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Description: |
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Follow the 14th and 32nd Regiment of Infantry
through Reno Pass! On October 10, 1867, troops of Company F, 14th Infantry,
and Company A, 32nd Infantry, left Fort McDowell and set off on a nine
month detail to construct a road through the Mazatzal mountains to Tonto
Basin where they established Camp Reno near Tonto Creek. While Camp
Reno's existence was short-lived, the road constructed through "one
of the roughest [sites] in the Territory," provides us one of the
best off-road trails in the State. Reno Pass Trail, following Forest
Service Roads (FR) 22 & 524, is rated as a 3.0 trail (Moderate Difficulty).
FR 22 is pretty smooth and well-used. Turning onto FR 524, the trail
starts to get rough almost immediately. The lower part of the trail
is rough and rock-sewn trail with a few deep ruts, but nothing difficult.
As the trail works its way up the Mazatzal mountains to Reno Pass, it
becomes a little rougher and much steeper. Good clearance over these
sections is required. There are a couple of rough action sections of
the trail, but both have less difficult bypasses. The trail forks at
Reno Pass, with an overlook trail going to the right. Straight ahead,
the trail drops into Tonto Basin. The first sign is a large rock with
the words "Jeeps Only" painted in large white letters. The
trail down starts out steep, but not difficult, and levels out pretty
quickly. There is one spot on the trail down where a large rock protrudes
out from the mountain and where the trail has washed out slightly. It's
a good idea to hug as close as possible to the rock/mountain and travel
slowly over this section. There is no bypass except down the side of
the mountain. Wide-body vehicles should use great care and caution when
crossing this section. Some groups have used straps to help vehicles
through. The trail at the eastern
end of the Mazatal's can only be described as rough, hard ride for approximately
5 miles, ending at Punkin Center. |
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How to Get There: |