Ride Summary – 05/30/2020 Mt Ord – Mazatzal Wilderness – Pala Oven – Mt Peeley Ride — by Bob Maitzen

This is a Summer and Fall favorite club ride to escape the heat.  It is also one of our “Four Points of the Compass” rides.  The Mount Ord area was expecting sunny 70°–96° temps on Saturday, May 30^th. 

DESTINATION HIGHLIGHTS

• A 39-mile two-part ride in the Mount Ord / Mazatzal Mtn range
• Mazatzal Wilderness Mountain Range (Mt. Peeley Trailhead)
• Mount Ord Lookout/Viewpoint
• 1-mile side-trip to PALA Mine Oven
• 2-mile side-trip to Little Mt Ord Viewpoint

TRAIL RATING
The primary ride’s trail rating is rated as an EASY–MODERATE (Level 1–2, GREEN–BLUE) ride on smooth forest road. (Definition: May have some spots that are off-cambered; some hilly/rocky spots or few steep slopes; recommended for riders with more than 6 months of riding experience). UTVs / SxSs / ROVs okay on this trail. 2WD vehicles okay. Two-Up ATVs okay for passengers.  Low range gear recommended for a few rocky areas.

REFERENCE SCALE FOR DIFFERENT TRAIL BOOK RATINGS

Easy / Moderate / Difficult / Extreme = Green / Blue / Red / Black = Levels 1 / 2 / 3 / 4.

We had a nice turnout of 10 vehicles on the Mt Ord – Mazatzal Wilderness Ride.  Our staging area was on a small plateau 1.1 miles west of SR 87 (N Beeline Highway a.k.a. Duthie-Martin Hwy) on the paved Sycamore Creek Road.  This is a few miles north of the town of Sunflower AZ on SR 87.  The Sycamore Creek intersection turnoff is 0.6 miles north of Beeline Hwy mile marker 222 and 33.9 miles north of the Fountain Hills AZ intersection of Shea Blvd & SR 87. 

The Mt Ord – Mazatzal Wilderness ride is a two-part ride.  The first segment is north on the dirt road FR 201 with many changing elevations rising from 4200’ to 6050’ to the Mt. Peeley Trailhead section of the Great Western Trail in the Mazatzal Mountains Wilderness Area.  It is about 20 miles there-and-back round-trip.  On the way, we took a 1-mile MODERATE-rated side trail FR 201A to the PALA Mine Oven.  Bob Maitzen and Bill Poppo were the     Co-Ride Leaders with Al Leslie as the Tailgunner.

FR 201 (above) and PALA Mine Oven (below)

The PALA Mine Oven was used to “cook” the Cinnabar ore to extract Mercury which was primarily used in other mining areas and operations to separate silver and gold from their ore.  Other early uses of Mercury were for medicinal treatments (melancholy, constipation, syphilis, influenza, and parasites).  It was considered a cure for almost everything – until it killed you.  Mercury was also used to make mirrors, thermometers and for silver/gold amalgams in early 1900’s dentistry.   Care should be taken on the rough washed-out section of FR 201A as the group exits the PALA Mine Oven area.  We did have an ATV almost rollover on the exit on a previous 2017 ride so we spot and advised the drivers on this ride.  The remains of the original trail on the left side was 8’+ higher before the watershed wash-out.

On your way north to the Arizona Trail / Mt. Peeley Trailhead, you can stop at a number of scenic viewpoints of the Mazatzal Wilderness Mountain Range which extends southeast to Mount Ord and the Mazatzal Divide over to the Four Peaks mountains.

Arizona Trail /Mt. Peeley Trailhead

Cornucopia Trail 86 section of the Arizona Trail with wildflowers

You can hike on a number of hiking trails from the trailhead to see Mt Peeley to the west and the Mazatzal Mountains to the north.  After our scenic stop, we returned south on FR201 back to the staging area.   The second leg of the ride then crosses to the EAST side of SR 87 to climb the FR 626 road up to the top of Mount Ord.  It is 12-miles long with steep grades and elevations ranging from 4200′ to 6700′.  It is fully-graded and smooth for a high-clearance car to get to the top.  

The elevation rises immediately and continuously from the SR 87 & FR 626 Mt Ord intersection to the top at 6,700′.  On our way, we had a trail lunch in the pine trees at the intersection of the FR626 / FR1688 trails.  After lunch, we took a 2-mile side-trip on FR1688 to the Little Mt Ord Viewpoint.   The FR 1688 trail is a MODERATE-rated narrow rocky jeep trail with some off-cambered sloping sections.  Two-Up ATVs and 2WD ATVs are usually okay on this side-trip.  It arrives at a spectacular southbound saddle viewpoint on Little Mt Ord looking down on SR87 and the town of Sunflower. 

Backtracking on FR1688 to FR626, we headed east and around the mountain up to the Mount Ord Viewpoint, stopping for a Kodak moment to take a picture of Roosevelt Lake in the distance (northeast).

Roosevelt Lake in the distance from FR 626

Mount Ord Viewpoint (6700’ looking southwest).  Little Mt Ord is below in the foreground.

Mount Ord Viewpoint (looking northwest to Mazatzal Mountains we visited earlier)

Locked Gate & Turnaround at Mount Ord Viewpoint (6700’)

 (Fire Lookout Tower and communication antenna towers are at 7128’)

        Tailgunner Al Leslie                    Ray & Toni Hidalgo             FR27 technical side-trail

For the adventurous technical drivers, there is a DIFFICULT-rated steep FR27 trail that descends 4 miles to the historic Ord Mine (cinnabar ore) with a couple of scenic viewpoints and geocaches on the way.  Very rough terrain & trail.

Dirt Therapy Nation joined us for this ride and produced a ride video for their YouTube Channel.  Here is a link to their ride video – courtesy of Jody Isaac (Dirt Therapy Nation).  We encourage our readers to subscribe and support their YouTube Channel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9OGfyFbiJI&T=1s

POST-RIDE DESERT DESSERT BAR

Our Club Focus is Rides, Social Events, and Education.  Our sharing of historical information and trail tribal knowledge is also unique.  Our rides are called “Play-it-Forward” rides where past ride leaders have shown us trails and destination highlights over the years and in turn we are playing-it-forward for the next generation of ride leaders and OHV enthusiasts.  Also, we usually host a fun post-ride Desert Dessert Bar social event (sodas, water, cookies, cake slices, brownie bites) at the end of the ride to decompress and make new friends and riding buddies.

Happy Trails to You… Until We Meet Again…

Bob Maitzen              Bill Poppo                 Albert Leslie                    [Photos courtesy of Bob Maitzen]