Telegraph Line Trail (MT-42)
Details
**** NOTICE: INDIVIDUAL PERMITS ARE REQUIRED ****
Click the link below to purchase a TNF OHV Permit, which is required to use this St. Clair Area of the TNF. This permit also allows access to:
· The Rolls,
· Bulldog Canyon, and
· Desert Vista areas.
Permit options are available for 3-day, 6-month, and annual. My understanding is that these permits are only available for purchase online.
Tonto National Forest OHV Permit
This spectacular route reportedly follows a portion of a telegraph line alignment between Fort McDowell and Fort Whipple (Prescott) constructed in the 1880s. In fact, you will see many telegraph line pole stumps along this trail. This area was closed to traffic in May of 2005 due to a wildfire and subsequent erosion, and re-opened recently after countless volunteer hours repairing the trail by the Tonto Recreation Alliance (TRAL).
This trail is generally rated as difficult, and tests the articulation limits of your vehicle. In our opinion this trail should be rated a 3 or 4 out of 10 for difficulty. Driver skill and line choice are important for this trail. There are short, very steep inclines both up and down, and one rock obstacle that has an optional bypass.
There are spectacular views of the Mazatzal Mountains, Bartlett Lake, and Horseshoe Reservoir. This is a roughly 13-mile long one-way only trail from south to north. The trailhead is located on N Bartlett Dam Road (aka Service Road 459) and ends on N Horseshoe Dam Road (aka Service Road 205).
As usual, bring along appropriate survival and extraction equipment and supplies: water for you, passengers & vehicle; tools & recovery gear; clothing & footwear suitable for walking about in the desert; lunch & snacks; and, items for your comfort such as chairs, shade, hats & sun protection. We encourage people to take photos of the day and upload them to this site for the group to see.
**** NOTICE: INDIVIDUAL PERMITS ARE REQUIRED ****
See the first paragraph above for more information.
The PEV4x4 club uses the following for communication:
GMRS channel 16 (462.575 MHz) with a DCS privacy code of 16, and
HAM radio simplex frequency 147.520
For additional general information refer to the Group's Handbook:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iuxOWpe93iPkEVpH1ZX_z30ATkhRB8oyHY1kU4dsQdQ/edit?usp=sharing
For those who may be interested, we will meet for breakfast at the First Watch restaurant in the Terravita Marketplace plaza at 7:15 AM. This is optional.