Starving in Young, AZ

[Yardstick]

Slowred (CRF450X) and I (KTM 950 SE) wanted to do a ride this week. We were initially undecided between singletrack and something more dual-sport-ish. I have been neglecting my SE and wanted to get into the high country, so a DS style ride to Young, AZ seemed like the thing to do. The bonus is, there's a kickass restaurant up there called "Antlers Cafe and Bar". We could easily make it for lunch!

At the 4-Peaks staging area.



No stops until the top of 4-Peaks Rd (that isn't actually called 4-Peaks Rd ).



Morning mist (or smoke?) over Roosevelt Lake.



Slowred stops for a pic too.



And the other side of 4-Peaks.

[Yardstick]

Charred trees on the 609 Road.



I don't even remember hearing about this fire. There have been a lot this year.



There were a lot of new water bars on the 609 road. The SE may have taken flight a couple of times.



On the other end of the 609 road we took Hwy 288 for a short distance before dropping onto Cherry Creek Rd.



There is a section of Cherry Creek Rd that is supposed to go all the way into Young. Slowred volunteered to check it out.



While I stayed up top in case it got rougher than I wanted to tackle on the SE.

[Yardstick]

I knew there could be a locked gate on the section of Cherry Creek Rd. into Young, so we skipped it so I wouldn't have to climb back up a hill full of loose bowling ball sized rocks.

We cruised the dirt highway into Young to find The Antlers is CLOSED Mondays and Tuesdays!



Worse yet, they would be closed almost all week!



We tried the bar nearby. They only had beer and liquor. No food. Alice's restaurant is the only other eatery in town. And Alice was at the bar! We headed back to the 609 trail to weigh the options and eat the meager snacks we had.


Hey, something doesn't look right there...



I guess the big 950 landed a little harder than I thought.

[Yardstick]

We decided to take the longer, but faster route back and headed for A-Cross Road that crosses just north of Roosevelt Lake. On the way there is a waterfall I have never checked out before. It's only a 3 mile detour to Workman Falls.

The upper drainage.



Watch your step getting down to the little dam.



That is some stagnant water behind that dam.



It looks like the worlds smallest hydroelectric power plant.



Not exactly a raging torrent.



The caution sign on the shed says this is a Forestry Study Area.

[Yardstick]

Slowred after getting a shot of the falls. Watch your step here!



This is a vertigo inducing spot to check out the falls.



Looking back up, there is not a lot of water feeding these falls now.



Imagine the time and volume of water it took to carve this out, though.



More cool rock formations in the area.



Back to the bikes.

[Yardstick]

We made an absolute speed run across A-Cross Rd. I spent the last 10 miles looking at a flashing low-fuel light. The extra gallon on the rack would just get me back over 4-Peaks and might let the bike sputter to a gas station. Slowred hadn't hit reserve yet on the Honda, but just to avoid any unpleasant walks in the dark we both topped off on the east side of 4-Peaks.

We fought the setting sun and dust up and over 4-Peaks. That is one slow ride when you're blind and riding by braille. As the sun dropped, our speed picked up.



Not bad for one handed riding on a bumpy road.



Looking back at 4-Peaks with the red hue of the setting sun.



A few clouds moved in to make for a more spectacular sunset.



More sunset color.



One more shot of 4-Peaks.



We're really going to have to find a ride to a remote location with a restaurant that is open during the week!

[4play]

[Slowred]

Great photos Yardstick! That was a fun ride, despite striking out on food at Antlers Restaurant. I managed to snap a couple of pics.

If you look carefully, you can see a rare, funny looking, Billy Goat climbing above the falls.


It was a truly beautiful day in outback AZ.


Yardstick with his pride and joy, SE. After catching a bit of air on the road in, his skid plate was "realigned". I'm thinking it looks much better.


We reached the trucks just as the sun was setting. I was happy to not have to cross 4 Peaks in the dark with my puny headlight. 185 miles total on the stock 450x seat.

[refokus]

Great RR and Photos guys! I bet Slowred had the throttle twisted tight on the fast sides of this ride to keep up with Yardstick and his SE .

[Bullspit]

Thanks for the trip down memory lane. I've been to Young (and you have to want to get there to go there) and always loved its peaceful manner, despite its bloody history.

[Mudclod]

Great images, that was an awesome sunset shot!

[nrspence]

Excellent RR! Pretty country.

[WeazyBuddha]

Great pics and RR, wish I had areas like that to explore in my section of the world...thanks for sharing.

[YT Dave]

Thanks for the RR and nice pictures. Brings back fond memories...

A few years ago a friend and I were on our street bikes, me on a BMW K1200GT and him on an 1600 or 1800 Yamaha cruiser, decided to go to Tucson, from Payson. His GPS (set to shortest route) had us go via the Forest Service Rd 512 from Hwy 260 (Payson-Heber Hwy) down to Young and then towards Tucson on Hwy 288 (Desert to Tall Pines Hwy). We ended up way the hell out in the boonies on our street bikes. Ran into some guys on their 4 wheelers up in the mountains. Apparently they thought they were accomplishing something on their ATV's until these two crazy Canadians showed up in the same place on street bikes. What a laugh. All part of the experience while on the way to Key West, Florida I suppose. Whenever I read about Young, I think about the ride that day. What a hoot. Beautiful country to ride in.

[Pantah]

Nice RR. I made that loop last spring, but I ended up returning by taking the highway to the 60 from Globe.