The Shuttle

A Verde River shuttle has always been a unique adventure unto itself.  Today, the shuttle has become somewhat more difficult.  Why?  When the deal was reached to decommission the Childs Power Plant, Arizona Public Service no longer provided routine maintenance for the winding, knarly road.  Now, that road is falling ever more into a perpetual state of disrepair.  The cash-strapped Forest Service simply won't have the resources to maintain the road.  Yavapai & Gila Counties will probably put some time and money into maintenance of the Camp Verde-Strawberry portion of the road but most certainly won't maintain the spur that leads down to Childs.

With each passing storm, the road surface erodes a little bit more.  Bedrocks become exposed, the surface becomes a bit rougher and periodic washouts are not a matter of  "if," only "when."  Most any vehicle can still make it down to the river at Childs.  Even low clearance vehicles are get there if the driver is cautious and slow and treads carefully through the periodic rock gardens. 

Heavy-laden low clearance vehicles probably wont' fare well driving back out of Childs.  High clearance is becoming a "most have" for the Childs Road.  Four wheel drive is certainly now recommended and is an absolute necessity in wet weather.  We suspect that sometime soon, four wheel drive will be required to get in and out of Childs.  Who knows when that time will come?  It could be this year or it could still be years away.  We'd bet money on it happening sooner rather than later.

We think the road's condition is already a limiting factor in the usage of the Verde River.  Surprisingly, the cost of a shuttle driver is still ridiculously low--$50!  For the time and aggravation of driving this road, that price really ought to be at least $75 and even $100 is not out of the question.  There are a lot of risks involved in driving a vehicle in and out of Childs.  Fifty dollars seems almost free!

One of the biggest risks to the Childs shuttle is now traffic.  The newfound popularity of Fossil Creek has generated a huge influx of vehicles.  Many of the drivers of these vehicles are thrill-seeking young people and it's safe to assume there is a fairly high percentage of impaired drivers as well.  Dexter has seen as many as 300 vehicles in a single day on the Strawberry side of this shuttle.  Who knows how many of them drove in from the Camp Verde side?  Weekends will always be especially treacherous, especially as the weather warms.

On this trip, we traveled out the Strawberry side.  I was once again amazed at how narrow and dangerous this portion of road appears to be.  In most places, two vehicles cannot pass side-by-side.  One vehicle must wait for the other.  Likewise, there are seemingly countless blind curves and ridiculously steep, unprotected dropoffs.  I was really glad to be sitting in a beefy Ford F-350 with airbags!

As is a time-honored archaic custom, some foolish people still continue to be penny-wise and pund foolish by driving their own shuttle.  That means that drop off their gear at Beasley and then caravan vehicles down to Childs, driving one vehicle back out.  It also means they then have to drive all the way back down to Beasley to get that vehicle after their trip is finished.  I'm guessing this process now takes at least 3 hours and probably more like four hours.  Is it worth the cost savings?  No way!  How often do people get to boat the Verde?  Danged few times!  What's a few extra bucks per person to pay for shuttle driver?  Chump change. 

I have to quietly chuckle at people who subject themselves to such abuse by driving their own shuttles.  It's such a waste of time.

My advice to anyone planning a Verde River trip:

1) Make certain you have appropriate vehicles. 
2) Double check your spare tire and jacking equipment.
3) Hire a shuttle driver--preferably one who knows the road.
4) Don't overload your vehicle at the take out!
5) Don't go if the road is wet.
6) Expect a long, slow drive out.
7) Allow extra time for the unforeseen.