He craftily negotiated all the trails on 35-inch BFG KM2s, Dana 44s with 4.88 gearing, and a Clayton Off Road long arm suspension. Most of the short wheelbase rigs unloaded and caught good air in this rock slot.
Project Venture Toy was able...
Project Venture Toy was able to stretch its legs for the weekend and do some crawling. We ran the highway up to the high country with our camping gear and ’wheeled the weekend in the red rock.
We worked our way through...
We worked our way through the rocky terrain and interspersed junipers. Many of the trees here sit high on the plateaus, exposed to the winds. They become gnarly and twisted over many decades of this exposure.
Julia heads into an optional...
Julia heads into an optional boulder field with tight turns and severe holes more suited to those with a short wheelbase. Sometimes you can pick your line here, and other times nature simply funnels you into one tight line.
A lot of the trails we ran...
A lot of the trails we ran offered good ledge climbs on slickrock-like faces. Dan Felix hit the trails in his well-appointed 2006 Rubicon Unlimited. It’s been upgraded with a 6-inch Rock Krawler long arm kit to mount a Ruff Stuff 609 front axle and a 14-bolt rear axle. With Yukon 5.38s and ARB lockers in each end, Dan can turn the 39-inch BFG Red Label Krawlers with confidence. There’s plenty of other mods as well, including the Desert Fab cage and front tube fenders.
The crack formations here...
The crack formations here are nothing short of amazing. The fracture gaps in the rock have left deep slots and incredible rock formations. Arizona’s state geologist reports that these fissures are due to dropping rock formations that were formed over salts and other dissolving materials that erode over time. Many of the cracks are literally visible as distinct orthogonal lines crisscrossing the ground when viewing the area in Google Earth.
The author’s ’wheeling canine...
The author’s ’wheeling canine takes a short respite under the shade of a juniper while our caravan of rigs works its way back through the rocky Snake Pit.
We’ve ’wheeled with Cliff...
We’ve ’wheeled with Cliff Nerenberg before. He drives a 2003 Rubicon setup for ’wheeling these kinds of trails. His choices of traction are 37-inch Goodyear MTRs on 17-inch Allied beadlocks. Armor includes Toys By Troy built bumpers, Poison Spider rear fender skins, and Metal Fusion front flat fenders. Axles are locked and filled with chromoly goods, and slung underneath using a 6-inch Rubicon Express long arm kit.