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Return from Grand Gulch Mine map.

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The trail below the Savanic Mine is on a narrow ledge hugging the side of the canyon. Turning around would be difficult for an ATV and impossible for a UTV.

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The trail below the Savanic Mine is on a narrow ledge hugging the side of the canyon. Turning around would be difficult for an ATV and impossible for a UTV.

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We found ourselves at the Grand Gulch Mine. It was 4 o’clock in the afternoon and we still had to find our way back. I had complained about the miles to the mine being 90 miles and not the 75 miles Willis had indicated. He called me on it and I checked my GPS again. I had exaggerated the number by 10 miles. It just made me look more whiny.

Not wanting to go back the way we came, the map indicated a short cut that would cut 20 miles off the trip. While that appealed to us, we had no idea what we were in for. As you know, shortcuts are the subjects of movies and books.

Our caravan was made up of three UTVs and five ATVs. The ATVs have a shorter wheel base and the suspension is nowhere near as good. One of the riders had an ATV with no power steering which made for sore shoulders for him.

Shortly after leaving the mine, we came to a dug way that dropped into North Fork Canyon. To be safe, we stopped to take a closer look at this difficult section.

I later learned that this half-mile section is called, “The Staircase.” YouTube features a video called, “The Staircase – Savanic Mine Trail.” Not knowing that at the time, we decided to make the descent.

To be more accurate, the dug way was a series of steep steps littered with big boulders that had to be negotiated. The leader made it down easily while the ATV riders bounced down the half-mile drop with gritted teeth. Making the tumble to the bottom, I noted that everyone had the rubber side down. Whew!

The bottom was where the Savanic Copper Mine was located. It was only in operation a short time between 1906 and 1919, but still, it is one of the many mines that dot the Arizona desert. Several of the riders took a chance to peer down a 200-foot shaft that was still open. Oh, and they might have tossed a rock or two down the hole as boys will.

After a short break, we mounted up and continued our ride. The trail hugged the side of the canyon on a narrow ledge with a steep drop-off to the right that extended over a thousand feet to the bottom.

There were no two ways about this trail. It was a very narrow one-way track – the kind of which nightmares are made. What if we met someone coming the other way or the trail was blocked? It would be nearly impossible to turn around.

Well, to say the least, we had drama. Ken thought he was going to die and his wife Chris refused to look down into the canyon. Back in Mesquite after the ride, Ken called it the Disastrous Grand Gulch Mine Ride.

I thought about the drivers of the horse-drawn wagons that would have hauled ore from the mine. It was probably just another day in the life of a wagon driver.

By the time we got down to the flats, it was dark. We were a caravan of lights working our way among the cactus and Joshua trees. We were passing landmarks but nothing that stood out in the dark.

At this point, I was experiencing my own drama. The desert nights get chilly pretty quick after the sun goes down. I was driving my Ace 570 with ski gloves to keep my hands warm. I had taken my riding gloves off and secured them, but not very well because I lost one somewhere along the trail.

I was bummed about that, but also I was hitting a lot of rocks on the trail. My Ace has 10 inches of ground clearance, but still, I was hitting rocks that I should have been clearing

Finally, we came out of Lyme Kiln Canyon and saw the welcome lights of Mesquite. We loaded up and headed back. It was the end of a very long day.

It wasn’t until we got back to our motel that I realized that my left front tire was almost flat. I was not riding on the rim but I think it was the cause of my hitting so many rocks.

I wouldn’t recommend this trail on a short February day, but if you go, take plenty of water, keep the rubber side down, and have your own adventure in Arizona’s desert.