- 2 years ago
Part 2 of Ultimate Adventure 2017. The standard Ultimate Adventure formula has typically been one hardcore off-road day followed by a long
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00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 - Driver's fitted!
00:08 (cheering)
00:10 - This is going to be one of our longer legs for gas,
00:13 so if you have gas cans, they should be full.
00:15 As far as what we're gonna do,
00:17 we're gonna hop on a two-lane highway,
00:18 wheels up, rolling at 745.
00:21 - Trail tail is on 19.
00:22 - Copy that.
00:29 - It's bright and early on day two of Ultimate Adventure,
00:31 and we're leaving the interstates behind for good.
00:34 We're gonna escape the heat by heading to higher ground
00:37 in the old mining town of Crown King.
00:39 Of course, we're not going to be taking the fastest
00:42 or the easiest route.
00:44 There's less than 100 miles to cover today,
00:46 but it's going to be almost all dirt
00:48 with a few obstacles along the way.
00:49 - I just picked up a nice pass across the road there.
00:57 It's 106, it's nine o'clock,
01:01 so I'm hoping it's gonna cool off some.
01:03 I'm gonna get me a chain so I can hang around my neck.
01:06 When you take a bunch of rock crawlers overlanding,
01:09 especially 20 of them,
01:10 you know there's gonna be a lot of dust.
01:12 The back way to Crown King involves a steady climb
01:17 out of the Valley of the Sun and around 1,100 feet
01:20 to an elevation of over 5,700 feet.
01:23 Of course, there are a few fun challenges along the way.
01:27 - Yeah, back there when it's coming up out of that wash,
01:30 we heard a big (imitates explosion)
01:31 and we figured out what it was.
01:32 It's that ARB line in front again.
01:34 But we got a good crew working on it.
01:37 I think we're gonna get it taken care of
01:38 in about five minutes.
01:39 - About halfway up that area next to the mine
01:44 is a big bull, and I'm talking,
01:46 he's got a lot of testosterone running through his system.
01:49 (engine rumbling)
01:51 Here we are on the way to Crown King.
01:59 So we left the hotel this morning about 7.30.
02:02 We've been on the road for about two and a half hours.
02:04 Normally it's a road day for Ultimate Adventure,
02:06 but we're on the dirt, and that's the whole plan.
02:09 That's actually the plan for the whole week.
02:10 We started down in the desert
02:12 in the saguaros and stuff at Lake Pleasant,
02:14 and now we're making our way up to Crown King.
02:16 It's a really scenic, pretty trail.
02:18 We're in the Bradshaw Mountains.
02:20 There's some cool little side obstacles here,
02:22 and everybody's having a good time.
02:23 I think it's already noticeably cooler.
02:25 I think we're at 3,800 feet now,
02:28 and we're gonna keep climbing,
02:28 so that's also a good thing.
02:30 Ultimate Adventure requires everyone
02:33 to be self-sufficient throughout the week,
02:36 so each participant must carry all of their own food,
02:39 camping gear, tools, spare parts, and so on.
02:43 Absolutely no trailers are allowed.
02:45 Now this is the first day
02:46 that everyone is wheeling fully loaded,
02:48 but it's not going to be the last.
02:49 You wouldn't be watching this video
02:53 if we didn't have our full camera crew along,
02:55 and transporting a crew plus all of their equipment
02:57 is a huge logistical challenge.
03:00 This year, Sportsmobile stepped in
03:01 with a fully equipped four-by-four van
03:03 to haul all of the gear,
03:05 and UA alum Ken Smith volunteered to be the wheel man
03:09 as well as gopher for the week.
03:11 Having a four-wheel drive van support rig for UA is critical.
03:14 (wind whistling)
03:17 - So yeah, just like that, we're in the pine trees.
03:23 - Remember guys, Arizona is nothing but deserts and cactus.
03:27 - All right, so here we are on the trail.
03:32 Got a little problem with the steering box.
03:34 So about the steering box,
03:36 the problem seems to be inside the box,
03:37 but I think we can repair it.
03:40 Open it up and get it fixed.
03:42 (people chattering)
03:45 - Well, we just secured our campsite for day two.
03:50 We're heading down the mountain.
03:51 We're going to Crown King, get some fudge,
03:54 a little general store, and maybe some cool drinks.
03:58 Then we'll head on back up,
04:00 make dinner, tomorrow's day three.
04:03 Crown King is named after the nearby gold mine
04:05 where an estimated $2 million in gold
04:08 was extracted over the years.
04:10 Founded in the 1880s, 15 gold mines dot the area around town
04:14 which is situated high in the Bradshaw Mountains.
04:17 The mines have been closed since the 1950s,
04:19 but the saloon remains the center of town
04:21 and a popular attraction for off-roaders, hikers,
04:24 and other travelers seeking an escape from the Phoenix heat.
04:27 The saloon serves amazing burgers
04:31 while the general store offers
04:32 some of the best homemade fudge you can buy.
04:34 Meanwhile, back at camp,
04:36 Randall Spear and John Mobley from Dana-Spicer
04:39 are busy fixing the steering box on their JK
04:41 with the help of reader Nick LeBlanc
04:43 and Warren's Chris Durham.
04:44 - Had a problem with the JK,
04:46 the actual spanner that holds the preload on the input shaft
04:51 had worked itself loose,
04:52 so it took the box completely apart
04:54 so I can tighten this spanner up.
04:55 The input had 3/4, or had a half inch of in-play in it,
04:58 so it had steering issues.
05:00 So in order to fix it, we just got to tighten this spanner up.
05:03 - Put that in the side of the tire.
05:05 - While the steering box repairs continued
05:08 on the Dana-Spicer JK,
05:09 I had some repairs of my own to do
05:11 with the bed suspension link.
05:12 Now the improvised repair involved a log
05:14 and some use of sponsored product
05:17 in a most unrecommended manner.
05:19 But it got the job done.
05:20 Those that weren't making repairs
05:32 had the rare opportunity to set up camp
05:34 among the pine trees and even cook dinner
05:36 all in the daylight.
05:38 Most took the opportunity to rehash the day's events
05:40 around LED campfires,
05:42 since the area was under fire restrictions
05:43 and real fires weren't allowed.
05:46 For some, repairs continued well into the night.
05:49 (upbeat music)
05:51 - Driver's meeting!
06:12 Let's go!
06:13 - Day three of the ultimate adventure.
06:14 (cheering)
06:16 Today's gonna be another long one
06:18 in terms of being behind the wheel.
06:19 So be sure you top off your tanks
06:21 with your spare fuel this morning before we head out.
06:25 Don't wait 'til you run out on the trail.
06:27 And more on the trail, here's Trent.
06:29 (cheering)
06:31 - Crown King is one of my most favorite trails
06:33 in all of Arizona.
06:33 So I'm glad that you guys,
06:36 I could have all my friends come with me on it.
06:37 So it was pretty rad.
06:38 Looks like everybody's pretty well packed up.
06:40 We've got one quick repair going,
06:42 but I'm thinking we're gonna roll right at eight.
06:43 - As usual on the ultimate adventure,
06:45 our first camping night,
06:46 we had a repair last night.
06:48 The steering box on Dana's Jeep,
06:50 the sector shaft had come loose.
06:52 So I had to take the box apart completely,
06:55 tighten the spanner up to tighten the input shaft up
06:57 and put the box back together.
06:59 Got them fixed last night.
07:00 And then this morning, Mark's Jeep,
07:02 the lower control arm of Centrix had broke loose
07:05 and the axle was moving out and back three quarters of an inch
07:07 so I welded the tabs in the Centrix on both sides.
07:10 So now both of them are ready to go
07:11 and we're ready to hit the road again.
07:12 So welcome to UA.
07:17 - All of the cronies and staff for ultimate adventure
07:19 are equipped with Magellan TRX-7s
07:21 that are preloaded with the planned route for each day.
07:24 Now this is handy in the event of breakdowns
07:26 or people needing to catch up,
07:28 which happens all the time.
07:30 For everyone else,
07:31 what was up ahead was a complete surprise.
07:33 Now the Magellan unit saved a lot of confusion and time.
07:37 Simply follow the tracks
07:38 and you'll eventually find the rest of the group.
07:40 - So you know what?
07:46 I didn't have enough sunscreen.
07:48 So JR was nice enough to break his transmission cooler
07:50 so I could put this on my skin
07:52 so I wouldn't get sunburned out in Arizona.
07:55 So anyway, yeah, cooler broke, no big deal.
07:57 Dillard's down there.
07:58 He's gonna loop it back together.
08:00 We were able to save a lot of the tranny fluid
08:02 that came out of it in the old water bottles.
08:04 So we're ready to go.
08:05 - Well, we got the lines back off.
08:10 The cooler blowed apart in the middle
08:11 so we just took and looped the lines back together
08:14 and put it back to the transmission.
08:15 So hopefully it'll stay cooler enough running in the ice,
08:18 but we'll give it a whirl here.
08:20 - This thing's gonna run cooler now, JR, watch.
08:22 - We're heading deeper into the Bradshaw Mountains
08:26 towards the DeSoto Mine Trail,
08:28 which will loop us around Crown King
08:30 and eventually back down to the lower elevations near Mare.
08:34 It will be another long, hot, dusty, and very fun day.
08:38 That's if everything goes perfectly,
08:40 but with over a hundred miles of dirt to cover today,
08:43 breakdowns are inevitable.
08:45 - Ah, yeah!
08:49 Ah, ice pack challenge!
08:52 - The DeSoto Mine Trail is over 10 miles long
08:58 and crosses several ridges,
08:59 which means there's a lot of steep climbs and descents.
09:03 The terrain is rocky and very loose,
09:05 and there's a lot of tight turns that can be tricky
09:07 for some of the longer wheelbase rigs.
09:10 There's quite a few rocky shelves
09:11 thrown in for good measure.
09:12 (engine rumbling)
09:15 DeSoto Mine is not hardcore by any means,
09:19 but it demands a driver's constant attention,
09:21 as one wrong move can mean sliding down the hillside
09:24 a very long way.
09:25 The constant climbing and descending
09:30 also isn't helping fuel economy,
09:32 and none of these rigs have seen a gas stop
09:34 since yesterday morning.
09:35 - John, that was fun.
09:41 Video probably won't do it.
09:42 - Justice, but that was the steep climb
09:44 with the big ledge at the top.
09:46 Lots of fun today on this road trail day.
09:51 - While longer wheelbases needed to make multi-point turns
09:56 in some of the switchbacks,
09:57 the extra length was welcome on the rocky ledges.
10:00 Team Wainyjack shows us how it's done.
10:11 Dan Strube's Bronco falls right in between
10:14 short and long wheelbase.
10:15 The solution that worked?
10:17 Going far right away from the worst of the ledge.
10:19 Wheelbase is one thing, but weight is also a factor.
10:40 Dave's Rugged Radio's Amigo is definitely
10:42 on the lighter end of the spectrum in this group.
10:44 It's all a matter of perspective.
10:51 What didn't seem like a big deal in one view
10:53 now looks entirely different in another.
10:55 Thankfully, the tranny cooler on the SkyJacker rig
11:02 seems to be holding, at least for the moment.
11:04 And the unique Voodoo Ropes CJ-10
11:09 didn't need to test out what they sell on this one.
11:11 Four-door JKs can make things look easy,
11:18 especially when they're equipped with Dana 60s and an LS3.
11:21 [ENGINE RUMBLING]
11:25 Just leaving a little gas for Keith.
11:44 He's running low, so rather than truck it on back to him,
11:47 I'm just going to leave it here and he can get it.
11:49 [ENGINE RUMBLING]
11:53 All right, we're a little bit over halfway
11:55 through the DeSoto Mine Trail.
11:57 And this is yet another gate that we've gone through.
12:00 And it's always important to leave gates as you found them.
12:02 So in this case, it was closed.
12:04 So once the group gets through, we will close it once again.
12:07 So from here on out, it's going to be a little bit tougher
12:11 for the gang, but just challenging, not
12:14 get stuck type stuff.
12:16 But definitely need to pay attention
12:17 on some of these hills.
12:18 So we're going to keep kind of headed off that way.
12:22 I believe we're two ridges from the end of the trail.
12:25 Notice that I never said DeSoto Mine was a short trail.
12:35 First gas stop as a group.
12:41 Yep, for-- we haven't seen pavement in two days.
12:46 I planned on bringing seven extra gallons.
12:49 I used every one of those.
12:51 Four more from my buddies.
12:52 So barely made it.
12:55 Good times.
12:56 We did a pretty long run, all off pavement today.
13:00 A lot of nice scenery.
13:02 Real varied.
13:02 We were in the trees, and now we're back down in the cactus.
13:05 So we got to see a lot of the Arizona countryside.
13:08 It's been awesome.
13:08 After the much needed gas stop and crossing
13:14 under an interstate that maybe some people were
13:16 hoping we would be getting on, it
13:18 was back to the dirt and some more overlanding.
13:21 All righty, we are on the Great Western Trail.
13:31 I believe it is the trail that runs from the Mexican border
13:37 all the way up the western portion of the United States
13:41 to Canada.
13:44 Despite the long hours on the trail,
13:45 the group was making excellent progress,
13:47 and breakdowns were minimal.
13:51 Periodic pit stops kept the group together,
13:53 and these were often used to check things over on the rails.
13:56 After passing through some areas that
14:12 could have been mistaken for an African savanna,
14:15 we passed through the remote ranching town of Dukas
14:17 and made our way to Copper Canyon.
14:18 I've been having fun in my little diesel, my TJ
14:34 with the diesel Cummins 2.8.
14:38 So far on the trip, I think I've only
14:41 used 10 gallons of fuel total, rock crawling and everything.
14:46 It's a little 2.8, but it's really good fuel.
14:49 And it also doesn't run hot.
14:50 It's rad.
14:52 It runs about 176, 180 degrees.
14:56 Copper Canyon is a tiny little two track
14:59 that meanders its way into Camp Verde.
15:01 It's cool to be picking our way down the canyon in low range,
15:04 while just a few hundred yards away,
15:06 18-wheelers are chugging up and down the Camp Verde grade
15:08 on I-17.
15:10 Far away is definitely better.
15:12 Today's been a really long, dusty road day.
15:16 But it's been pretty awesome.
15:18 We've bounced down a lot of cool dirt roads
15:21 all over northern Arizona.
15:23 Trent McGee and Vern Simons both live here.
15:30 And they kind of mapped out this trip.
15:32 And it's been awesome.
15:34 Hardly any asphalt, which is the best.
15:39 Asphalt's a total waste of track stop,
15:41 as far as I'm concerned.
15:45 All right, we are at the tail end of day three
15:47 of the ultimate adventure.
15:48 We've been hard at it all day, going overlanding
15:51 in our rock crawlers.
15:52 Just spent the vast majority of the day over 100 miles.
16:00 It was a totally rad day.
16:01 Nothing really challenging, but dirt, dirt, dirt, dirt, dirt.
16:05 Tires aired down, going fast into the dirt,
16:08 going around corners.
16:10 Blast, wonderful day.
16:11 Everybody's dirty, but everybody's happy.
16:14 That was awesome.
16:15 It's like the longest dirt road day we've ever done,
16:17 I think, on Ultimate Adventure.
16:19 We've done dirt roads, but this is like trumps them all.
16:22 So we just got off the mountain.
16:24 We've been on dirt for probably 60, 70 miles today.
16:29 So a lot of dirt.
16:30 Beautiful country.
16:31 It's cool to see a lot of elevation change.
16:33 Had big trees in the morning, cactus in the afternoon.
16:36 The group did good overall.
16:37 Pretty minimal, considering the hard roads and hard miles
16:41 on the trucks today.
16:42 So I think we're all excited to be heading back to the hotel
16:45 and get a shower.
16:47 Three more to go, and then we're at the hotel.
16:50 The wrap on day three of the Ultimate Adventure 2017.
16:53 We were just over 100 miles in dirt, over 24 hours
16:57 since we last saw pavement.
16:58 We're going to air up the tires and go see civilization
17:01 for the first time in a while.
17:02 [MUSIC PLAYING]
17:06 Day three wasn't a bad trail day as road days go,
17:09 but there's a whole lot more off-road action coming.
17:12 And it turns out, day four will more than make up
17:15 for the lack of problems on day three.
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