Western Trails Wilderness Camping

• Forest Meadows Chevron Flagstaff (357 W Forest Meadows St, Flagstaff, AZ 86001).
• Time: 12:30 pm (Arizona Time)
• GPS Rally Point Coordinate: 35.17853, -111.66262
• Gaia GPX Maps: https://www.gaiagps.com/map/?loc=9.1/-111.9525/34.9664&pubLink=Byqjy6eiHhWhS80g2UJhrjYz&folderId=746573ff-c1aa-420c-8a23-2ddc9b22c39f
• OnXOffroad GPX Maps: https://webmap.onxmaps.com/offroad/share/content?share_id=01JRRY3YPZGDCSE9W8ZQ9JT231
• Total Miles: 222 miles

Trails and Rating:

• Outlaw Trail (Partial): Moderate (3/10) Mild Off Camber.

• Schnebly Hills Trail: Moderate (3/10), Mild Off Camber and Narrow Shelf Road.

• Woody Mountain Road: Easy (1/10), Dirt and/or rocky road.

• Fry Canyon Trail: Easy (1/10), Dirt and/or rocky road.

• FR 535: Easy (1/10), Dirt and/or rocky road.

• Loy Butte Road: Easy (1/10), Dirt and/or rocky road. Packed dirt and gravel road with no obstacles

• Sycamore Pass Road: Easy (1/10), Dirt and/or rocky road.

• Boynton Pass Road: Easy (1/10), Dirt and/or rocky road.

• Jerome-Perkinsville Road: Easy (1/10),Dirt and/or rocky road. Narrow shelf road part of the way.

• Henderson Road: (2/10), rocky road, some off camber

Day 1: Rally Point to Edge of the World
Our journey begins as we depart from the rally point, venturing down Woody Mountain Road (FR 231), a scenic 25-mile dirt and gravel trail winding through the heart of the Coconino National Forest. This rugged yet rewarding route leads us to our first night’s destination, the legendary "Edge of the World."

Trail Overview and Highlights:
While accessible year-round, the road can present muddy stretches, deep puddles, and occasional wash boarding, especially after rain or snow. Expect dust, ruts, and some uneven terrain, but every mile brings us closer to an unforgettable experience.
Once we reach the Edge of the World, we’ll set up camp and settle in for a night beneath a sky bursting with stars, fireside camaraderie, and sweeping views that stretch beyond imagination. This is what adventure is all about!

1st Night Camp: Edge of the World (34.98093, -111.82701)

Day 2: Edge of the World to Schnebly Hills to Camp:
After a breathtaking night at Edge of the World, we break camp and continue our journey deeper into Arizona’s diverse and rugged landscapes. Today’s route takes us along Fry Lake Trail heading towards Hwy 17, we’ll “Air Up” here before taking Hwy 17 down towards the legendary Schnebly Hill Road, offering some of the most iconic views of Sedona before reaching our next dispersed camp. We’ll also “Air Down” before we start the Schnebly Hills Trail and “Air Up” at the end of the trail.

Trail Overview and Highlights:
As we leave “Edge of the World area, we’ll connect to Fry Lake Trail and FR 535, a scenic route known for its lush summer meadows, wildflowers, and free-range cattle. The trail features deep ruts, large mud puddles, and some rocky sections. After Fry Lake and FR 535, we’ll hop onto Highway 17 for a short, 30-minute paved drive south, setting us up for the next off-road challenge: Schnebly Hill Road.
Schnebly Hill Trail (A Must-Do Off-Road Experience), This historic and rugged 11-mile trail is one of Sedona’s most famous off-road routes, offering breathtaking overlooks, towering red rock formations, and deep canyons carved by millions of years of erosion. The upper portion of the trail is hard-packed dirt and relatively smooth. The middle section becomes progressively rockier, with loose stones and uneven terrain. The final descent into Sedona drops 1,800 feet via switchbacks, offering spectacular views but requiring careful navigation over rocky ledges and exposed boulders. (If you have a Jeep, I encourage you to download the “Jeep Badge of Honor” app and check in with that app to get your Schnebly Hills hard badge to put on your Jeep.)

Gas Opportunity: After Schnebly Hills, there is an opportunity to gas up at (34.9409, -111.6544) Munds Park Gas Mini Mart LLC (Chevron)

2nd Night Camp:
After descending Schnebly Hill Road, we’ll head south past Sedona and into the surrounding backcountry for our next dispersed camping spot.
GPX Camp Coordinates: 34.69548, -111.71881

Day 3: Exploring Robbers Roost, Outlaw Trail & Ancient Cliff Dwellings:
After a restful night near the Dispersed Camping Area, we embark on an exciting day of exploration, history, and adventure. Our journey takes us through hidden bandit hideouts, off-road trails, and ancient ruins, before climbing several thousand feet past mines and ghost towns towards Perkinsville Bridge and finally reaching our camp.

Trail Overview and Highlights:
Our first stop is Red Rock Outlook, where you’ll have the opportunity for great rig photos with Sedona Rocks in the background. After that we’ll we reach Honanki, an archaeological site featuring well-preserved cliff dwellings built nearly 1,000 years ago by the Sinagua people. We’ll make a quick stop here for anyone what wants to explore the Honanki Site. It’s about a 30 minute or so loop short trail where you can experience these dwellings provide a fascinating look into the history of early desert civilizations and their connection to this rugged landscape.
Honanki Site is a fee site:
Red Rock Pass or America the Beautiful Pass required on all vehicles parked at our cultural sites. Daily and Weekly Red Rock Passes can be purchased at this site from the self-serve vending machine. You can also get the beforehand at https://www.recreation.gov/sitepass/74387. The daily pass is $5.00.
After Honanki Site we’ll take the Outlaw Trail, which is the second toughest trail on this trip. We’ll have some off-camber areas, small staircases, and ruts. It’s nothing we haven’t tackled before. If we are making good timing, we’ll head towards Robbers Roost. There is a short hike to the cave rewards us with breathtaking panoramic views of Sedona’s rugged red rock formations and vast canyons. After departing Robbers Roost, it’s an easy dirt road towards HWY 89A, before getting on the highway we’ll “Air Up.”
We’ll travel a few miles on HWY 89A before making our last gas stop before fuel up opportunity in Williams on Sunday. After the gas stop, we’ll make our way towards Jerome, through the ghost town and mines. The climb is epic and its shelf road a 1/3 of the way toward camp. We’ll climb several thousand feet before we cross the Perkinsville Bridge. After the bridge it’s a short drive to camp.

3rd Night Camp: Dispersed Campsite: 34.93665, -112.1784

Day 4: Sycamore Point
Today’s route takes us along FR 71 and then towards S Perkinsville Road. We’ll take Perkinsville Road for several miles towards Sycamore Point Turnoff. For those who want to get a head start home, Perkinsville Road will take you to Williams and FWY 40. Sycamore is an easy out and back trail offering one of the most beautiful views of the canyon. It’s a great way to end the trip.

Full GPX Map: https://www.gaiagps.com/public/Dx7X3EcojgQ3FUlRpQL8kwMI/?embed=True - Waypoints coming soon
Full distance: 160-miles / Plenty of gas opportunities along the way

Fair Warning: Parts of this trail are on the more-challenging-side for our crew. Not "necessarily" dangerous, but there's a pretty significant rocky section, with some bowling ball, and a few breadbox-sized rocks, that we'll take slowly and get thru. There’s also a very steep climb out of Papoose Flat, and I'm not joking about it being very steep. About 20-degrees that goes on for a while. The remaining 95%, or so, of the run is more typical of our normal trails.

Day-1, We'll leave Lone Pine, and get a quick jump-off thru the legendary Alabama Hills. The home of a million Western Movies, a favorite place for flyover scrapes by fighter jets, and the best possible, unobstructed valley view of Mt. Whitney. From there, we’ll head west on a beautiful double track trail, with lots of small rocks, until we’re pressed up tight against the base of the mighty Sierra. Back out thru independence, and across HWY395. From there we CLIMB and CLIMB to our Night-1 campsite at 8,500' ele, and a darn nice look at the Sierra range.

Day-2: We'll climb further to Mazourka Peak, at 9,400' ele. When you arrive at radio the towers, you’ll know that you're on the top of the world to enjoy the MOST spectacularly full view of the Sierra. From there, we'll head over to a challenging, rocky section, that will test us. Then, out from there onto Papoose Flat. At almost 10K’ ele, Papoose is very similar to Coyote Flat, (East, above Bishop. We'll get back up to Coyote again in 26'). With Papoose behind us, we'll leave the White's, by way of that very steep section that I’d mentioned above, and then we’ll roll blacktop to Big Pine, and up to Bishop. We'll gas-up, if needed, in Bishop, and then take a fast, flat trail to our Night-2 Campsite. This will be a LONG, FUN day.

Day-3: We'll roll down a fun, grassy double track to the beach on Owens Lake. A great photo op. Fer sure, pack your swimsuit and towel! For those who choose, there's a very nice cool-springs up the road. A refreshing dip, as air temps, there could still be quite warm. There’s a large pool and a small pool, tucked away in a nice grassy spot. A perfect place to relax, and maybe to quietly scrub-a-dub, after a few days on the trail. It’s not quite a “hidden-secret”, but it's pretty close. Mammoth is nearby too, if you'd prefer to grab a bite there, or to see the town. The Dead Man's Peak Trail, above Mammoth, is a short fun trail, with a pano-view of the backcountry, and the 14k’+ ele of Banner and Ridder peaks.

In short, we're going to pack a lot into a one weekend. This being a 3-day run, I chose to run Saturday thru Monday, because traffic to-and-from is a LOT easier on those days. I hope to see a bunch of us on this one. The Seirra is EPIC!

Now for the fine print: We’re a camping outfit. We don’t go looking for risky trails, or dangerous situations, but we all sign up knowing that there are some risks in going off road. On occasion, our rigs, and even our members and their guests could get banged up while we’re out there.

By voluntarily signing up and participating in this event, you agree to release and discharge in advance, Mark Dupray and Sam Underwood, and any other organizers or event hosts, from any and all liability. This liability waiver includes but is not limited to illness, injury, death, damage, and loss to yourself, your guests, or any of your personal property. You are responsible for your own safety, and you assume all risks that may result from your participation in this event. Nuf said.

Please feel free to call or text me anytime about any questions that you'd have about this run at: 951-316-5506

On the Rocks, - WT Mark