This trail is rated difficult due to two famous (or notorious) obstacles, The Squeeze and Pinyon Dropoff a.k.a. Heart Attack Hill. The Squeeze is known for taking paint off the sides of larger vehicles, but it’s really not an issue for my Willys. I have wider than stock axles, but the body itself is narrow enough that getting through unscathed was easy. Heart Attack hill lives up to its name, as it is very steep and has deep ruts and moguls to navigate. Choose the wrong line and you tip over and have a bad roll over. The Suzuki with us on this run (Steve) came up on two wheels, but our quick thinking spotter (Mikey) grabbed a hold of him and held him in check until he was stabilized.
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| Getting lined up | Decending Heart Attack Hill | Stay off the brakes! |
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The trailhead is off of Highway S-2. We were camped at Ocotillo Wells, so we had about 25 miles of highway driving before we actually hit dirt. That doesn’t sound like much, but in the low geared Willys, well lets just say there was no chance of me getting a speeding ticket.
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| Very steep! | Mikey finds some boulders | The Squeeze can be a tight fit | No problem for Steve's Sami |
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The run is best run from west to east as we did it, so that you are going down Heart Attack Hill instead of up it. Capable vehicles can make it up the hill, that’s not the issue. The problem is that vehicles going up the hill are causing it to become more and more eroded and making it more dangerous. If it gets too dangerous and injuries and deaths start occurring, the trail could be closed. The majority of the trail is fairly flat and not very challenging. After the dropoff it enters Fish Creek Wash and then exits on Split Mountain Road after traversing through the very scenic, you guessed it, Split Mountain.
