It's sixty-one miles of dirt road between Arizona Highway 389 and the the Tuckup trailhead. About half way along we encountered the MUD from the melting snow. After a little slipping and sliding, we decided to hole up nearby, camp out on the desert for the night, and try again in the morning. There was no way we'd make it over 25 miles of deep mud in our little Honda. Just as the sun was setting over Mount Trumbull, a couple of pickup trucks came rumbling along. Yikes! They had high clearance, giant tires, and were completely covered from tire to windshield in a muddy mess.
It was 23 degrees when we emerged from the tent shortly before sunrise the next day. Threw everything in the car and did the next hour and a half driving over the frozen mud, yay! Then we backpacked out a ways along the rim, and ended up making a base camp, only a stone's throw from where Liza is standing over the abyss. At 2500 feet directly above the river, it was a bit like standing on the roof of a two hundred and fifty story building without a handrail. Very exciting spot! We watched the tiny specks of rafters floating below one afternoon.
