The Road Home(stead)

Is it Homestead season yet? I have a feeling that the remaining warm months are going to drag by until I can climb my beloved razor rock again.

Meanwhile, I'm remembering how hard my 4Runner had to work to carry us and our gear through the ever-deepening gully in the middle of the four-wheel-drive-only hill on the drive in. The last time, I vowed it would be the last time that I subjected my daily-driver to such punishment.

I know there has been some discussion in the past as to what could and could not be done to (slightly) improve the passability of the road. I realize we can't just go in and pave the thing, but there must be something that we can do. It seems as though prior to the beginning of the last season someone had done a bit of work to improve things without overdoing it and ruffling any land-managers/users' feathers.

Can we do something again? I am volunteering my time, muscle (meager though it is), and energy, if anyone has a good plan. I'm also glad to do a bit of PR work, if necessary.

Thanks!

Brigette

I haven't been there yet but i'm always one to show up to help with such an effort. Count me in..

((this work that you speak of.. does it come with chocolate sprinkles?))

Mmmmm chocolate. Oooh, could there be pancakes, too?

I totally agree with Brigette. I can drive that hill but it is at my limit and the trucks limit.

I would but in a few hours to "help" the road. But a few people and a weekend trip would make the work and commitment of time seem less of a chore.

I bet this is case of keeping the work "under the radar". Just do it.

Almost that time of year again Brigette!! I'd say around another month and you are set(for shade hopping).

Believe it or not; some people like how ruff the road is. "It keeps the riff-raff out..."

This topic seems to have come up each of the last three years. The best long term fix for the road would probably be to put in a culvert at the crux of the road where all the water comes rushing through. Divert the water across the road instead of pouring down the road from the bend or the crux. However, when this came up a couple years ago, someone suggested that this *could* cause access issues because climbers do not own the road and should not be messing with the road. My personal opinion is that this would only show that climbers care a lot about this area to go to this amount of effort. It can only make things easier for all land users. Who really owns that part of the road anyways? State trust, BLM, ranchers? I'm not sure who you would ask for permission, IF you were to ask. If this would be attempted, it would need to be done the right way, the first time. I've never laid a culvert, but I think I could figure out how... Does anyone on here have road construction experience? I think the culvert would need to be cemented in place with rocks around and above it. Maybe google can teach me?
The other temporary fix that people have done over the years is to fill in the low spots in the road with large rocks, then medium sized rocks, then smaller rocks. This only lasts till the next monsoon though.

I'd be interested in helping. Just depends on what the plan is and when.

Good 'ol Google... If interested in the culvert idea:

Things You'll Need:
Shovel
Pick
Gravel
Culvert
Fill dirt

Instructions
1
Dig out the drainage ditch. Broaden the ditch to roughly twice the width of the culvert and angle the sides of the ditch. Dig about six inches out of the bottom, for the entire length of the culvert.

2
Fill the bottom six inches with gravel, maintaining the original level of the drainage ditch. The gravel will allow the culvert to settle evenly and allow for better drainage in the event that water flows around the culvert.

3
Place the culvert in the ditch, centering it in the gravel. There should be about one foot of excess length on each end of the culvert.

4
Fill in the sides next to the culvert with dirt, tamping the dirt down at regular intervals. Keep the culvert centered in the ditch while doing this; a crooked culvert will cause erosion on the walls of the ditch.

5
Cover the top of the culvert. Cover with at least 12 inches of dirt and tamp down well. Cover this with gravel to avoid erosion.

6
Tamp the sides of the fill down tightly, making sure they are angled in towards the top. Regular maintenance will be needed to keep the walls from eroding away.

Red wrote:Believe it or not; some people like how ruff the road is. "It keeps the riff-raff out..."

I think I'm one of those people. I really like only seeing 5 cars in the campground/parking area combined on a holiday weekend. :)

However, at the beginning of the season it was rough enough to keep out anyone without a high-clearance 4x4; by the end of the season, it was darn near impossible to get through that spot without doing even more damage to the road and risking vehicle damage.

Let's see what others think of the culvert idea, i.e. whether it would be seen in a positive or a negative light as far as access goes. If it seems like a good idea to go forward, count me in!

If not, I'm in for the rock hauling idea as well. Might be a great way to get strong for the season. ;)

I've got a pick and shovel and can get it to work really well with some beer. The temps are definitely keeping me away until October though.

I am in on that boulder rolling as well...

So we have Cinco to end the season....what opens it?

Roach wrote:So we have Cinco to end the season....what opens it?

"Labor" Day?

I crack myself up.

(I know, LD is way too early to go out there, and I'll be out of town anyway.)

I'd rather the road stay difficult. There is nothing better than being in the canyon all by yourself, even though it doesn't seem to happen much anymore during the weekends. I guess that is why I go during the week a lot. The road is fun 4x4ing! I wish it had more hard sections.

You want a more challenging entrance to the homestead? There is one. You may have noticed another dirt road that heads west from the corral/campsite area straight toward the highway. It does go all the way through. It is, however, MUCH more difficult and downright scetchy in places. You will need a truck with very good clearance and an experienced driver if you hope to pass. There are ample opportunities to high center your vehicle or even find a loose spot in the road and tumble down steep embankments. It is kind of a cool old road with artifacts from god knows when. Just be warned, it is not easy or particularly safe! I would not want to be the schmuck that got his truck stuck down there.

Roach wrote:So we have Cinco to end the season....what opens it?

Start of fall? ~Autumn Opening.

Fall Equinox is September 22nd...

FYI - I dropped a line to one of the Access Fund folks to see whether they've got any advice as far as how to proceed. I've also gotten in touch with a friend who may be able to give us some input on exactly what might work best based upon the grade, drainage, and maintenance aspects.

Climnron: I also appreciate being one of the few who can make it up the hill, and maybe it's selfish of me, but now that I can't get up there without worrying about breaking my daily driver I'm looking to put the road back the way it was ten months ago, i.e. back to a "5.9", rather than the "5.11" that it is now. I definitely don't want to make it a "5.4."

If it still looked like the following picture, I wouldn't even have brought up the topic. As it is, it's become an ever-deepening silty rut that will only accelerate further erosion from rainfall.

Brigette wrote:Fall Equinox is September 22nd...

Last year we started climbing there Oct. 3rd. It was pretty nice in the shade as I recall, better than late season even (May). At the time I remember thinking that we could have even been there weeks prior. Every year is different though.
Columbus Day is Oct. 11th...

Red wrote:Who really owns that part of the road anyways? State trust, BLM, ranchers? I'm not sure who you would ask for permission, IF you were to ask. If this would be attempted, it would need to be done the right way, the first time.

Just an FYI on the land ownership and management agencies along the road. It's State Trust Land for a short portion (About 1/4 mile or so right off the highway) and then BLM land for a long while.

The rough part of the road in that drainage is BLM land based on the maps and research I've done. After the long ridge portion there is a checkerboard of private (gate and corral areas) and BLM lands. The parking area and some of the lower canyon climbing is on private land.

climbinron: Having been one of the first climbers to seriously explore the walls for climbing, I'm quite sensitive to the serenity and the sensitive nature of the area. We stopped working on a route or two because of the proximity to some of the huge saguaros and also stayed away from climbing on some of the rather vulnerable tufas on the Finland Wall for this very reason. Also, when others started showing up in the lower drainage and the southern walls (Karma Cave areas etc) we knew the serenity was gone and the secret was out. It was just the way it was and a matter of time, riff raff or just fellow climbers, I feel and believed that they had as much right/responsibility as I had to be there.

Given the amount of climbing and the quality of the routes, my personal preference would be to work with the land managers and owners to find out a proactive way to make sure that access is maintained. This might mean that the BLM/State and private land owners should be approached in an organized manner to assure that the recreational resource stays open to all of us. More than likely it means a "better" road . . . with the consequential increase in numbers of climbers. I too feel the twinge to have it all to myself once again as I did for a while, but for the greater community's sake, best to proceed with some foresight.

Just my $.02 of course.

Fred

I was just feeling the urge to get sweatin and working for the season access and it seems there are plenty others chompin at the bit as well.

Might just get the suspension working in the next couple weeks and head out there for trail maintenance, and check out the road.
With the # of routes on Rough Rider Wall doubling(and some superb stuff in development) I think it is warranted to do some major trail work up to and along the wall. Anyone want to assist?

The road needs to be handled correctly, with-out a doubt! Do it right the first time!
With the sensitivity of the land management and all maybe the internet blog isn't the correct place to organize and plan any road fixes. Maybe a group meeting of all who want to help should happen, the old fashioned way of sitting around a table face to face and hammer out the details?

Carter: You read our minds. I'll attach below an email conversation that Fred and I are in the middle of.

(8/30/10)
Fred,

Thank you for your post and your email. I'd be glad to have any assistance in both getting the project rolling and not pissing anyone off in the process. As well, I'm happy to do anything that I can to help keep the work that you've already done going in the right direction.

My thoughts at this point are that we will most likely end up doing a quick fix again, i.e. rolling boulders into the gully, in order to be able to get in and out, while beginning what will likely be a long and drawn out process of determining what the best solution would be for the future. Considering the various parties involved, I doubt that we'll be able to gain a concensus in time to do anything long-term this season.

To reiterate, I'm not interested in sacrificing future access to the area by making any major improvements without permission.

Do you know who owns the specific section of road that we're looking at improving?

Thank you,

Brigette

(8/27/10)
Brigette,

I thought I'd send you a PM about the road to the Homestead in addition to the post I put up.

I've been working with the AF for a few years related to the Oak Flat issue and the Homestead access and road has always been part of the discussion. Based on my work with them, I'd guess that they will probably look to us locals to do most of the heavy lifting. We do have a local group addressing some of these issues in the area, Concerned Climbers of Arizona (www.concernedclimbers.com).

We're just kind of getting things organized and we're meeting here soon again in a week or so and we'll probably be discussing this topic for sure. We have some pretty good contacts with the BLM and my hope would be that this could be of good service in addressing this issue moving forward.

Anyway, if it's ok, maybe we could stay in contact and try to coordinate the efforts?

Thank you,

Fred AmRhein
Concerned Climbers of Arizona
Phoenix, AZ

I am in for any kind of maintenance on the road! Let's get a meet up group started for just "The Homestead". Ideas anyone?

@ Carter Count me in on any weekend for doing just trail maintenance!

@ Fred when can everyone meet up for the Homestead discussion?

Count me in. I'm willing!

Are we gonna make a weekend of it with camping n all?

Linda

We're out of town this weekend and tied up the weekend of 9/25-26, but otherwise we should be available any weekend that works for y'all.

We'll bring the pancake mix.