Casner Mountain Trail

The road and trail are in good shape. Easier going down than up. It gets hot as you move south from Flagstaff toward Sedona. This trail is remote, so drive in a group.

What a great way to spend a Father’s Day! We had a group of 9 vehicles, and a good mix at that. Several Wanglers, some Tacoma’s, and an FJ or two. No one had any issues, many were bone stock. Personally, my Jeep JL Rubicon is currently on stock suspension and tires, and had no problems. We ran the trail south the north, so minimal downhill action. The views are stunning to say the least, and the temperatures dropped noticeably as we climbed, a welcome break from the 105 we had in Phoenix. Loads of camping spots up top, a few ponds, lots of shade. A perfect day.

To say that Casner is stunning really is an understatement. We made the trek from the north gate to the south gate in the morning, had lunch at Robber's Roost, then back tracked from the south gate to the north gate. It was a cloudy day, with intermittent rain. Making the trip south bound, in the rain and going mostly down hill, was fun and generally safe. However, this trail should not be attempted in the rain when going north bound. The mud sticks can stick to you tires, making your tires as slick as snot. There are several shelfs on the trail, carrying from 6 inches to 12 inches, which aren't a big deal when going down, but that can make it especially dangerous when going up. In these areas, you have about 3-4 feet of "wiggle room" before a tire might catch the edge of the cliff. Don't make this trek with the slick tires as we did. While most of the mud will clear before these spots, you will find the trail considerably more challenging than when it is dry.

Casner Mountain is a wonderful trail. It starts out in Cottonwood AZ and climbs up between amazing red rock canyon walls to a powerline switchback road that seems unclimbable from the bottom, but actually turns out to be quite easy. In fact, it appeared as the road surface had recently seen service. The first challenge though is the permit you had to acquire to do this road has the code to the lock on the first gate. A stout affair requiring to adults to operate once unlocked. No Code, no Casner Mt trail. After climbing up onto the ridge, you ride the knife edge of the mountain with spectacular views out the passenger and driver windows with views of significant dropoffs on either side. There are parts that are about 2 x the vehicle width from each side to drop off. Once into the pine tree line, the road flattens out, still weaving through the power poles and the biggest obstacle becomes mud puddles. There is a second gate, right at the tree line that will have to be unlocked and brutally opened as it must weigh 300 lbs of steel pipe welded into an imposing structure. Once past the #2 gate, the going get's considerably easier through the forest. I lost count of how many good camp spots there were along the roadway. Evidence of the slide fire was encountered as we crested the plateau over Oak creek Canyon. As the road continued into the forest, more and more large groups of campers were encountered (In one spot there were at least 30). I found it odd that the families didn't spread out along the road so that it wasn't as crowded. A final descent through the forest dropped us onto 89A with the switchbacks down into Oak Creek Canyon. Be warned though, on a Saturday afternoon, the traffic was heinous into Sedona. I headed up Schnebly hill rd and camped up on top. Lots of nice dispersed stuff up there on to as well. No tent, no trailer, only the stars for a roof as I slept in my hammock. It was glorious.

Knowing I needed company to satisfy the permit requirements, I decided to [make an event](http://www.meetup.com/trailsoffroad-com-Crew-and-Fan-Meetup-Arizona/photos/27144076/) of this. I ended up with nine vehicles, and about twenty people showing up for this awesome adventure. We started out at the [Pick-N-Run Shell Station in Kachina Village] Exit 333 off I-17- to fuel up, talk about what to expect, what channel to communicate on, and hand out some swag I had collected form a few vendors and clubs, including: * [Bivouac Camping Trailers](http://moabaz.com/) * [Restop](http://restop.com/) * [The Thrive in Life Book](http://thethriveinlifebook.com) * National Forest maps and information on the trails * Someone from [The Jeep Mafia](http://www.thejeepmafia.com/) was also there and added to the pile. We had four FJ Cruisers who were all a part of the [AZFJ Non-club](http://azfj.org), three Jeeps, and two Land Cruisers. Somehow we all managed to get along just fine. We started out on some well grated dirt roads that took us along FR 237 through Fry Canyon on our way to 89A. We then headed up some mild switchbacks along FR 535 to get up into the forest just north of the Mogollon Rim. We stopped at Fry Lake along FR 536, which was more like an marsh full of cows and beautiful yellow flowers. We then hooked up with [FR 231](http://www.trailsoffroad.com/trails/1930-east-pocket-road) (also known as Woody Mountain Rd. to the north, and East Pocket Road to the south), which took us to FR 231B. This was a truly rocky road that eventually hooked us up with 538D, and onto 538. This took us south along [Jerome Road](http://www.trailsoffroad.com/trails/1948-jerome-road) that eventually hooked up with Casner Mountain Trail. Figuring out how to unlock the gate was a little confusing at first, as the lock was hard to open, and then we had to figure out that the chain also made it's way through a tongue inside the metal cylinder that keep the gate closed. Once we got it figured out, we headed through, locked it behind us, and where on our way up the mountain. The views on the way up were nice, but it wasn't until after we had found a nice place to stop for lunch that we truly learned the real beauty of this off-road trail. Both Sycamore Canyon and Secret Mountain are full of beautiful red-rock landscapes and awe inspiring views. Seeing them from on top of Casner Mountain made them even more spectacular. Even the four wheeling got more exciting the further south we went. While none of it ever got too technical it still had some exciting moments and we drive along the top ridge of the mountain, and eventually down some steep sharp switchbacks. Both of these offered even more incredible views of the valleys below. Finally, a few of us heading onto Greasy Spoon afterwords for some more challenging off-road driving. I would definitely recommend anyone who enjoys off-road trails for their ability to see things most other people never do, you have to come to Sedona, Arizona at some point in your lifetime. While your there do everything you can to get a permit, or go along with someone who can, to take this amazing off-road trail.