PHX - China Dam Exploration Ride

5 brave souls joined me in a quest to explore parts unknown around Lake Pleasant northwest of Phoenix.

Ryan - KTM 525



Hans - KTM 450



Gee61 - KTM 690



Ted - Yamaha WR250



Ducati125 - KTM 525

Enroute to our first stop. China Dam.



Approaching from the, once flooded, side.



The steep sides of Humbug Creek make this a perfect spot to construct a dam.



Smaller support dam aside of the China Dam. The other side was completely filled in with sediment.

China Dam was built to support primitive hydraulic mining.

I'm looking forward to seeing the GPS track for this one.

That's cool. I didn't even know that was there. Looking forward to the gps cords as well. I think I saw a couple of you guys at the White horse Saturday.

But wait!! That was just the TIP of the iceberg. I know that we can TOP that. The ride to the dam was easy, and surprisingly close to Cow Creek Road. Now things would get interesting, in a hurry!

We crossed Humbug creek just above the China Dam and followed the "road" upstream. Eventually we climbed out on the east side. Ted.



Gee61



Ducati125

We had a fun little run up to some roads I had been on during the Fort Tule expedition ride.



And we found an easier way back down to Humbug Creek.



Our route followed Humbug Creek upstream for a ways...

Ted



Ryan



Gee61



Ryan



Ducati125

Some of the guys found an easier way out of the creek bed. We were happy to join them!



We were off course, but in the spirit of expedition, we continued on the easier trail to see where it might take us. How about a garage?



And a nice cabin!



Bunk beds.



Avid readers.



Lawn mower.



Truck parking.

Doubling back we found the route out of the creek. I almost wish we hadn't.



It took a little while to get everyone up this hill.





Gee61 was happy to be at the TOP. But, as it would turn out, we were far from the TOP.



Hans' turn.



Ted directs Ducati125 towards the easy line.



Ducati125 celebrates with a wheelie!

We climbed, and climbed, and climbed...




Just when you thought you we getting to the TOP, around the bend there would be MORE!





That's the trail we were trying to get to on the Fort Tule ride some months ago.

Finally TOPped out at 3270 feet. 1200 feet of elevation gain in 2 miles.



Lake Pleasant in the distance. The trail in below.



Trail to the Donkey Ranch.

Donkey Ranch below.



Gee61 descends.



Heading toward the ghost town of TIP TOP. Looking down from the Seventysix mine.



Downtown Tip Top.







Map of Tip Top during it's heyday.

Tons more information on Tip Top.

http://n.j.dushane.home.comcast.net/~n.j.dushane/tiptop/book/tiptopbk.htm

We took a spin up to one of the mine shafts. A destination not easily reached.



Hans on the run up.



The shaft.





The date, 11-14-82 [1882].



The boiler.

Fantastic! Keep it coming.

Another awesome RR NS!

Did you guys explore that road above Ft. Tule, you and I almost looped the bikes out on?

Looks like I missed another great ride

Exploring Tip Top.

Old root cellar.





Not easy to get to.



Another mine shaft.

Well and tank.





Ducati125 was ready to do some hot tubbing.

Terry when you get a chance could you send me the track of the ride. I can ride from my house and do that loop some time. Cheers

Time for the return trip. As the day wears on, the number of pictures I take dramatically decreases. Today was no exception. I didn't take any pictures of the difficult climb on the alternative route back. I did take a few once we hit the main trail.

Descending back to Humbug Creek.



Be respectful crossing private property and keep this route accessible.



Last crossing of Humbug Creek for today.



Be sure to close the gates behind you.

The partaking of frosty libations back at the trucks. Oh boy they were tasty!



Gee61 and I stopped by the Wild Horse Saloon for some burgers. It was PACKED!!



Burgers beware, Gee61 is in the HOUSE!!



The holiday buffalo kept staring me down. You'd better watch your back buddypal!