Day 4, Tuesday: Outside Elko, Nevada, Wheeling Gas Tank Alley on the 4th of July
Gas Tank Alley was discovered by a member of the Bangin Bones 4x4 club, and they elected Jared Neff and Yancy Shupe to lead us through it. Jared was driving his homebuilt tube buggy through the trail easier than a fat kid eats cake, and Yancy had his early Bronco, the same Bronco that lost its gas tank on a previous run and in turn named this trail.
Our fourth day of Ultimate Adventure had us waking early after a night of camping. Some folks may balk at the idea of living out of a tent for days on end, but reality is that fresh air and breakfast cooked over a Coleman grill is a thousand times healthier for you than stale air conditioned air, free cable, and room service at whatever chain hotel you might find. Plus, since the entire group was camping, none of us noticed how bad we all smelled--until much later in the week.
After crawling from our tents we went in search of more rocks to crawl on. Of course this wasn't without yet another hour-long gas and cooler refuel on the way. This day was lead by the crew from Bangin Bones 4x4 club (www.banginbones.com), and it was the epitome of a long day on a short trail. A short trail that never ends, that is. The Bangin Bones crew had us exploring their backup trail since the initially planned trail was shut down due to extreme fire damage. This had everyone extremely cautious to keep any and all flames--whether cigarettes or trail repair welding--away from the dry grass lining the rocky course we eventually wheeled on.
The Gas Tank Alley trail was named after a previous wheeling trip resulted in a gas tank being torn out from under a Bronco by one of the many sharp lava-rock boulders. Luckily we kept all our fuel-carrying containers on board during this trip. Our group of 20 vehicles, plus five or six club members, worked our way through this trail that didn't have any crazy winch hills or death-defying climbs, but tons of bouldering obstacles offering multiple lines and driveshaft, body, and tip-over challenges. Again it was a hot day with a late afternoon thunderstorm to help cool down hard-working 4x4s, but also slicken the large stones. However, nothing was better than our convoy of hammered trail machines heading back to camp after dark with the sound of BFGoodrich Krawlers slapping asphalt underneath, while Fourth of July fireworks lit the sky overhead.
Tune in next month for part 2 of our Ultimate Adventure 2006 coverage when we leave the rocks behind to explore deep mud holes and the largest dunes in North America.
Editor Pw was doing a great job navigating the fat Ninja Turtle-esque Ultimate FJ down the trail until his good friend Tim Hardy stepped in to give him a spot. Maybe Tim feels every truck should look wrinkled like his Suzuki; maybe he felt Rick would feel at home with some damaged parts on the FJ; or maybe Toyota just needs to put smaller taillights on the FJ Cruiser. | 
Kane Ricardi was one of three new invited readers along for the adventure this year, and his stout Scrambler is a perfect UA vehicle with a V-8 engine, overdrive transmission, and strong axles. Having come from Maryland, this was the furthest from home he had ever been to go wheeling, but like a true Ultimate Adventurer, he didn't turn tail and run home when his Jeep was stuffing itself into a sharp rock. Instead he pressed on and gave his Jeep some commemorative UA rock rash. | 
Our second trail day brought the arrival of Feature Editor Jerrod Jones and his newly built Big-Block Blazer project. Jerrod had the crew at Fabworx Off Road working triple overtime to get his ride on the road, and once he arrived the truck worked great. With a flexible suspension, a beefcake engine, and a daring driver, this trail rig easily crawled its way up Gas Tank Alley. |
Off Road Design's father and son team of James and Stephen Watson returned this year with the lone buggy in our group--their hypermodified Blazer commonly referred to as Wally. The Watson's machine, along with Jerrod Jones' and John Hughbank's trucks, were the only big-block rides on the trip, and good-humored competition was common between them. But when it came to rockcrawling, Wally and the Watsons' experience had the others beat. | 
After three days of breaking parts, Page St.Clair told hubby Carl to practice his spotting while she drove. Carl not only let her drive through the easy stuff, but convinced her to run their 4Runner through every gnarly line on the trail, and other than some body damage and a busted Heim joint, they had a great day. | 
One of the final obstacles on this trail is an easy righthand turn. Of course, there's no fun in anything easy so our group quickly went into a game of follow the leader to see who would drive the furthest up a vertical right side rock, carrying the left front tire miles into the air. Tom Boyd went pretty darn high; |
Pat Meiwes from Warn took a more conservative approach; | 
and the guys from Slee Off Road followed with an easy flop to become the first, but not the last, truck of UA 06 to get their belly in the air. | 
Our trail ride ended with a cruise back to camp and a quick stop at the BFGoodrich Tires' tractor-trailer for some repairs. It was hard not to feel patriotic after a day of wheeling followed by some grinding and welding while Fourth of July fireworks boomed overhead. |