Unexpected 29 Hour Offroad Adventure With Our Bronco Badlands Sasquatch and Jeep JLUR-XR @ Charouleau Gap

[HotdogThud]

@Schmohawk and @buzpro and myself were out with a few others not more than 5-10 miles away. I think we got the better end of the deal going up mt lemmon...

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[chaseshort24]

What did better, the XR or the bronco?

 

[BulldogBear]

OK, so I don't want to be the party pooper, but have to say this;

please, do NOT drive along/in a flowing creek bed or any other body of water. That is NOT what we should consider "treading lightly", in fact, it appears to be irresponsible. Think of even the slightest oil leak, or what those tires to do any living creature or their offspring.

Having run that trail myself dozens of times, the "creek bed" they traveled through rarely has water in it. It's in Arizona - we have thousands of "rivers" and "creeks" that *maybe* see water once every 10 years depending on our monsoon season.

It's also the only route through on the trail, and as the OP stated, if there were an ecological issue, the state wouldn't hesitate to close the trail as they are quite fond of doing.

 

[BulldogBear]

On Saturday, Oct 1, the Tucson Broncos offroad club decided to tackle Charouleau Gap, just north of Tucson AZ. My wife and I decided to take both our Bronco Badlands Sasquatch, and the JLUR-XR. Little did we know the adventure that awaited us....

That trail can change so quickly it's crazy. Last time I ran it was 2018 and it was nowhere near that bad. I think when I ran it in 2016 most of it had been regraded due to increased mining activity and the kissing rock obstacle was all filled in and basically a graded road. Really shows you the full force of the monsoons and erosion with how quickly and dramatically that trail can degrade.

Glad you all made it out with minimal damage and an adventure to remember.

 

[AMC Ape]

Ok, it doesn't sound like the best time but it seems like an epic adventure. I'm sure you'll be talking about this one at Thanksgiving for years

 

[buzpro]

That trail can change so quickly it's crazy. Last time I ran it was 2018 and it was nowhere near that bad. I think when I ran it in 2016 most of it had been regraded due to increased mining activity and the kissing rock obstacle was all filled in and basically a graded road. Really shows you the full force of the monsoons and erosion with how quickly and dramatically that trail can degrade.

Glad you all made it out with minimal damage and an adventure to remember.

On a side note, I'm starting to really question some of these trail difficulty ratings I see on GAIA GPS, AllTrails or onX!!

 

[Bronco1971]

That trail can change so quickly it's crazy. Last time I ran it was 2018 and it was nowhere near that bad. I think when I ran it in 2016 most of it had been regraded due to increased mining activity and the kissing rock obstacle was all filled in and basically a graded road.

There are actually two stories I have heard. One is absolutely true in that the FS "improved" the road as a fire control road. This was the group that changed kissing rock, etc. The second story floating around is that a group of side x side enthusiasts took a bulldozer up the wash to move some of the big rocks. I question the truth of this tale.

Last time I did the trail was in about 97, and from the pictures I've seen here, everything but the kissing rock is harder than it was. That last section took a huge hit from the monsoon.

Really shows you the full force of the monsoons and erosion with how quickly and dramatically that trail can degrade.

No kidding! Last year was a very active monsoon and there was one storm this year in the Oracle area that was extremely intense. I actually had to drive through it unfortunately, and it hydroplaned my F150 at about 55 mph. Couldn't see more than 100 feet anyway. Every single little wash was running fast. Big wash was an absolute torrent where it crossed 79. I'm thinking that was the storm that did this damage, just a crap ton of water in a very short time frame.

To the post about not wheeling in the water, this trail was probably dry the week before. There had been a rainstorm just a couple of days before this excursion. As to the oil, yes, there are probably some un-measurable trace contaminants left over from our wheeling, oil, rubber, etc., but I would think that pales in comparison to the pile of ground up asphalt that Pima County has placed on the bank of this same wash at Catalina State Park.

 

[Rockdawg84]

On a side note, I'm starting to really question some of these trail difficulty ratings I see on GAIA GPS, AllTrails or onX!!

I agree. But really 7/10 is a fair rating traditionally for the Gap. But with all the rain I would now rate it as a solid 8 or even 8+.

 

[Bronco1971]

Anyone want to go with me to scout the Alamo Spring trail this weekend? Looks like there's some good opportunity for monsoon damage there too.

 

[Wild Horses 4x4]

On Saturday, Oct 1, the Tucson Broncos offroad club decided to tackle Charouleau Gap, just north of Tucson AZ. My wife and I decided to take both our Bronco Badlands Sasquatch, and the JLUR-XR. Little did we know the adventure that awaited us....

The trip started as expected. We came across some of the popular obstacles on the trail and were enjoying ourselves thoroughly.

Me on Mini Moab




Bronco conquering Kiss Rock right line




We played in a creek bed with some boulders and diff catchers.




After this is when things got bad. We decided to soldier on even though it was getting late. We should have turned around, since the rumors on the Facebook groups were that the trail from this point on was impassable. Boy were we in for it.

The trail continues winding through the mountains, and it was so washed out on some spots that 100 yards would take almost an hour to get past. It got dark fast. Here is one of the dozens of recoveries of the night.




I don't have a video of this next spot, but there was a squeeze that didn't use to exist. I was in front with the JLUR and got some damage.

No way were the wider Broncos going to make it through, so we had to create our own bypass, which took hours to get everyone through. Here is my wife's Bronco being the first to tackle that bypass.

After this, the crazy washed out V notches started. We went over dozens of these it felt like by the end of the trip, and in the dark they were no joke.

After that the night hit its worst point. The TJ currently leading the column fell into a TJ-sized hole. We were able to winch him out, and everyone was OK, but it took a few more hours.

After we got him upright, it was 1:30am. We decided to tackle the hole in the morning.
About 5:30am we started filling in the hole with rocks and spare tires. Worked like a charm. Sorry no pics of this.

After some more v notches, we suddenly found ourselves facing a washed out section of the road... the impassable part we had been warned about. About 30 feet of road was gone, maybe 15 feet deep. The sides were almost vertical. We had no choice. We got to work. We filled in a couple feet with rocks, and used shovels to chip away at the edge to help the approach angle. I was first in line, and there was no way to get anyone else around me... so it was up to me. I had to drop into this small canyon and get out the other side... or we were calling an offroad recovery company. After airing down further and taking the spare tire off for better departure angle, in I went. I had a strap on me to help lower me in at the extreme angle, probably more than 60 degrees.

Then it was time to climb...




Made it! I was able to use a strap to pull up the next rig, and so on. While going down into it, one of the Broncos got tippy. An older gentlemen jumped on the bumper to try and add weight... bad decision. When he jumped off, he slipped and dislocated his shoulder. We made him a makeshift sling and he powered through, driving his own rig the rest of the way out. He did get medical attention, and is doing good.

From here it wasn't exactly smooth sailing, but the remaining obstacles seemed like childs play. We finally got off the trail. Talk about a crazy adventure. A 9 hour off road trip turned into a 29 hour epic adventure that I don't want to repeat!

EDIT: Update on the gentlemen who bust his shoulder! Not dislocated, looks like just some soft tissue damage. MRI will help determine full extent of the damage, but he is in great spirits and seems ready to start wheeling again lol

Now that was a WILD adventure. Thanks for sharing!

 

[zerk4321]

This is what’s called “Type III Fun!” What an adventure!

 

[NVCowboy]

Pictures or it didn't happen. . .? Ha! All kidding aside glad everyone made it through a journey that recreates winching covered wagons across the rockies. I'm happy ya'll had this journey so I don't have to.

 

[Green Machine]

That is one hell of an experience. It’s a good example of why I hesitate to go on certain trails being that I have three kids with me when we go out.

I have a question, did any of the broncos have reinforced tie rods? I would think this trip would test that weak point at every move. Our bronco is scheduled to be built next week (fingers crossed) and it’s the only issue I’m mostly concerned about first.

 

[Rockdawg84]

That is one hell of an experience. It’s a good example of why I hesitate to go on certain trails being that I have three kids with me when we go out.

I have a question, did any of the broncos have reinforced tie rods? I would think this trip would test that weak point at every move. Our bronco is scheduled to be built next week (fingers crossed) and it’s the only issue I’m mostly concerned about first.

I’m pretty sure only my VB was running tie rod reenforcments but no one had an issue. All drivers did really well and no one was a throttle jockey.

 

[VoltageDrop]

Things not going to plan is exactly where adventure starts. This looked like an epic trip with a lot of old Top Gear special episode flavor. Your videos made me miss my FSB quite badly

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