In this episode of Jailbreak Overlander, the host, Richie, explores Arizona’s off-road trails and discovers a secluded ghost town train station in the desert. He also encounters local wildlife, explores antique items left behind, and learns about the town’s history. The adventure continues with a challenging hike to Native American cliff dwellings, despite initial struggles with the steep terrain. The episode concludes with Richie’s awe at the historical and natural beauty he’s discovered.
The narrator recounts his challenging journey to the Sycamore Canyon Cliff Dwelling in Arizona, a historical site built by ancient tribes for protection. Despite the dangerous terrain filled with sharp rocks and cacti, he is amazed by the well-constructed dwellings and the determination of the people who built them. He returns the next day with drones to capture footage, despite technical difficulties and the risk of falling. The narrator admires the resilience and skill of the ancient tribes, despite the harsh conditions and the site’s remote location.
The author spent a day in a surreal, moon-like setting, which was both amazing and dangerous. Despite the risk of falling and getting hurt by cacti, they managed to safely return from the adventure. This experience led to the creation of what they consider their scariest YouTube video. They encourage viewers to like, share, subscribe, and comment on their video.

Welcome back to another episode of Jailbreak Overlander. I’m Richie and this is Jailbreak. And in this week’s episode I’m in Arizona. I’m with some locals and they tell me hey, let’s take a long off road ride and we’ll show you a ghost town train station out in the middle of nowhere. Well, I can’t say no. I’m all about it. Broke open safes, skulls, trains, I’m there. We’re out there checking the place out and it’s phenomenal. It’s in the middle of nowhere, it’s secluded, it’s history, everything I love all wrapped into one thing. And they said hey, can you handle a 1 mile hike? And I said hell yeah.

They said let’s go check out some cliff dwellings. And I was all about it. This is the first time making a video. I literally thought I was going to die. So you’re going to want to sit back, relax and check this out. Foreign so for most people that have never been to Arizona, this is what they think Arizona is. Long, dusty trails, people sitting around shooting at old tin cans. And in case you’ve never been here, this is something you will see if you go looking. Javelinas. Are they a rodent or are they a pig? Well, they’ve got tusks, they’ve got hooves and they’ve got snouts and they’re mean.

But I still had to go find them without a weapon and get them on video. So I did. There you go, you’re welcome. At any rate, on to the train station. So after about an hour of driving off road, we found this valley with nobody around and right through the center of the valley ran train track and there was a train station, some abandoned buildings, some cattle corrals, etc, but it wasn’t entirely abandoned we discovered it just looked that way. It was like a piece of history sitting in the middle of the desert where you get to go look around and make up your own story.

And we kind of did that. Outside you found things like you might find at a junkyard but incredibly well preserved because of the desert climate. And and then at the actual train station was safes sitting outside that had been cracked. I couldn’t help but wonder if it was by an old time western bandito or a modern day burglar. Tough to tell but I have a history in opening safes for fun and profit when I was younger so I was very interested. Also some of the decorations like this with the bird nest in it absolutely drew my eye.

We went inside the Building because it wasn’t locked. And we found a mishmash of really old antique things and some fairly new things like the stable fuel stabilizer, letting me know that somebody still did indeed use this. This is in the town of Perkinsville. Perkinsville is named for a.m. perkins, who established a cattle ranch here in 1900. In 1912, the Short Line, financed by William A. Clark to service his copper smelter in Clarksdale and his copper mine in Jerome, opened a station in Perkinsville. The railroad buildings included a depot, water tower and the station’s master’s house.

Nearby were a limestone quarry and kiln for producing lime. Briefly, in the early 20th century, Perkinsville supported an estimated 10 to 12 families. It had a small school, general store, section house, and a post office. The smelter closure in the early 1500s eliminated the need for the quarry and the kiln. And the advent of the diesel locomotives eliminated the need for the Perkinsville water stopped. The hamlet soon became a ghost town. It was used in the 1960s film as a location for how the west was won. The buildings left unlocked and there seems to be no vandalism.

And it’s strange because it’s like walking through a history museum. Everything was just left here with a few telltale hints of somebody’s been in this building doing maintenance or something, I don’t know, because there were newer items that weren’t from the 1950s or earlier. But again, it was a really cool piece of Americana that most people won’t see because it was not easy to get to whatsoever at all. Everything about this place fascinated me, from the wooden sewage lines that ran under the train track. And yes, I was laying on my stomach trying to get this footage.

I just find this kind of stuff fascinating. The history of our country should be known by all and not just by what the books say. Not only were there things like this, but in this ghost town, there were things like this just sitting here. And it’s amazing how it stood up to the test of time. Arizona is very kind to metal, antique things. Look at that patina. Every place you looked there was just history. And I love that kind of stuff, and I’m guessing you guys do too. But the guys that I was with and the young lady we were with asked me if I could do a mile hike.

And if I could, they were going to take me on a long, long off road trip to a place where there were cliff dwellings, Native American cliff dwellings. And I said, a mile long, of course I can, no problem. So we hit the road and we Traveled for a long time and after a good hour of driving, we finally made it to the location. Now, they told me this was a mile long hike, but they neglected to mention it was a mile straight up. And the terrain where we were going was indeed a mile or so hike, but it was a mile straight up this mountain and the dwellings were on the other side.

I didn’t know that. I didn’t think much of it. But after starting the walk and this was the path, for whatever reason, I could not catch my breath to the point where I started panicking a bit because I had never felt this way before and thought I was having a heart attack. Now, for those of you that follow my channel and know me, you know this is what I do. But on this particular day, I don’t know if it’s because I’ve been driving so much over the last year, or was it inhaling the dust from the two vehicles in front of me.

For the last couple of hours I could not catch my breath like I’ve never been able to in my entire life. And my head started throbbing to the point where I stopped on the trail and said a prayer in earnest because I could not believe this is how I was going to die. It wouldn’t be from a water moccasin or wouldn’t be falling off a cliff in my truck, or it wouldn’t be getting eaten by an alligator or a javelina. It would simply be being too old, tipping over on the trail and dying. Well, it turns out I was able to carry on and I did get to the top of the mountain with, with the other people, but I felt like the oldest guy in the world.

Yes, that was me breathing and having a very difficult time. But when I finally arrived to the top, this was the stone sitting up there and everybody was waiting for me. And I thought this is what they brought me to see. Volcanic rock. We’re at the top of a mountain, looking down on all the other mountains and it was very cool, it was awe inspiring and as epic, amazing and magnificent. Yes, all those three things as it was, I thought this was the destination. But little did I know we were going to have to climb down an incredibly precarious goat trail to get to these cliff dwellings.

This was not the end of the ride. Not yet. Now bear in mind, 10 minutes earlier I was praying that I didn’t die in an embarrassing fashion. Now I have to climb down a very slim goat trail carrying my cameras. Perfect. Now again, if you follow this channel, you know that not very many things scare Me, have you ever been to a football game and been at the very top bleachers and when you stand up, you’re afraid you’re going to fall down into the others below you? Well, this made it look like nothing. And if you did by chance lose your footing, you were greeted on the way down by every variation of cactus available in large volcanic rocks.

And this is zero exaggeration whatsoever at all. Like I mentioned previously, and it sort of goes without saying, the scenery was unbelievable. And not very many people have seen this. Imagine living, living up here at this height on such a sheer drop down. Here’s the path itself. It is as wide as my two shoes. And then that is it. If you happen to trip over the rocks that seem to have always found to be right under your foot, if you walked, a rock would roll under your foot. But all of it was worth it. When I finally made my way to the actual cliff dwellings, that’s the trail and it goes straight down.

So when I had the thought that perhaps I was going to perish on the trail, walking up this one totally blew me away. It is worse than it looks right here. And again, if you happen to slip or fall, there’s nothing to grab onto except razor sharp volcanic rock. And again, every variation of cacti and thorn God created. That’s the trail right there. And I’m carrying things in both of my hands. What could possibly go wrong? Now, bear in mind, whoever built these dwellings was obviously trying to keep themselves safe from, from either manifest Destiny, other tribes or whatever.

It’s tough to tell, but this is an amazing place. And the intestinal fortitude of the people that built this, that carried every one of these stones up this incredibly precarious climb is amazing and seems to be something we’ve lost over the years. Now, I’m not making excuses, but I got at least 10 years on everybody in this video and they all live in Arizona at 4 to 6,000ft. And I live at exactly sea level on the Atlantic Ocean. But this story isn’t over yet. So stick with me till the end, because not only did this almost kill me, I had to come back on my own the following day because I neglected to bring my drones.

And if I’m going to risk my life to make a video like this, there’s no way I’m not getting drone footage. So stick with me till the end. Or don’t. Now, this place is called the Sycamore Canyon Cliff Dwelling. There are several places called Sycamore Canyon or Sycamore Creek in Arizona. This ruin is located in the Sycamore Canyon Wilderness north of Clarkdale and west of the Red Rock Secret Mountain Wilderness near Sedona. The trailhead into the wilderness is located where Sycamore Creek and its canyon joined the Verde river halfway between Clarkdale and Perkinsville. This was singular territory.

There are singuarian ruins in Sedona and Flagstaff, as well as major pueblos all along the Verde river as far south as what is now Horseshoe Reservoir, just north of Phoenix. Being someone that’s built many homes in my lifetime, looking at the construction of this and the location was astounding because these walls were stacked about 2 foot thick and they were incredibly well constructed and they’ve stood the test of time. And as you can see, they’re directly on the cliff face. It’s almost a sheer drop except for the slight trail, a goat trail to get there. So these people could see attackers or whatever, weather, anything coming from a long distance away.

And if I had to guess, I’d say about 20 to 40 people lived in this particular cliff dwelling. The only problem is, the entire time I’m looking at this, I keep thinking I need to have my drones in order to give people a perspective of what this looks like. So I did return the following day, but this footage is still from day one because I got a lot of footage looking at the construction. And the way this is held up is amazing. Apparently somebody from the Park Service or something like that has come through at one point and put a couple of metal columns in to try to preserve this.

And that makes sense, but otherwise you’re looking at the construction that they use to protect themselves from invaders, predators, weather, etc. And these people. This cave opening that this dwelling is built in is a good 750 to a thousand feet off the floor of the canyon below. And it’s almost a sheer drop down. Zero exaggeration whatsoever at all. Every time I went to use my camera, I was nervous because a rock was constantly rolling under your foot as if the spirits did not want you there. And that could be the case. It’s tough to tell looking at the construction.

It’s amazing to me how much they did with so little and how long it lasted. It’s amazing. We were losing sunlight fast and it was time to hit that fabulous ankle breaking trail that was covered in loose large rocks from the very top to the very bottom. And this was on the side. That wasn’t actually a sheer fall off. As much as I was concerned for my health, I guess I still came back the following day, drove the two hours in alone, threw a 30 pound backpack on my back and headed straight back up again to get this footage you’re about to see.

So knowing I had this really rocky trail to look forward to, I made my way all the way back in about an hour and a half to two hour drive, depending on how fast you went. And it’s a really hardcore trail. And the reason I’m showing you all this footage of my vehicle off road is to show you the lengths I went to go back and get this additional footage that I think makes this entire video. And finally, after about two hours of driving, I found my way back, strapped on my backpack and headed back in.

Not only is this trail ankle breaking rocks the entire way, but it is lined on all sides by thorns and cactus of every variety. So if you trip, you’re hurt. And I did, and I was. So after reaching the very top, once again it was time to head down this trail, this very tight goat trail that led to the cliff dwellings. This time I’m carrying 30 pounds of equipment. Directly to the right hand side of the cliff dwellings is a natural volcanic cave. And it went in about 22ft and got progressively smaller as I tried to reach the back.

I decided this would be a good place to set up my drones to try to launch so I could get this footage. And it was, it was scary to say the least, trying to fly the drone or use any of the cameras. Every time I looked up, I was losing my balance. And as you can see, there is no place to go. You lose your balance, you go over. And it was almost supernatural how every time you took a step forward, a rock rolled directly under your foot trying to trip you up. And also those with a keen eye will notice the drones.

There’s two drones in effect here. Both of them didn’t want to launch, both of them didn’t want to film. And the remote control needed to be recalibrated twice, which means there’s probably either something spiritual or some sort of magnetic interference from the rocks. But I’ve flown around rocks almost all the time, so I’m going to chalk it up to they didn’t want us up here. From this vantage point, you can see me as a little speck down there trying to walk up the trail. And there was no exaggeration, this was a goat trail. I don’t know how these Native Americans did this, but they were far superior to us in pretty much every way because they carried every one of these blocks up here by hand.

One after another, one by one. And that’s me in my command post balancing on this trail while I’m trying to fly these drones. And I can’t explain to you, every time I’m trying to look up to check on the location of the drone, it’s I’m losing my balance. It was that precarious. Maybe it’s because I live at sea level. But I’ll tell you what, you’ve seen tons of videos of me traversing 10 to 11 to 12 to 13,000 foot mountain peaks. No problem. This one scared the life out of me. And yet I still went back again.

I had to get this footage. According to history, people hunted out the big game and deforested the mesa. And in 1276, a 23 year drought began. The Ancestral Pueblonians abandoned the sites by the 1300s and cowboys found the cliff dwellings in the late 1880s and subsequent explorers plundered them until much of the mesa was turned into a national park in 1906. Now that’s what they write down in history. You’d have to formulate your own opinion by going there and looking around. The location of this was difficult to get even with modern technology. And for some reason this entire area was not friendly to electronics.

And this is not my first foray into fairly high altitudes because I was only at about 8, 000ft tops. I’ve done almost a mile higher than that with my drones, cameras, etc. This area was not friendly to electronics. It’s all I can tell you by looking at the location of this and how difficult it is to reach. It’s of my opinion that these people were protecting themselves from some sort of a predator. Because this little speck on the side of a cliffside was the most difficult location I’ve ever had to get to to make a video.

This is me stupidly occupying both of my hands, one with a GoPro and the other with a Gatorade. And as you can see from overhead, the trail is directly on the cliff face. You fall, you don’t stop falling till you get to the bottom. Unless of course, a cactus or a volcanic rock cradles you on the way down and stops you from tumbling to your certain death. When you’re on the cliffside, you’re surrounded by volcanic rock. And the volcanic rock held lots of fossilized pieces of woods, all sorts of little strange things. And it was surreal because it looked like it was a movie set.

It didn’t look look real. It looked like the moon as it’s been presented to us. To be perfectly honest, it was amazing nonetheless. Just not something you want to slip and fall on. I had spent the entire day up here and it was time to get back. The sun was starting to set on the other side of the mountain and I had to find my way out. I considered myself lucky, making it out pretty much unscathed. I discovered the joys of pulling cactus pricks out of your shirt, face, arms, forearms, legs, buttocks, etc. But I did it.

This was truly the scariest video I’ve ever had to make. No exaggeration whatsoever at all and I hope you enjoyed it at any rate. Well, there it is. That’s my video. This is the day I thought I was going to die making a YouTube video. If you enjoyed this video, make sure you hit that like share and subscribe. Leave a comment below and I will return the favor. I am out.
[tr:tra].

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