Welcome to Paul's
 Jeep pages

As this comes together, what should happen is that this page will be an introduction to my return to the fun of off-road travel -- at least I'm hoping it will be fun -- some descriptions and pictures of some of the trails I've found and places visited.  

The saga of the '94 Grand Cherokee

After many years of being 4X4-less, I was sitting in a friend's living room last winter, scanning one of his 4x4 mags.  John has a Land Rover, the 88" w/b lightweight model built originally as a NATO vehicle.  Kinda sorta a big "Jeep," for military use.  I'd been out on the trail with him several times, either just futzing around or going out to find some shootin' spots.

The bug bit.  Perhaps it would be more accurate to say the bug returned, as we'd owned other Jeeps, and hung out and wheeled with others of like mind.  Or lack of same...

I started looking around for a "Jeep."  I thought I wanted a "real" Jeep, either what is now the Wrangler ("TJ") or an older CJ5.  After talking with some owners and looking at what was available for an amount I was willing to spend I came to decide that the Cherokee would best serve my purpose.  A bit more cargo capacity, more secure and comfort -- hey, I'm gettin' old...

It happened that I stumbled on a Grand Cherokee my neighbor had for sale.  I ran it around the neighborhood, we came to an agreement on price, and I owned a Jeep, once again.  

The Cherokee looked and acted dern near perfect.  I didn't dig below the surface.  I was lulled...

Note to prospective used-car buyers: just because the seller is your neighbor, and just because the other neighbors tell you he's a wiz of a mechanic, it's still a good idea to either do a thorough mechanical check, or have a qualified mechanic do so for you.

You'll save money in the long run.

Spring, '03 Sycamore Canyon, AZ

The first trip to the outback was fairly tame, we did some stream-fording, boulder crawling and put the low range feature to use.  Also added a bit of Arizona pin striping.  I scraped some of the new off.  This Jeep which the previous owner was so proud of never having been off the road...well, we started taking care of that...

This trip gave a hint of what the Cherokee was capable off road. Onliest thing that broke was the cruise control.  I was still pleased...

Didn't get out much for a while after that first trip in the spring, what with being on vacation over the summer, and most of our off-road travel was limited because we were pretty much in the northern (cooler) part of the state, where we'd used the pickup to haul the trailer.  

Over the summer during the times we were in town, the Jeep was used pretty much as the grocery getter, and for my running out to the range and such.  This is also when it started acting up.  Or I should say really started acting up.

I'd done a bit of replacing not too long after putting it on the road, but mostly fairly minor stuff.  A bit of air conditioning repair, battery, alternator, some cables.  I found that the dealer thinks battery cables for a Cherokee are worth over $200.  I laughed.  Local battery supplier that's been serving me very well for the last 9 years made up a new cable harness for about $80. And no, NAPA doesn't catalog battery cables for a '94 Cherokee: dealer item!  $80 is much better than $240, but...

Boy, wires for Chrysler products must be some special...

Anyway, the issues piled up.  So when wife and I went off in October for a week's goofing off, we left the Jeep with Robert and Marc.  Transmission rebuild, transfer case rebuild, new axle, new rear wheel bearings, rotors and pads, several gaskets and seals in the engine, water pump, reseal the air conditioner compressor and some minor odds'n'ends...we're about sneaking up on having a brand new 1994 Grand Cherokee...

Got the beast back, I was ready to get off-roading once again.

October 2003 Tonto NF, east of Apache Junction, AZ

The area of the Tonto national forest east of the Phoenix metro area has several trails that get up into the southern terminus of the Superstition mountains.  Most are pretty easy, but with some spots that get a bit gnarly.  John and I got out for a good day of off-roading.  I was very pleased with the Jeep's performance.  A number of the nastier hills on which John had to lock both differentials to climb the Jeep just crawled up with a minimum of fuss.  Couple of spots where we stopped to walk ahead to scope out the trail were actually steep enough that it was hard to walk, what with the loose rock, but the Jeep conquered whatever it encountered.

I'm increasingly pleased.  And impressed.

6 December 2003 White tank mountains, west of Phoenix, AZ

John and I had planned a trip to somewhere, but he had things that needed to be done, so he couldn't come out and play today.  I decided that I'd take a bit of a ride and explore a bit.  There are some rather interesting trails in the southern part of the White Tank mountains, but I didn't intend to get into anything hairy, since I was alone.  Did a bit of tooling around, and found a spot that stopped the Jeep.  

Today, anyway.

The climb out of a wash the trail I was on was such that the only line I could take had one front wheel in a area of soft sand where I got no traction, and one back wheel hanging in space about a foot off the ground.  If I tried to get to the right of the sand the Jeep slid sideways, there was no room to the left, as the body was up against the side of the wash.  I could have gotten through, but it would have taken letting air out of the tires and hauling out the shovel to rearrange rocks and dirt.  I just didn't feel like working that hard today, so I sat back, had lunch and looked at the gorgeous day we were experiencing.

One good thing did come out of getting sorta stuck.  The previous owner had put a pretty decent set of tires on the car, if a person were going to keep it on the road.  I'd been thinking that changing over to LT's with their stouter construction was something that was going to likely happen in the not-too-distant future.  I figured that pretty quick, with the rocky trails I've been running, I'd chew up a sidewall.

Yep.  I was right.

So I shortened up my day in the desert, drifted back to town and hit Discount Tire.  We'll see if the new Michelins help the off-roading any.  Even if they don't, I sprang for the extra warrantee: if I mangle a tire they'll replace it at no charge, other than the mount and balance.  I may get a chance to take 'em at their word, some of the places I intend to get to.

I promise to get some film for the camera before the next trip.

7 March 2004 White tank mountains, west of Phoenix, AZ

Well, I did get some film.  But neither of us took a camera this morning when I (finally) got back to the trail, so there are no pictures.  Which is kind of a shame, as today was a picture-perfect Arizona spring day.  Low 80's, blue sky with not a cloud. 

I haven't managed an off-road trip since the ride I wrote about above in December.  I went out this mornng, taking John with me, with the express intent of getting past the spot where I'd been hung up last trip.  Wanted to find out if the tires would make a difference.  I couldn't really tell if they did, as the wash that stopped me last time was hardly an issue.  In the intervening months, there's been some rain, and I suspect there has been some sand deposited, or possibly other runners have beaten the rocks deaper into the ground....or something.  In any event, "the spot" hardly slowed the Jeep.

We crossed the wash and continued along the trail.  Found some very pretty back country.  A few spots where it required a careful line, some minor boulder-climbing, and a few fairly steep hills, but nothing to get excited or concerned about.  We wheeled through some pretty desert, and ran out of time, as John had to get back to his side of the valley 'long about mid-afternoon.

All in all, a pleasant, if short, lttle ride.

Next time, we'll be taking both cars, and will get farther back.  The White Tanks don't appear to be much in the way of "mountain," but once you get back in there, there's a lot of there, there.  Hopefully a few pictures will be taken, along the way...

Insert standard "Under Construction" disclaimer here -- if I ever get tuit.

Major Update: January 2005:
This whole 4X4ing thing appears now to be on hold, hopefully a temporary state of affairs. 

Sold the Jeep.  We're selling the house and going off to live full-time in the RV.  We'll be traveling, seeing parts of the country we've either not been to or want to spend some time exploring while casually looking for an eventual home base.  It doesn't seem to make a whole bunch of sense to have three vehicles (not including the RV) for two adults.

So, it makes sense from a purely practical perspective to divest ourselves of some of the "stuff" we've accumulated over the years, including excess vehicles.  I hate being a grown-up, or trying to act like one...

I miss my Jeep.  There will be another, as soon as it makes a bit of sense.  Stay tuned...

Minor Update: October 2005

John's Volvo
Volvo, Pt II
Martinez Canyon, AZ

Future trips

Links & Resources

Wide world of maps http://www.maps4u.com/
Backcountry adventures: Arizona

Clubs